Mass Vexations 3
by Herr Wozzeck
Summary: We kicked the Collectors' asses. But now, we have the Reapers coming, threatening galactic extinction. Good thing we have the crew of the Normandy to try and stop it. And I'm in it to the end. Self-insert, sequel to MV2, various pairings.
1. Prologue

_A/N: Hello, people, and welcome back to the Mass Vexations saga. Today, we get started with the long-awaited Mass Vexations 3!_

_I dunno about you people, but I'm super excited about this installment. Things will get crazy here in a bit, so... here we go, hoping to keep it up with the craziness. I've got some crazy ideas, and some really awesome characters in mind, so yeah._

_And no, I'm not following the plotline of ME3. Hence, why I'm starting this now instead of then. So yeah. Note that there will be a ton of differences between this and Bioware's take on ME3. While there will be elements from that, they'll usually end up going off in a different direction anyway. And then there are all the elements that aren't there, like Orange and the Fade, and the fact that Madison is here. Lots of things will change, and some of them will be even bigger than others._

_Hm... It makes me wonder, though. If we have 900+ reviews on MV2... I wonder if we can break the record for MV3. If it happened... there would be much 'laaaa'ing that would ensue. You know? So if you have anything to say, please, leave feedback!_

_I don't really know what else to say, so... here we go with disclaimers and such:_

_Mass Effect does not belong to me. It is copyright the guys at Bioware and EA games. I also do not own some of the story's OCs, who will be disclaimed as we run into them. Heavy Rain does not belong to me either. It is copyright David Cage and the guys at Quantic Dream._

_So yeah, let's get this party started!_

* * *

><p><strong><span>Mass Vexations 3<span>**

Prologue

Quite a bit can happen when you get roped into a massive mission to save humanity. Explosions go off. Guns are fired. People die. Insects get killed. Near death experiences are had. Friendships are made. And then broken. And then remade. Secrets are released. Loyalty is won. Ships get badly damaged. People fall in love. They express it. Sex is had. Survival is also had. And Michael Bay has a wet dream.

And that's pretty much what happened with us over the past few days or so. We got out of the Omega 4 Relay in one piece. And we got out with more people than we entered the relay with. That in itself is a huge accomplishment. So then we partied to express that.

But once the party stopped, the reality that this was hardly the end of the Reaper war settled in, and things... got a bit grim.

Well, not too grim, I imagine. We're all relaxing on Illium right now. I lean over the railing of the balcony of the hotel Liara rented out for us all. Yeah, I have to share it with Sturge and Chakwas and Tali, but still, better than nothing. I wonder how Liara makes all that money off of information brokering.

Either way, it's been a nice break. But also kind of annoying, because I had to move all my stuff out of the Normandy.

Yeah... I wonder what's going on there.

I shake my head, thinking over the past few days or so.

* * *

><p>Yeah, we got through the unpassable relay in one piece, but the Normandy was still really badly damaged. We figured the ship could really do with some major repairs. Unfortunately, that meant that we had to take it all the way to Illium: Omega was the closest port to the Omega 4 Relay, but... well, there's so much wrong with that rock that it's not even worth mentioning. Besides, we can't get a discount for damages on Omega.<p>

And at Illium, we can certainly get them thanks to Liara. Who's agreed to do that, actually: Shepard contacted her about two days before we made the relay jump to Illium. She said that we could totally do repairs there with a discounted price. Well, mostly, anyway. We'd still have to spend quite a bit, but it was nowhere near as bad.

I swear her message came with a slightly different undertone, though... I swear, she's made a deal with all the dock workers on Illium for something. I don't really know what, but she said the repairs would take a week once we get the ship settled into the port on Illium, and that we would all have to exit the Normandy for some of the repairs.

I didn't think that would be necessary. I mean, Christ, the Normandy wasn't _that _badly damaged. A hull breach in the lower decks and quite a huge amount of hanging wires were everywhere, yeah, but... it can't be that badly damaged, can it?

Never mind that we had Legion that we needed to disguise: that in itself was insanity that we couldn't figure out. Well, we did eventually, but still. Actually, I'm surprised nobody thought about it before. Kasumi just suggested using a cloak to get him out of there until we could find a more comfortable spot. Thankfully, it held all the way to our vacation spot, so we were able to hide him in one of the rooms. I think it was Kasumi's room, as she can easily manipulate the security footage to do that stuff.

Though frankly, I'm not sure how half of us got checked in without alerting some form of government. I mean, Jack alone should have triggered a few alarms on Illium. I mean, she's a wanted criminal in most of the galaxy! Though, I imagine it's worst in Hanar space, where she crashed that sattelite into their favorite moon. But somehow, they didn't question her. It's... kind of weird to think about, actually.

So we all settled in to stuff, and got a free week of shore leave while waiting for the Normandy to get itself repaired. The hotel itself is actually pretty nice. Really great view of Nos Astra, and especially its sunset. I think only Miami sunsets could beat it in terms of how beautiful the sunset is. It's just really nice and beautiful. Honestly, after living on the Citadel for so long I forgot what it was like to see the sun rise and set every day.

So I ended up spending most of my evenings looking out at the sunset as the colors danced in the sky. It was crazy doing that, and a couple other things, but... let's just say they mostly invovled Tali.

* * *

><p>Unfortunately, not all of the crew or ground team stayed with us then.<p>

True to his word, Zaeed left our ground team after we had touched down. He bought passage back to Omega, hoping to scrounge up what was left of the Blue Suns leadership there to hopefully take back control of the Suns. I wonder how Zaeed would be as the leader of the Blue Suns. I know he did most of the bookkeeping when he and Vido were still co-managing it something like 20 years back, so that's down, but leadership itself... I dunno, we'll see what comes of that.

Of course, that was the only obvious member of our crew to leave. Some of the crew members also opted to leave then, too. We lost some of our peripheral helmsmen from the fact that they were more loyal to Cerberus. I was actually quite surprised to see most of them leave, but... I guess it was to be expected when we managed to save the crew of the Normandy from being taken by the Collectors. No special bond there with the Commander for saving their asses from the Collectors. So some of the minor crew members all left, and that was sad to see them go.

Thankfully, though, the mainstays all stayed behind. Of course Joker and Chakwas were staying: Chakwas of course had an attachment to working with Commander Shepard that could never be shaken by anything, and in a manner of speaking Joker's home was on the Normandy. Neither would leave that ship at all. Rupert also decided to stay, since apparently having a really great co-worker in Sturge was a good way to get stuff done. Ken and Gabby also stayed on board, mostly because they were really well-acquainted with us. For that, I'm actually really glad.

Oh, and Jenny's staying on too. She says that we could use the vehicle maintenance, and also that the human touch is better than the autopilot. I dunno, she's gotten us out of a lot of sticky situations, and her driving is a _lot _better than Shepard's, so I'm glad for that. The Horizon colonists we picked up at the Collector base are also all tagging along with us until we can get to the Citadel. I'm sure the Alliance has a lot of questions for them, and they want to get that over with.

What really surprised me, though, was that Gregor asked to join the crew of the Normandy. That was surprising, but I guess after being separated from his sister for so long, that would happen. He's being put to work as the assistant to the Armory Officer, which means he'll be seeing a lot more of Jacob in the coming days. But hey, he's not being separated from his sisters, so... Yeah, crazy times are had with that.

But one departure we had never seen coming was Samara. Her oath to Shepard had been fulfilled, so she released herself from it a day after we had docked. Samara left rather cordially, though, so it's nice to have the reassurance that she won't be hunting us down for stuff. She walked off, taking a ship out to Asari space. No doubt, she's back to Thessia. I'm gonna miss Samara, I admit. I didn't know her that well, but it seemed fitting to see her return to Asari space.

I would've expected Kasumi to leave too. After all, her contract had been fulfilled, so she had no reason to stay. But she decided it would be cool anyway. When I asked her about it, she quoted the whole thing about how we were an extremely _interesting _group, and that she wouldn't mind tagging along with us for whatever other adventures we had. Imagine, the thief staying on board. So she did that, and we all loved it more.

Besides, it would've been sad to see a Brotherhood without Kasumi. It's just not the same if we don't have everyone there.

Everyone else was more or less in it for the long haul, of course. Miranda and Jacob were both on for the ride despite the fact that TIM was likely pissed at their desertion or something. Thane was in it for Shepard, too, what with them being in love and all. Garrus and Madison were both there as well for a lot of reasons. Al was of course staying out of loyalty to his sister, and Jack was staying... well, because frankly where else would she go anyway? Grunt is staying for Shepard because she's still his battlemaster... battlemistress? I dunno. Either way, he's staying. Mordin debated leaving, but... I think he found the whole dreamshare bit way too interesting, because he's still with us right now. Legion is still with us because... well, he's a geth, who else is he going to have adventures with?

And of course, Tali and I are staying too. Rael's probably going to stay with us for a little while longer, but I figure he's probably got to get back to the Fleet soon. What with being part of the Admiralty board and all, anyhows.

But... I think we've got it sorted out who's staying with Shepard to the end.

This is going to be a crazy journey with all of us, I can tell already.

* * *

><p>So then was the matter of shore leave itself. As for that... Illium basically became our playground.<p>

And I mean that in every sense possible.

I swear, Kasumi pulled off a heist or two while we weren't looking and then sold whatever she got off of it, because she got more than enough credits to plug up all the holes in our now suddenly gone Cerberus funding. I think: you never really can tell with her. She spent most of the week going out of Nos Astra to other parts of Illium, and then returning with wads of cash. I'm pretty sure it made Jacob a little anxious, honestly, as the two of them were kind of left out of each others' businesses. I dunno. It's Kasumi.

Anyway, I think Thane and Shepard mostly stayed around Nos Astra, spending a _lot _of the time they had off together. And only now am I starting to not geek out every time I see them running around. I really shouldn't be at this stage, anyway. I've done more than enough geeking out about them to last me a lifetime, I think. Besides, they're settling squarely into that zone in the relationship where they're just comfortable in their presence. With Thane, I get the feeling it's always like that to some degree, but still.

Al and Jack meanwhile... Oh, boy. It's starting to get harder not to comment about how they can't seem to _stop _flirting around each other lately. I dunno why, but it seems to me that they're getting along really well. I mean, I don't think I ever saw Jack flirt with Al the way she did with _anyone_. I dunno, it's just that they're doing so much in conjunction I'm finding it progressively harder to believe certain things I'm seeing with them. I dunno.

But Garrus and Madison? Oh, did they _ever _get it on with the post-suicide mission boinking. I think, anyway. I saw this huge bite-mark on Madison's shoulder when she came in for breakfast recently. I don't know why, but all the other turians in the hotel were staring at her before she covered her shoulder up. I knew something was up the minute I saw Garrus coming in with the biggest grin on his face. Turns out, it's a mating bite.

Thus meaning that in terms of everything, Garrus and Madison are all but... well... lifemates, essentially.

That... gave Mordin a _lot _more expositing to do than he _really _should've done. Especially over breakfast. I swear to god, I am _never _going to think of fangs in the same way, _ever _again.

Okay, so apart from Garrus and Madison's unofficial _marriage_, if that's what it technically is in Turian culture... Ah, yes, there's the matter of Miranda. Yeah, she seems to be doing rather fine for herself, if a little wary about Oriana. Honestly, I can't blame her: Cerberus did a lot to protect her sister, so... I imagine that would play a lot into it. But she doesn't seem to regret it: after all, she has us to think about, so... Yeah.

Joker seems to be doing fine now, too. EDI... I don't know about her, but I'm sure she'll be all right. That is, if she doesn't freak out the dock workers of Illium first. I'm surprised Shepard even agreed to let a ship with an AI get worked at on the dock on Illium, but hey, that's life for ya. I'm pretty sure Liara will have a hand in covering that bit up, but you never can tell. Joker's a little antsy about not being able to fly his baby, though, so... We'll have to see what happens when we get back to the Normandy once repairs are done.

Rael has done a _lot _of thinking while we've been here. Not sure why, but I get the feeling he's planning something. What exactly he's planning, I have no idea about. He's tried to make some time for Tali, though, and a couple times I actually ended up having lunch, sometimes dinner with the father and daughter there. They seem to be getting on better than Tali's dialogue in-game might have indicated. Hm... this little incident of shore leave may have been better for both of them.

Though it does make me worry about the whole geth thing. I don't know what Rael's planning, but if it has something to do with the geth unit... I have no idea. Legion for his part has done a remarkable job of staying absolutely silent throughout the entire time we've been on Illium. We wouldn't want anyone freaking out about the geth unit running around; that would just plain suck for everyone involved, _especially _Shepard. I mean, yeah, she's a Spectre again, but still, I would be wary of the Council's reaction to the fact that she's bringing a geth unit everywhere she goes.

I don't think it'll backfire in terms of the geth themselves. Not yet, anyway. We'll see what happens.

Anyway... well, the crew is getting along just fine on this session of shore leave, I think.

Oh, and Chakwas and Sturge seem to be getting... closer. Than before. I dunno, I've never really known that anyone could get that close at such an age. But... they do spend quite a bit of their time just chatting about the past and Wagner and other topics like that. It's kinda weird seeing that happen with Sturge. I dunno... it's just one of those things that shocks me to no end, really.

As for Tali and I? Well, we've had a good old time here. Of course, our little session of her outside of the suit did end up getting her sick, exactly as we expected. It wasn't too bad, though: it was only a common cold from how Tali described it. Slight fever, nasty cough, sinuses filled with a ton of mucous, and I _swear_ she sneezed a couple of times. I don't really mind, quarian sneezes are kinda cute for... some reason, I dunno. But by this time... it's pretty much become just a memory. She's feeling much better, if her nose isn't congested.

And in the end? It was still worth the week of sickness. God, who knew a quarian could be so beautiful under that face mask of theirs? Hm... I need to talk to Mordin about some way of making a clean room out of my current quarters or something. Just seeing her face would be worth it, I think. And it'd be nice if I could look at her face without getting her sick every damn time I did it. But other than that, it's been nice. We've been good company for the past week, just chilling on Illium.

Makes me wonder, though... usually, if we're doing _this _well in being happy in a relationship, there's going to be trouble brewing somewhere. I don't know when it's going to hit, but... I'll do everything I can to keep our relationship together. So that means that I cannot miscommunicate with her. So we'll have to make sure we're always on the same foot all the time.

It'll be tough, but whatever, a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do.

So... all has been going very hunky-dorily for the past week or so.

* * *

><p>It apparently went really well for the Council too.<p>

I was walking around with Tali and Rael chatting about various things when we started noticing there was a lot of chatter. Normally, we'd dismiss it as most of that anti-quarian mumbling I've heard every so often. Honestly, you learn to ignore it after a while. But this mumbling seemed a little louder than usual. That kind of confused us: you'd think that after being there for about four days, they'd have gotten used to a human and two quarians running around Illium.

I didn't suspect that maybe they weren't talking to us until I overheard something being mentioned by that turian that I think is trying to date that quarian over in the nearby bar. And that's when I specifically heard something referring to the turian councillor.

So then Rael, Tali, and I ended up huddling near one of those news terminals, and sure enough, we heard it straight from the best source:

Apparently, the turian councillor had been found in an escape pod somewhere in the Terminus systems.

The details were a little vague at first. Well, from the condensed version, but still, this is the freaking turian councillor we were talking about here! And he had apparently been found by certain parties. That was... really big news, to say the least. So naturally, I had to figure out more.

So then, we all looked it up over the extranet, hoping for details. And we managed to get some details about how the turian councillor was found. Apparently, there was an STG patrol in the Terminus systems that just... randomly found an escape pod with him on it. Huh, that's kinda anticlimactic. He was barely hanging on to his life, from what I heard, and he promptly had to be fed and stuff. I wonder how he managed to use all the rations those things are supposed to come with, as they were all empty when they found him. He was still dizzy when the report was made, though, so we didn't get any details about the _Aurigos _itself.

I ended up following the story with interest. And indeed, the next day we did get some details directly from Emily Wong: apparently, the turian councillor was feeling a little better, but he hadn't returned back to work yet. Apparently, he didn't have any details on what happened on the _Aurigos_ under the pretense that he had... kinda lost his memory. Hm... Well, he _was _addled after being stuck in an escape pod as long as he was, so I can't say I blame him there. I dunno, hopefully he'll recover enough of his memory to figure it out.

But still, the big huge turian dreadnought that was missing all this time is still missing, so... Yeah, sad times are still ensuing for them until they can figure out where the Aurigos is.

Oddly, he was discovered in a part of the Terminus systems that was actually reasonably close to where Earth is. Hm... Not sure what to make of that, as apparently he was further up the galaxy map when he first disappeared. Or in a different spot altogether. That has a few eyebrows raised, but the turian councillor was so addled that he couldn't remember how he wound up in a very, _very _different part of the galaxy from where he was.

Still, we have a fourth of the Council back, and while I am a little miffed at his air-quoting ways, it's a good thing for everyone as it'll provide some much-needed stability for all. Even if he does go into denial of the Reapers like every other councillor. Well, except for Anderson, but you know how it is.

The reaction from the team was varied. Of course Shepard was a bit miffed, but she did an exceptional job of sucking it up. I know how much the turian councillor gets on her nerves, but he, we'll see when we bring the evidence of Collector involvement with the disappearance of all those colonists there, right? Garrus took it all right. Not too joyous, but not terribly disdainful either. Well, he never really was the galaxy's best turian, so I can't fault him for his 'eh, whatever' kind of response. Especially now that he went and unofficially married a human.

Oh, man, if we ever get another turian on board, I don't think that turian will _ever _let him live that particular bit down.

Anyway, the turian councillor returned to Council space while we were on Illium. So now, when we present the Council with our evidence, we won't have to wait for him to come for them to make a consensus of some sort. The _Aurigos _itself is still missing, though. And he doesn't know where it is. That still sucks.

But hey, at least the Councillor came back. Now galactic government can go back to its normal function, and that replacement Councillor won't be needed anymore.

So I think that's better than nothing. _Much _better than nothing.

* * *

><p>So life went on, mutterings about the turian councillor going around. Wow, the rumor mill is <em>really <em>active for that. The wrong words from someone and crazy times will definitely be had...

Well, shore leave went well for a day or so after that when I started hearing all these wild rumors about where the turian councillor had been. They ranged from the wild to the plain insane, and I actually got a good laugh of some of them.

And then, of course, Shepard came out of her quarters one day in a mildly unimpressed mood. She didn't come to meet us for breakfast for sure, that was one thing. We were all pretty confused, but then when Thane came he called a Brotherhood meeting to session before running after her to get her back to the hotel.

That... wasn't good. We had all promised ourselves before docking at Illium that we wouldn't call a Brotherhood session unless something really big happened. I was tempted to call one over the turian councillor, but... I figured that since we all knew what happened there, it would just be really pointless. So I was a little on edge about what had happened until the meeting went into session.

And then, I got a rather... shockingly pleasant surprise.

It turns out she had just needed to clear her head outside of the hotel for a moment, for she had gotten an e-mail from her terminal that morning from none other than the Illusive Man himself. Hm, I always knew he had some idea of where his assets were. So in a surprising olive branch, he actually sent us some information that their operatives had picked up on the Shadow Broker himself.

He also mentioned that Liara might be interested in this information.

That was actually a very nice surprise for a lot of reasons. I dunno, I half expected the Illusive Man to be really pissed off about that, but... at least he's trying the more peaceful method first. But I know how this goes. Reel us back into his leash slowly and with gift of finest wheat. And when we're close enough, we get taken back into the fold by force. Sorry, I've watched enough spy movies to know that it could happen.

But I think he knows it too, because he doesn't strike me as being evil enough for that at the moment. I think. You never can tell about a character whose own flippin' _voice actor _doesn't trust him. We'll have to see how this pans out later.

But... it was unexpected for all of us. Miranda was certainly relieved to hear that the Illusive Man was not going to try to use Oriana as a way to lure her back to Cerberus just yet. I think we can all breathe a little easier, actually; now that Cerberus won't go into full all-out assault mode on us, we'll be good to go. So yeah, crazy, crazy times are had with that.

So now, we kind of have a shaky alliance with Cerberus. But I imagine Shepard's going to have to hold him at arm's length.

Either way, it's a lead on the Shadow Broker. Liara's kind of busy right now, but when she stops being busy, we're going to her with this info.

Actually... I need to go to her about the small little Prothean cuneiform I bumped into, too. It's going to be hell explaining it, though, and this info on the Shadow Broker is probably _big_. I don't think I should saddle her with the earth-shaking revelation that I'm not from another galaxy just yet when that's the case. I mean, really, I don't think she'd believe me if I told her I randomly _happened _to run into a piece of well-kept Prothean handwriting that's survived over 50,000 years in some random spot. No... I'd need to tell her the truth about myself if she's going to believe my story there. And given how much has already happened... it's best kept to myself, anyhow.

Anyways, yeah... So now we've got more than one reason to visit Liara after everything that's happened over the course of the week. So... there we go.

* * *

><p>And, of course, I haven't been to the Fade in a while. But then, I haven't really felt the need to yet. I'm sure Orange understands.<p>

We've had some nice real life conversations anyway. About life, the universe, everything... I swear the number 42 wound up in there somehow, but how it did that is something I'd really rather not dwell on. But anyway, she's been a lot less cryptic as of late. That is a really good thing.

What she has done a lot of, though, is angst about the fact that apparently even the Oracle of Mars fell under the sway of the Reapers. The most powerful of them all... though I do wonder why the Oracle of Feros was also well-known. So I had to ask her about that next. Turns out, if one can be the Oracle of Feros, it's basically saying 'you're next in line to be the Oracle of Mars' or something like that.

Orange could've been the first female Oracle. So now, not only are the Reapers exterminating all organic life, but they're also possibly anti-feminist. That is actually really alarming for a lot of reasons.

But anyway. She actually told me that she had actually begun the study of the more intense stuff. And from what it sounds like, it sounds like a really lonely life. She says she had friends back there, but given how much she had to do I am surprised she actually had time for that stuff. I mean, she was just starting out with that, which took a lot of her time. She was also reading the field of visions, which also took a lot of time. And then she also had to keep up a social life of some sort. I have no idea how.

She actually told me that the social life was a side effect of being dream shared with so many people. She mentioned that almost all the oracles at the time of the Reaper invasion were doing solo runs. But for some people, they also did dream share visions for... some reason, I dunno. I guess it gets more personalized that way or something. But Orange was one of those Oracles who did that kind of thing. So she reasoned that's how she did it.

Frankly, I don't know if it would be that great a socialization tactic. I mean, what would happen if you just so happened to stumble upon a really uncomfortable secret while climbing down dream layers? Like, parental abuse, for instance. Wouldn't that just break up the friendship? I don't really know. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable doing that, anyway, but apparently the Prothean mindset on that is slightly... er, different.

Seriously, though, it sounds like a shitty job. But Orange mentioned she used to get a lot of perks for it a couple times. They don't matter now, of course, but back then they actually sounded like damn good perks. Basically, they had diplomat status amongst Prothean society, which apparently helped everyone out a lot. They got to travel everywhere a lot (lucky bastards), and they generally had a good time of everything. Honestly, I think the perks outweighted the comfort issues.

But yeah, apparently Oracles were a big deal back then, especially the Oracle of Mars. From what I hear from Orange, he was actually something of a celebrity, even despite the fact that dream sharing had only been... 200 years old at the time of the Reaper invasion? It wasn't a very old art now that I think about it. 200 years... That's not a long time. But it was an art that rose to prominence. Hm... if Prothean culture worked like Greek culture did, I wouldn't be surprised. I mean, we have Oracles and specific places and all that jazz, so...

Either way, I found out quite a bit more about Orange than before. I guess it's more that she's just opened up quite a bit ever since we left the Collector base.

I dunno. I'll have to ask her about why she's being so open when I see her in the Fade next.

* * *

><p>Either way, this week went really fast, and crazy times were had. Well, maybe not crazy, but they were still rather good, and rather restful.<p>

And now... now we have Liara to attend to. We'll be getting to that soon enough, but first, Miranda's seeing to it that our stuff gets back on the Normandy in one piece.

So yeah, what do we have for now? Well... it's getting up to Liara's office since she's not busy any more, and then we go hunt down the Shadow Broker I guess. I don't really know.

Wow... It's weird not knowing what's going to come next. Here I'd just say, oh, hey, this happens, and then this is gonna happen. But now that I don't have that... I don't know.

It scares me a little, I'll be honest. It scares the ever-living shit out of me that I don't know what's going to happen next. But... I guess it's something I'll have to live with. Orange won't let me use the field of visions at all for fear I'll lose myself in it, but I guess it's because she doesn't want me to live with the stigma of being able to tell what happens next again. I... don't really know, but I think I'll have to get used to this.

Either way, I just feel great that I don't have to lie about being surprised at what happens during our mission to stop the Reapers anymore.

So yeah. From here, we do a lot of things.

Like kill Reapers. Make friends. Have conversations. Make people lose the game. Watch explosions. Make banter. Fire guns. Kill bad guys. And other such inglorious jazz, including making idiot politicians see the light of day. Well, mostly anyway. And then there's everything else that being part of Commander Shepard's crew entails, really.

After a week's break, I guess it's time to get back to my fucked up life.


	2. Chapter 1

_A/N: All right, that's taken care of! So now, we have the set-up for this whole thing, we have where everyone stands on which subjects, and crazy times are had._

_So now, we begin MV3 with LotSB. I've been looking forward to this for a while, trust me. You'll see when we get to the Broker. Crazy times will be had for everyone._

_Okay, with that out of the way, let's go!_

* * *

><p><strong>Part I: The Seven Angels With The Seven Plagues<strong>

Chapter 1: Intrigue

I put the shaver down, staring at myself in the mirror as I feel my face a little bit. I really don't have enough words to talk about how convenient most razors in this day and age are, especially when you're constantly getting stubble every few weeks or something.

For one thing, their shave is closer than any electric shaver I had ever used back home. Now I can literally make myself smooth as a baby's ass if I want to. That's always a nice thing; my face tends to get really scruffy very, very fast. I smile as my hand works over my jaw. Yeah, I never really did look good with that much stubble on my face, to be honest. We'll have to see where that goes.

In this case, though... I think I'm aiming to give myself something else to look at. I look then to the growing patch of hair that's just starting to take hold under my lower lip. I don't really know why, but it just seemed like a good idea to let this thing grow. I think Jacob referred to it as a soul patch. Something, I dunno. But it's starting to grow out just a little bit.

Eh, I'll look a little different, so we'll have to see what happens with that.

I nod, satisfied with my early morning shave. Well, we're seeing Liara today about that data that TIM sent us, so I should probably look my best.

I hear soft footsteps behind me, and then I feel someone's arms encircle around me. I blink in surprise before seeing through the mirror that the owner of the arms that are around me has three fingers... and is hiding in a suit.

Oh.

I smile, leaning back against Tali. "Good mornin', _querida_," I start.

"Good morning, my _hesh'alan_," she replies, her head coming to rest against mine. "Shaving again?"

"Yeah," I comment, the both of us looking at where I'm standing in the mirror. "It's something you do pretty frequently if you're my age, apparently. I've never really seen the point of growing all my facial hair." I glance to the growing soul patch in the mirror. "Well, until recently, anyway."

"I noticed," says Tali. "I was wondering why you were growing it out..."

I shrug. "I guess I just felt like it for no reason," I say. "I don't really know why I want to grow it out, but it just felt right..."

Tali's arms tighten around me before she lets go. "It looks good, I think," she mentions. "I always wondered what a human would look like with facial hair."

I blink, glancing to the side nervously. "So I guess Jacob didn't tip you off about that at all?"

I can just feel the smile radiating from her now. "I guess I just wanted to see what _you _looked like with that."

I feel my cheeks heat up slightly, and I chuckle nervously. "Well... uh... thanks Tali," I say, giving her a smile. I stand there as I take her hand, kneading it between my fingers before nodding. "We've got a lot of stuff to do."

"Yeah, we do," she says, parting as I grab the brush from the counter. "Do you think Liara will be happy about the Shadow Broker intel?"

"I think so," I say, brushing my hair back as Tali watches. Man, I _loooooove_ long hair. "She's been plotting his downfall for a very, very long time. I think it'll be good for her, you know?"

"Maybe," agreed Tali. "I heard that she was a little mean when she saw you last, though."

I shrug. "Eh, the years weren't good to her," I reply. "I may not know what happens next, but I did know what happened to her well enough thanks to a midquel comic that covered Liara's history with the Shadow Broker. It's a long story, involving friends getting kidnapped by the Shadow Broker." I shrug. "If you want more, I think you're better off asking Miranda about that."

"Really?" asked Tali curiously. "Why?"

"She was in the midquel comic in question," I mention. "She was removed from the action, but she and Liara had plenty of pretty nice conversations, so..." I shrug at this, looking at her. "I imagine crazy times are going to be had when we chase down the Shadow Broker."

Tali nods. "I wouldn't think he'd let himself be seen," she says.

"That he wouldn't," I say. "But whatever it is, we'll be ready for it. You forget who we're working with: after destroying Sovereign and the Collector base, I think finding the Shadow Broker will be one more list of feats that Shepard's pulled off." I nod, grabbing the squeegee from where it rests close to the sink and tying my hair up. "Come on. Shepard's probably expecting us soon."

The quarian nods, and then the both of us set out, me grabbing some of the toiletries that are left hanging around before leaving the bathroom for the last time. Once we're out of here... it's straight to the Normandy, so... there we go.

* * *

><p>I of course have my armor on now. I <em>really <em>don't see the point of having armor on when we're just going off to say hi to Liara and drop some intel off about the Shadow Broker, but Shepard told me to prepare for anything when I brought this up with her. So here I am, strutting along in my combat armor along with Thane, Tali, and Al. We're all following the commander as she walks up the steps to Liara's office. I turn to look at Thane as he and Al both walk just behind Joc, with Tali and I hanging back slightly. I shrug, just following the whole group.

We get to the doors of her office, and then Shepard pauses. "You know, Joc, this is going to be crazy," mentioned Al. "I never thought I'd ever be going on a hunt for the Shadow Broker, you know?"

"Neither did I," I mention. "This is going to be a doozy..."

"This better not mean you're going to bail on me now," says Shepard as she glances back at us.

"Of course not, _siha_," replied Thane, giving a polite bow of his head.

"Hey, we went through the Collector base," I say. "After that, we'll come through for you on everything."

Shepard nods her approval, giving us all a smile. "Good," she says, turning her attention back to the door. "Now... to get this info to Dr. T'Soni..."

We all turn to the door as our commanding officer opens it...

...and right when it opens, I raise my eyebrows in surprise. Liara is of course sitting at her desk like she normally is, with datapads strewn all about. Or, I guess that's normal, anyhow. Her desk was cleaner in the games, but I imagine she'd be all over the place given that she's an information broker.

Liara looks up in surprise as Shepard enters the room. "Shepard?" she asks.

"Hello Liara," says Shepard.

The asari quickly stands up. "I... Hello." She nods. "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you today. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Shepard nods "I recieved some intel from the Illusive Man recently," she mentions. "It's about the Shadow Broker. Interested?"

At this, Liara's expression instantly lights up in curiosity. "The Shadow Broker? I..." said Liara. "I had no idea. Let me see what you've got!"

I watch, holding my hands behind my back as Shepard hands Liara a small little datapad with whatever info TIM gave her. Or watching it, rather, as it looks like it's a video feed.

"Hm... it looks like a leaked transmission between two agents," says Liara.

"Some hints as to a location, and-"

It's then that the image of a rainbow-scaled drell appears on the datapad. I see Liara's eyes widen, though with what emotion they widen I can't seem to tell.

"It's about Feron..." says Liara breathlessly. "He's still alive."

I blink again, looking at her. I think I know where this is going... "Feron?" asks Shepard. "Let me guess, he also helped recover my body?"

"Yes," replies Liara, nodding as she places the datapad on the desk. "We recovered you from the Shadow Broker before he was able to sell you to the Collectors. I was able to escape, but Feron got captured by the Shadow Broker."

"That doesn't answer how I wound up with Cerberus," says Shepard. Well, she knows because I told her Liara gave them her body, but still, we gotta keep up appearances. If only for just a little longer, anyhow.

"Well, they gave me intel to help recover you," says Liara. "They actually put Feron with me in the first place."

"I see..." replies the Commander, giving Liara a rather meaningful look. "Without you two, I couldn't have come back. I... don't like that I was revived by Cerberus, but... I can look past that. Thank you."

Liara nods. "I didn't know how you'd feel when Cerberus restored you," says the asari. "If you'd feel betrayed, or..."

"Well, you know how it is," I reply.

"I thought I'd do you a favor for that," says Shepard. "So here we are."

Liara nods, walking to the desk and placing the datapad lightly on it. "After two years, I hadn't even dreamed..."

"It sounds like you and Feron were good friends," mentions Shepard.

Liara nods. "It's kind of strange, actually," he says. "He betrayed me more than once. But in the end, he was a friend." She look up at the ceiling as if she had been thinking about this for a while. "I've been plotting this as a way to get back at the Shadow Broker. Now I have the chance to make it a rescue."

Shepard steps forward. Oh, dear, I think I know what's gonna happen next. "You look like you could use some help," says the Commander. "Count me in."

Liara seems a little surprised that she's suggesting this, but... she accepts it pretty quickly. "Okay," she says. "I... I need to think of a battle plan. I'm going back to my apartment. Meet me there in two hours and we'll talk then."

"Two hours, huh?" Shepard asks as she notices the way Liara is handling the data. "I assume you'll make arrangements for what to do with that data?"

"Yes." With this, Liara turns to us. "I'll see you later, Shepard. "Hopefully, I'll have a plan by then."

With this, the asari nods, and then she leaves the office. Well... she seems pretty determined to come up with something. We'll see what happens next. Hopefully it'll involve crazy times that are had by everyone.

* * *

><p>I cross my arms at this as we ride the elevator up to Liara's apartment. The ride up is pretty quiet, actually, and we all spend it just looking at each other. Really, what do we have to say here? Apart from making observations on life, the universe, and everything, we just move along.<p>

When the elevator door opens, we finally break our silence.

"So, who'd have thought Liara would nest up so far away from the office?" I ask.

"She is an information broker," Tali points out. "She could do this to keep certain people away from her."

"It's possible," says Shepard. "But... we're going to see what she's got for us soon enough." She then opens her omni-tools, and I watch as she counts off the apartment numbers. Eventually, we stop, and I notice something... Hm... Something about this feels out of place.

"Well, here we are," says Shepard. "Come on."

And with this, Shepard steps towards the door. The light on the door is green, and so Shepard steps forward and touches the door panel. The door opens, and-

Oh, fuck.

Well, this is a pretty large apartment. I mean, there are two floors, with kitchen and living space off on either side of a staircase. I imagine her bed is upstairs, but jeez, does she really need _this _much room here?

But that's not why I'm shocked.

I look immediately in front of us, and sure enough here's Liara's apartment. With a LOT of additional people inside. I look immediately in front of me to see a police line barring the way to the rest of the apartment. Oh God... I lean forward a bit, seeing a ton of police detectives go over various pieces of evidence while holding a bunch of flashlights and various other examination tools. I glance over the window, and from what I can see there are cracks all over the damn thing.

...

Oh, God, someone tried to kill Liara. Fuck, that's not gonna be good for anyone.

And now it throws our plans off too. What the hell happened? Did the Shadow Broker find out, and is he after Liara? Oh, God, I think he is... Better be careful around here.

Shepard immediately approaches the policewoman attending the line. Hm... Asari. This'll be fun.

"Do you know what happened here?" Shepard asks.

"This is a police matter," says the officer. "Stand back."

"The owner of this apartment is an assosciate and a close friend of mine," Shepard replies. "I think it's my business as well. What happened?"

"Let's put it this way: someone tried to kill your friend."

I blink, standing there in silence for a second or two. Wait. I know that voice! And I think I'd recognize it anywhere!

I turn suddenly, and amongst all the cops here running around with evidence, I see one _very _familiar-looking asari with very familiar-looking face tattoos and a very familiar armor. I blink, watching as she comes up to the police line, looking to the officer.

"I'll take over from here," she says. "Let them in, and get your men out of here."

"You... you can't do that!" replies the cop as she frowns.

The asari who I know better simply turns to the cop, smirking as she walks deeper into the apartment. "I just did."

The cop simply gives a frustrated hand gesture before shaking her head and leaving the crime scene. Soon after, we end up making way for the other cops as they all vacate the premises. Shepard crosses the police line as they do, and I follow suit soon after. Tali, Thane, and Al all come up after, and then we nod to the asari we all know.

Yep, she's definitely familiar.

"Tela Vasir," says Shepard. "We meet again, in the least likely of places."

"That we do," replies the asari Spectre.

"Why are you here, Tela?" asks Shepard. "I don't think this kind of thing would concern you."

"I was here on official Council business," replies the asari. "But... I don't really think that matters. It seems someone tried to kill your friend." Hm, dodging the question, are we, Tela? Hm... Why do I get the terrible feeling that she's lying through her teeth? Oh, yeah, right. Either way, Tela, I've got my eye on you.

Shepard nods. "Do you think she's all right?"

"She managed to get away from here somehow," mentions Tela. "We can't find a body or any traces of blood here. All the police found are the bullet holes. I gave them a gold star for that."

"That's good, then," Shepard replies. "But where would she have gone off to?"

I shrug. "Well, I guess we'll just have to find out," I say, stepping into the apartment as I begin looking around.

"Maybe there's a clue around the apartment somewhere," suggests Tela.

"She would've left a message," Shepard says. "Nothing that the police could find, but if she set it so that I could find it..."

"Why leave us to find it, though?" I ask, looking to the Commander.

"Because she needs someone she can trust to find her in this case," she replies. "I'll check upstairs. Thane, Tali, you're with me. Art, Al, check downstairs with Tela."

We all nod at this. Okay, so we started this day getting info to Liara to help her find the Shadow Broker. And now by the end of it, we're hunting down stuff at a crime scene because we need to figure out where she might have gone. This day has just gotten _extremely _interesting. And I think that it'll get even more interesting as we go on, if my genre senses are telling me anything.

Well, not much point in dwelling on that. I start looking around the apartment, noticing that Tela is looking through the kitchen. I join her there, looking through some of the stuff she's missing out in there. She looks a little downbeat. And honestly, so am I...

... Well, since his mentor is here, I think I'll see if I can't lighten the mood a little bit. I mean, it got depressing in here all of a sudden for absolutely no reason.

"So how's Jarel doing these days?" I ask.

Tela glances at me, pausing in her work before nodding and answering. "Well, he's a full Spectre now," she says.

My eyebrows raise, and then I turn to her. "Is he?" I ask. "That's great to hear! What's he doing now?"

"I don't really know," replies the asari, looking through more things. "But I'm sure you're happy to hear about that. He keeps in touch sometimes."

I nod, smiling. "Well, that's a good thing," I say, closing a drawer as I go through another one. "Has he done anything with the genophage cure yet?"

"Not yet," replies Tela, closing her respective drawer and moving on from the sound of things. "I imagine he's just looking for the right resources... Resources he knows the Council would never provide him." Tela sighs. "It's all very sad, really. He knows the Council would never let him use it even if he made it. You know how they are about that."

"And we know how things are on Tuchanka," I mention. "Everyone fighting each other, all that sad, sad jazz..." I shrug. "But hey, he at least still has it, right?"

"I think so," says Tela with a nod. "He hasn't said anything about whether the Council's confiscated it yet. Honestly, I'd think they would've taken it by now to make sure he couldn't use it."

I shrug. "I guess they figure that without the resources, he's not actually going to be able to cure it," I mention. "I mean, maybe they think he's just treating it as a curiosity of some kind. 'Ooh, let's see if I can cure the genophage, that'll get me some real scientific clout!'" I shrug, giving her a goofy smile as I return to business. "Knowing him, he's not..."

"But the Council probably doesn't know that," finishes Tela.

"Exactly," I reply, nodding my head as I go through more things. Hm... Well... I close the drawer soon after, biting my lower lip as I step away from the kitchen. "Well, there's nothing there. I wonder..." I look to Tela. "What... exactly was your business here?"

Tela pauses, closing the drawer. "It's classified," she replies.

Hm... She said that a _bit _too quickly for my taste.

"You sure about that?" I ask. "It seems awfully odd that you're stopping by Liara's apartment while on Council business for no reason like that."

"And what makes you think that?" asks Tela.

Genre savvy, mostly, I guess. But I'm not gonna tell you that. "Eh, I've just got a feeling," I say. "Probably the paranoia speaking. I tend to be fairly paranoid." I shrug. "If I'm wrong on that, don't mind me. It's just speculation."

"Of course," she replies. Hm... Was that a scowl I heard in your voice, Tela? You do realize that it only makes it more obvious that you're hiding something, right?

With this small little thing said, I walk past the kitchen, looking at the stairs to see Shepard coming down with Thane and Tali. She looks around... Hm, looks like she found a clue as to where Liara might tell us she's gone... I raise my eyebrows to her, crossing my arms as she then moves around the apartment. Hm... I wonder what she found to walk around here now.

The commander stops in front of a display case hosting a Prothean artifact that's just by the staircase. I walk around behind them, watching as Al's attention is turned to us. I raise an eyebrow slowly, looking at the display case as Shepard's fingers run along it.

What happens next surprises all of us. I see a little tray thing slide out of the display case, an OSD parked squarely in the center of the tray. I blink at this, coming closer as Shepard takes the OSD and inspects it.

"Tela, I found something!" says Shepard as we all disperse from the display case.

The asari spectre walks out of the kitchen then, looking at all of us as Shepard holds it up for her to see. When she walks over to where we are, she nods.

"Back-up disc," says Tela, nodding. "Let's try it on her terminal."

I glance off to the side, and it's only then that I notice there's a terminal over in the living space. Hm, how did I not notice that earlier? Either way, we're off to a good start in trying to find Liara. Shepard walks up to the terminal and inserts the OSD inside it. I see Al walk over to where we are, and before long everyone is around the terminal as Shepard starts looking for the item in question.

Finally, after a half a minute or so, the screen displays a salarian in a green business suit talking to us.

"Hm... looks like she recorded a call," mentions Tela.

"_What have you got for me, Sekat?_" asks Liara's voice from the recording. Yep, that's Liara all righty!

"_It was tricky, but you paid for the best_," replies the salarian. "_I can narrow it down to a cluster, maybe even a system._"

"_How soon can you have it?_" asks Liara's voice.

"_Shouldn't take long,_" replies the salarian. "_Come to my office. Baria Frontiers, in the Dracon Trade Center._" I glance over to Shepard, who nods as she crosses her arms. "_Gotta say though, T'Soni- you're making me a little nervous. How big is the trouble that could come out of this?_"

Even as the salarian crosses his arms, Liara's voice rings out. "_Relax, Sekat,_" she says. "_I'll see you in a few hours._"

With this, the recording of the call ends, and we're all left to look at each other. "So she _did _find something," Al comments, taking in a deep breath.

"I don't know, Shepard," says Tali uncertainly. "This doesn't look good."

"The Shadow Broker's people already tried to kill her once," says Shepard, closing her eyes. "This must be huge."

"It seems that they were talking about where the Shadow Broker's base might be located," Thane. "Knowing the Shadow Broker, that would give him cause for concern."

I nod. I don't really know much about the Shadow Broker, but when your agents usually don't see you it's a sign that you want to remain the galaxy's best-kept secret. And if he has to kill Liara for it... Shit, that doesn't bode well.

"Then we need to get to the Dracon Trade Center, and fast," I say.

"I know where it is," says Tela. "My car's outside, though I don't know if it'll fit all of you."

"Well, I don't see any other craft here, so we're going to have to crunch into it," Shepard says. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>The skycar cruises through the air of Nos Astra quickly, and out of the corner of my eye I can see Tela's car keeping up with us. I glance over there, shifting in my seat as Tali does the same. I feel my shoulder brush up against Thane's, and I suddenly find myself keenly aware of how tightly we're packed into this damn sky-car.<p>

The silence is actually a little awkward. I glance over at Tela. Hm... I don't know about this. Her timing here on Illium seems _way _too perfect, especially in terms of what she's doing here. Why was she at Liara's apartment in the first place, anyhow? And why did she seem so interested in everything?

I don't know. There is a _lot _about Tela's presence here that rubs me the wrong way. I just... I don't think she's here for a good reason.

And of _course _I can't say anything, because she's right there in the driver's seat. Yeah, that makes this _so _much better!

Eventually, though, I'm aware of a tall tower that Tela seems to be driving towards. I blink in surprise as she then lands right in front of it. Hm... Well, it looks like we're here. The door opens, and I'm only too relieved when we all step outside of the craft. As soon as I'm out, I find myself rotating my shoulders... Damn, but it was tight in there. And am I glad to be out of there, too...

"All right, we all got here in one piece," said Shepard.

"Yeah," I say. "And here's the Dracon Trade Center. Let's go find Liara."

Okay. I take a step forward-

-and then I'm knocked off my feet as the ground shakes a little bit. My eyes widen in surprise, and I briefly catch sight of the top floor of the building exploding in a massive fireball. I watch as various screams shout out from around the building, debris raining down on everyone just in front of us. I take in a deep breath, looking as smoke starts billowing from the top of the building.

...

Holy shit...

I stand up quickly, my eyes widening. Holy shit... just... did the SB just bomb a building? Holy mother of God...

"Liara's in there!" Shepard shouts. "Come on!"

Tela then runs back to her car. "I'll start from the roof," she says. "Your team should work on the lower levels. We'll meet up at the Baria Frontiers Office."

"Got it," says Shepard. As Tela jumps back into her car, she gestures to the rest of us. "Come on, people! Let's get moving!"

None of us waste any time following this order: we all rush behind the commander as quickly as we possibly can. Shepard draws her shotgun quickly. Hm... Well, we may run into resistance there. Okay, I guess bringing the armor along ended up being a good call on her part after all. Always prepare for the worse, she says. I should've expected something like this, anyway, seeing as how things tend to blow up around her.

Well, at least this time I can take comfort in the fact that- Art, what the hell are you doing, lots of innocent people just died!

Anyway, I grab my assault rifle, bearing it on my arms just as we step into the Dracon Trade Center building.

And it is an absolute wreck. There is debris pretty much all over the place as we enter the building. I raise my eyebrows, noticing all the dead bodies on the floor. Hm... I know a bomb just went off on the top floor, but that doesn't explain all the dead bodies here... I frown, advancing quickly as Shepard scans the area. I keep my eye on the Commander, my assault rifle at the ready as we cross the first floor of the Dracon Trade Center. We actually cross it with almost no incident, mostly because nobody drops in to start attacking us or anything like that. Thank God for that...

We walk up a flight of stairs to the next floor, and we cross that without too much problem. Tela radios in that she's on the roof, but I don't think I really needed to know that. It was kind of inevitable, after all. And on our end, it got pretty boring as we crossed the second level. Yeah, it looks down on the first floor of the Dracon Trade Center, more dead bodies, and there's the Baria Frontiers complex. Okay.

We enter the Baria Frontiers office to find the place... more or less on fire. There are flames everywhere, and this is just the receptionist's desk. I see a charred body off to the side, Shepard bringing her hand up to her comm piece.

"Tela, we're in the Baria Frontiers office," she says. "The whole place is on fire."

"_Roger that,_" says Tela. Hm, that's an odd thing for an asari to say. "_There should be fire control somewhere_."

But of course, Shepard's already found it by this point, and so she's off to activate the fire suppression system. "Already on it," she says. With this, she opens up her omni-tool, keying in a few sequences.

Then, much to my dismay, the sprinkler system comes on. It douses the fire all right, but that doesn't help me when the water hits my face. I flinch slightly on the first contact, and then just groan as the water flows down my face. I turn to Thane then, who also seems to be dismayed at the extra humidity. Damn it, this isn't going to be good for his health at all... I shake my head, looking ahead as the sprinkler system continues running. Shepard then walks over to the door, opening it into the charred husk of the Baria Frontiers office.

We all file in soon after, looking around for any signs of life. Most of the people that were in this office are either dead or... well, dead, though the method I see is differing. Some of them look like they were burned to death, some looked like they were killed by shrapnel... Yeah, all standard-issue ways of death by bomb.

What's not normal, though, is the fact that some of the corpses look like they've sustained gunshot wounds in addition to everything else. Huh... Gunshot wounds?

I look to the others, biting my lower lip. "Careful," I say. "Some of these people look like they were shot."

"Got it," says Shepard in the affirmative. We keep our weapons out, walking through the office as we try to figure out what happened.

And then, I hear the sound of glass shattering not to far away from where we are. That's obvious enough, but then I saw the actual pane of glass shatter into thousands of pieces. And beyond that, I see a pair of glowing eye-like things. Shit, it looks like they're glowey things that I'd see on the merc helmets from time to time...

Oh, God, there are hostiles.

"Hostiles!" I shout, quickly ducking into cover just as more crashing sounds are heard.

Everyone else follows suit shortly after. I turn to Shepard to see her peer out of cover. She glows blue for a second, coming out of cover and using a pull.

And that's when we get a good look at our assailant. Or, assailants now, I guess. It's a man in all-black armor, much like the armor used by the Blue Suns and most of those other people. I don't really know if he's human, but he's got an assault rifle, and from the look of things he's also got a bunch of flashbangs attached to his ammo belt. I look over to Thane to see he's already got his submachine gun out. The drell fires at the merc soldier in question, taking him down as the others all start firing at the black-armored mercenaries.

"Tela, we have hostiles!" shouted Shepard into her headset.

"_Say hello to the Shadow Broker's personal army, Shepard,_" says Tela. "_Be careful down there. They're efficient, and brutal_."

I don't think we need to be told twice, Tela. I come out of cover, shooting at a merc that seems prepped up to toss a flashbang. I fire my assault rifle at him, watching the rounds ping against his shields. It's got more or less the desired effect, though, as then I see Al fire a shot at him. It tears through his remaining shields, catches the merc in the eye, and causes him to drop the flashbang in his death throes. A few seconds later, it goes off with a blinding flash of light.

I look around, but... to my dismay, I realize that there was really only one other mercenary over there. I shake my head as Tali takes him down with a couple of pistol shots, and I turn my aim to the side just in time to see another one of them fall.

I bring my assault rifle up to bear again, seeing both of the other Shadow Broker mercs standing in shock that one of their buddies just blew up. I take advantage of this, peppering the one with assault rifle fire. His shields go down quickly, and then his life ends soon after. I see the other merc get pulled towards us and then someone else's shot takes him down.

Right, that takes care of that group, but there's sure to be another one as we go along. So all of us advance as slowly as we can, though that's easier said than done with as many people as we've got with us right now. I reload my assault rifle before moving a step, as I think I'll need a fresh batch of rounds soon enough. We advance a little bit, and then I hear some gunfire in the distance. The rounds wizz past us, and that's when I know we've run into our next opponent group.

I rush out to a spot of cover past Shepard as the rounds impact against my shields. I fire my rifle as I move, managing to take down the shields of one of the mercs. I then duck behind cover just as a flashbang flies past. Wait, shit! I scramble to the other side, squeezing my eyes shut while covering them with my free forearm. The soft boom goes off, and I feel the strange pinging sensation in my ears.

However, I open my eyes and find that I can still see, so I'm not totally dazed. I peek out of cover, seeing another merc fall as I look ahead of me. I fire at one of the mercs that's farther back, a few short bursts taking care of his shields-as well as scoring a rather lucky head-shot. Hm... luck is on my side today. I turn my attention to another merc as I begin to hear the sounds of the battle raging around me again. I fire my assault rifle, and it takes care of his shields, and then he falls over dead.

I duck back behind cover, looking at the others. Okay, there's Shepard just across the hall from me, with Thane firing his submachine gun next to her. Further back, I see Al throwing some tech-attack stuff around, and I see some resultant sparks fly from the hostiles all around us.

As soon as I notice this, I stand up from cover, advancing with everyone else as we move through the hall. Some more Commandos come out to play, some more of them get shot, and we advance through Baria Frontiers.

And then we see yet another unit of Shadow Broker commandos. We take care of them as we normally would, and blaze by them pretty fast. Seriously... If someone had told me I'd be fighting my way through an office for a galactic exploration company sometime in my life before I came here, I would've thought they were absolutely nuts. And yet, here we are, and with people spontaneously exploding because of some dude doing... something, I dunno. Funny the places I've been to in this short time.

I don't know why I thought that.

Either way, we continue through the Baria Frontiers office in a similar manner, before eventually arriving at a double door set. Okay... this looks pretty important. It's a double door, and it's larger than most. Okay, so this Sekat guy is probably going to be there. And if not him, then hopefully Liara.

I hear a gunshot go off on the otherside, even as Shepard is herding us all around to take positions at the door. Tali is taking one side, Al is taking the other, and the rest of us are just filling in the blanks, I suppose. Never the greatest strategy ever, but what can we do, you know? I raise my assault rifle, prepared to shoot at... something, I dunno.

Hm... I hope Liara's in here. Because if not... that'll suck for all of us.

Shepard rests against the door, and then signals to us. Okay... She counts down a bit as I hear the muffled sounds of arguing in there. Or, what would come across as arguing to most people, anyway. It's a lot of shouting in there...

I see Shepard's sole finger disappear into a fist. Oh, that's the signal!

I slam my hand on the door panel, watching as the door opens quickly.

"-ow what you're up to, Tela! And I'm not going to let you get away with treason!"

...

What the hell?

I glance to the scene in front of me in shock. There's Tela, all right, and she's next to a dead Shadow Broker commando. I see the body of a dead salarian on the other side of the room... Ooh, that must've been Sekat. The pigmentation is similar to what I saw in the video at Liara's apartment... He's dead as a doornail, all right. Bullet to the head. And the rest of the office... it actually looked like it was spared the worst of the damage.

So it makes it even more strange when I see the reddish-brown salarian with green eyes holding a gun at the level of Tela's head. He's in a grey armor, and he's staring down at Tela. And... Oh my god...

"Jarel?"

I ask this loudly, attracting the attention of both Tela and the mystery salarian. The mystery salarian turns, his eyes widening slightly.

"Shepard?" he asks. "What are you...?" The salarian... well, Spectre, now, I guess, shakes his head.

"Oh, she was helping me find Dr. T'Soni," says Tela, shrugging. It's then that I notice that she doesn't have any weapons out. The asari turns to us, nodding as we all put our weapons down. "Jarel randomly showed up. I think he may be hysterical."

Shepard glances to the salarian in question, looking back at Tela. "Art?" she asks.

I look to Jarel. "He doesn't normally freak out at stuff like this," I say. "Being hysterical isn't like him at all."

"I think you should give him the benefit of the doubt, then," she says to Tela. Her attention then turns to the salarian Spectre. "Is something wrong, Jarel?"

In reply, Jarel takes a step forward, keeping his gun trained on Tela. "Something is _very _wrong," he says. "Tela... she's committing treason!" He then puts his gun on his hip, manipulating his omni-tool as quickly as he can. "I don't know how I came across this, or even why. But I intercepted a transmission between Tela and one of the Shadow Broker's operatives on the Citadel."

With this, I suddenly hear some background noise of some recording of some sort. I look to Jarel's omni-tool to see it giving the little wavelength thing those things usually display if they're playing an audio recording. And the first thing I hear is someone sitting down.

"_Spectre Vasir, the Shadow Broker may be in need of your services._" Okay, I don't know that voice, but it's probably not important that I know who he is.

"_What do you need?_" Okay, that's definitely Tela's voice.

"_I have recently gotten word of a leak of information by a Cerberus operative,_" replies the other voice. "_It is... extremely sensitive information that cannot get out to anyone. And unfortunately, word is that Shepard has it now. The Shadow Broker needs you to eliminate Liara T'Soni, and quickly._"

"_I suppose I can make time off my schedule for that. How should I deal with Shepard?_"

"_Deal with her how you wish._"

The recording stops, and then Jarel brings his gun right back up again. "I got in just as she killed that salarian over there." He indicates the body close to where he is. "He had some data on the location of the Shadow Broker." He then holds up an OSD drive briefly, before shoving it back into a space in his armor. "I almost didn't get this before she did. She's engaging in extremely dangerous behavior."

Shepard crosses her arms, looking at the salarian. "Technically, I committed treason too," mentions Shepard. "Why go for her and not me?"

Jarel turns to look at the commander. "You were allied with an enemy of the Council," he says. "But all things considered, your mission was not undermining any Council authority. You, and Cerberus by extension, were looking out for the safety of your species. That falls under the Council's obligations, so in that case Cerberus did what the Council should have done." He glares at Tela. "Tela's orders were to kill a very specific woman, and for what? Knowing more than she should have." The salarian inhales sharply. "I think I have a clear idea of who's committing treason right now."

"How exactly did you find this out?" asks Shepard, looking to the other Spectre in the room. "Last I checked, it was illegal to wire tap the connection of a Spectre."

"A mistake on her part," replies Jarel. "And pure chance on mine. I'm not sure how it happened myself."

"Or he could be making it up," comments Tela. "That too."

"Either way, something is fishy about this whole thing," says Shepard. "Tela, I don't know what you're really after, but it's been clear from the get-go that you haven't exactly been completely honest with us. I'd rather give Jarel the benefit of the doubt."

The asari spectre gives a dismissive hand gesture. "Shepard, I think you misunderstand something," she says, taking a step towards Jarel. I raise my eyebrows... Hm, her voice isn't entirely certain anymore. "I was here on confidential business. I just happened to be there."

"I guess you 'just happened' to try to kill me too."

I actually physically jump an inch in the air in surprise as we all turn to the source of the sound. There stands an asari in... a blue and white jumpsuit kind of combat outfit. It's... It's Liara! She's okay! And... and lookin' better than ever in that outfit of hers! I mean, damn, where the hell was _that _outfit when we were fighting Saren? That is a _much _better outfit for Liara than I would have...

Oh, right, we've got much bigger things to worry about.

Shepard looks right at Liara, glancing at Tela. She then returns her gaze to Shepard. "Liara, you're all right!"

"Yes," she says, looking at Tela with an angry glare written all over her face. "Don't think I didn't see you, Vasir. I doubled back to the apartment after you tried to kill me. I saw you there."

Shepard then pulls out her pistol, aiming it at Tela. "So then you needed me to find out where Liara had gone," says Shepard. "I must say, Vasir, you nearly had me fooled for a second there." I follow Shepard's cue soon after and raise my assault rifle at the asari spectre.

"You were quite good at fooling Shepard," says Liara. "You just weren't good enough."

"It's _over_, Tela," continues Jarel, stepping out so that he's close to Shepard. "I have that salarian's data, you're outnumbered eight to one, I have evidence of your conspiring to kill the daughter of the late Matriarch Benezia, and we have another Council Spectre here who can testify against you." He takes a step forward. "By the authority vested in me as a Council Spectre, I hereby place you under arrest!"

To this, Tela only chuckles, the overconfident smirk still written on her face. "I don't have the data, that's true," she says. Almost as soon as she says this, she glows blue. "But you'll have to catch me first, you little prick!"

With this, she shatters the window behind her, the shards seemingly floating in place as she looks directly at us. Liara acts quickly in this situation, glowing blue as well as she coveres all the rest of us with an all-encompasing biotic barrier. No sooner does she do this, when Tela sends the shards flying right at us. The shards bounce off the biotic barrier, creating inhuman screeches as they embed themselves in the walls all around us. The attack lasts only for a few seconds, and while some of us are addled beyond all belief we still look at the asari Spectre as she makes to get away.

However, before she can do that, Shepard tackles her through the window.

...

Holy shit!

"Shepard!" I shout, rushing to the window.

But it was for nothing, because then I see Shepard and Tela slowly falling to the ground thanks to Tela's biotics. The two of them are engaging in a mid-air wrestling bout that doesn't feel that out of place for some reason. I hear a shout, and I look to my left just in time to see Liara jump right out of the window, using biotics to slow her fall too.

...

Oh boy.

I turn completely around, barging out the way I just came.

"Guys, the stairs!" I shout. "Let's move, and fast!"

I rush through the doors, and with the hammering of footsteps against the ground I can hear everyone else following behind. I holster my assault rifle, nearly dropping it as I then produce my pistol. I run through the corridors of the Baria Frontiers office complex. I see all the corpses of the commandoes that we just killed, but I don't pay them any attention. Now is _really _not the time to be thinking about that.

Getting out of here is taking a while, though. God, if only we had offscreen teleportation to get us to where we need to be faster than this!

Once we're outside the Baria Frontiers office, I look down to see Shepard engaging in a firefight with a bunch of commandoes.

I bring my pistol to bear, and then start firing into the crows of black-armored merc peoples below me. Everyone else apparently has the same idea, for then they begin firing down too. It clears the way for Shepard as they all start getting taken down by the combined fire of about... seven guys now. Yeah, seven people. This... is kind of a large group for these kinds of things. I don't really know.

Either way, one commando drops, and then another, and another, and so on. Man, we're just dropping people here! And it gives Shepard enough time to vault over her cover and run off to do stuff. We see her advance very quickly once we're laying the pressure on the commandoes from above.

But of course, if we stay here all day we won't catch Tela Vasir. And apparently, Thane is thinking along the same lines, for he grabs his submachine gun and vaults over the edge of the floor. I watch him land with way more grace than I would have thought possible even for him, and then he makes his way to where Shepard is. The two of them meet back up even as Jarel follows suit.

...

They're expecting me to jump all that distance? Oh hell no, I'm taking the stairs!

And that's exactly what I do. I vault down the stairs three at a time. I nearly lose my balance on the stairs though, and when I get to the very bottom of the staircase my feet actually do slip. I land on my ass, but honestly, it's not going to be terribly damaged. I pick myself up soon after, even as Tali jumps and lands next to me soon after. The others get there shortly after, and we all run off after Shepard, Thane, and now Jarel.

Within seconds we're all outside, where I see Liara taking cover behind a random skycar. Whatever innocents were left around the outside of the Dracon Trade Center are now crouched behind whatever cover they can find as Liara and Tela exchange fire. I look over to Tela Vasir. Yeah, that bitch is gonna die for doing... a lot of things. Or she'll get arrested by Jarel.

Whichever one comes first, I'm looking forward to seeing what goes down with that.

I see her look up at us first. She then ducks behind cover for a little longer than usual. Hm... either she ran out of ammo or she's being cowardly. That, or she's planning something. Knowing how she was the entire time we were at the Dracon Trade Center, I suspect it's the last one. Besides, it's how villains always are; when you least expect it, they've cooked up an entirely different scheme, or a last-minute plan to get the hell out of there.

And indeed, I hear a roar, and look up to see Tela's skycar fly over to where we first landed. I see the skycar dip under the parking space slightly, and then I see Tela get out of cover. As Liara fires some frantic shots at her, the Spectre jumps into her skycar, and drives off.

"She's getting away!" shouts Liara, running over to the nearest cab. Shepard follows suit, turning to us just as we get to the skycab. I... Shit, we're not going to fit!

"Oh, _fuck_, we're not going to fit in there!" I shout.

"And _that _is why I have my own car!" I notice Jarel press his own button, and then I see as another skycar comes around and lands there.

Shepard nods. "Art, Thane, you're with me!" Shepard shouts. "Tali, go with Jarel." She then turns to Al, nodding. "Al, get back to the Normandy! Let Miranda or someone know what just happened!"

I see Al stop slightly in confusion as I basically dive into the vehicle. Thane quickly enters the vehicle as well, and that's all we can do before Liara starts the cab. Shepard enters and closes the door behind her, and then...

Wait... we're in a taxi... and we're going to be chasing a rogue Spectre around Nos Astra.

...

Oh, _fuck me_.

As the taxi gets started, I see Shepard turn to face Liara with a rather displeased look on her face. "I'm fine, by the way," says the Commander with a hint of venom in her voice. "Thanks for asking."

Liara doesn't reply, and the taxi moves beneath us. Before I know what else is up, we're trailing Tela Vasir as quickly as we can. We've got that data, but damn it, we are _not _letting her get away!

The skycab flies into the air, and Shepard is almost instantly on Tela's trail. She speeds up the car instantly, turning right and following Tela. As soon as we turn right, I look out to see the traffic of Nos Astra going about its daily business. Jarel's car makes itself visible briefly as it speeds slightly ahead of us.

"Hang right!" says Liara. "No, wait, left!"

"I'm on her," replies Shepard, glancing at the asari.

We speed along as quickly as we can, noticing just how fast Tela's car is moving. It's making it difficult to follow her, considering she's doing all these turns and stuff. But then she turns left past a building. Hm... hoping she can lose us on the corners? Sorry, we've got a smoke trail we can use to follow you, Spectre. So we round the corner as well to see Tela zig-zagging her way through the air. Eventually, we see her drive straight into a relatively narrow space between two buildings. Fortunately, we've gained a little ground on her by then because we just went straight.

Seriously, why is it that bad guys never take the easiest way around when they're trying to lose someone? Don't confuse us when we can see you!

We follow Tela's car into the tight space, and we see her go straight for a little bit before she makes an abrupt left turn. "She's around the corner!" says Liara.

Shepard does this, and then we see Tela make another left. "We're not going into the construction site, are-?" But by the time she asks this, we're already inside a construction site within the tower that we follow Tela through. "Oh, goddess..." Of course, though, the construction site is fair game, with Tela briefly weaving through the support beams before coming out to the other side. Shepard just hangs to one side of the site, but we scratch up against the wall trying to make the curve. It causes a small rattling in the ship as we notice Vasir turn right upon getting out of the construction site. Jarel's car races ahead of us, but it's not long before we're out of the construction site too and following both of them as quickly as we can.

When we get out of the right turn, we see that Tela is heading into a really ridiculously public place. As in, a brightly-lit transit tunnel. I'll bet Jarel's saying something about not letting her get away with this miscarriage of justice by a Spectre.

We fly through the tunnel, seeing Tela's car turn left. The vapor trail helps, but then we also see Jarel's car turn left. Shepard puts the pedal to the gas, and turns left. She skirts the wall of the tunnel while doing so, though, and this elicits a yelp out of myself as we cut it extremely close to the edge. I hang on to the seat with an iron grip, my eyes wide as I then watch as we come to the other side. I watch as Tela makes a sharp turn to the left, and then we manage to get enough ground hugging the wall of the tunnel that we're now at around the same place Jarel is at in relation to Tela.

We go through more open space, nearly getting sandwitched between two floating... things, I'm not sure what they are. "Go go go go go go go!" I hear Liara shout.

At this, I feel the cab pick up a little bit of speed. "I'm going!" shouts Shepard as we pick up enough speed to catch up to a needlessly zig-zagging Tela. Well... we're getting reasonably close behind, so... Tela turns left, and we follow suit-

Only for Shepard to let out a yell as she suddenly veers out of the way of an approaching sky-car.

"Oncoming traffic!" shouts Liara.

Shepard dodges another oncoming car quickly, causing the vehicle to abruptly fly up. Thank god skycars have seatbelts, because that would've been good for a concussion. "I know!" she shouts.

"Apparently knowing isn't half the battle like they say it is!" I shout, bracing myself against the car's walls as Shepard dodges yet another car closely.

Luckily, Tela makes a left turn to another place almost immediately. We follow her, glad to be out of there. I mean, jeez, that was crazy, being in the way of oncoming traffic.

So then she goes to another transit tunnel, which Shepard follows her to dutifully. However, the asari Spectre suddenly veers right into a service tunnel of some sort. Shepard follows her through, and I'm sure Jarel does too by this point. Tela gets out, we get out, and then...

Wait... what's that Tela's car just dropped?

...

Shit!

"It is a proximity charge, _si_- Shepard," says Thane calmly.

"I noticed!" The commander dodges the proximity charge quickly, the side of the vehicle barely coming into the field that would cause the charge to go off. Though... how is it floating in mid-air like that?

Eh, not important. We chase Tela around a little bit, weaving throughout air that's more or less very open to stuff. I grip the seat tighter, watching as we weave between all the proximity charges that Tela drops. Wow... I count at least five, and she's always doing it to screw with our trajectory. One even goes off as we pass under it. I let out a scream, noting as the windshield breaks from the blast and sends the wind flying in our face. I screw my eyes shut, feeling the wind sting my eyes briefly as Shepard only speeds up. We somehow manage to dodge the next proximity mine, though, even as we end up looking just in time to see her go to a service tunnel.

It's then that an explosion goes off, and I see what looks like some kind of troop carrier cruising by us. I look up, shocked at this.

"Holy shit, she's got reinforcements!" I shout.

"What kind of guns does this thing have?" asks Shepard as we enter the transit tunnel.

"It's a taxi, it has a fare meter!" shouts Liara, so loud that I can somehow hear it over the howling wind.

"Wonderful," says Shepard sarcastically as we trail Tela's car.

We round a corner, and then this loud screeching sound makes itself known to my ears. What... What the hell is that?

We round the corner, and as we approach, I see something rushing towards us.

...

Holy shit.

"Truck!"

I see Shepard veer to the left, the vehicle we're in crashing against the wall. But as I see this huge-ass truck flying on its side towards us, my eyes widen a lot. The scream of metal against the transit tunnel's wall is incredibly loud, and I end up taking my hands off the wall to block out the sound. I hear the truck get steadily closer, and then as we approach I see quite a few vehicles start to explode. I close my eyes.

Oh god I didn't think it would end like this!

I hear the explosions get louder, and then before long...

I just hear the whoosh of something going past us.

...

I open my eyes to see that we're back on track following Tela Vasir.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, even as Liara lets out a whoop of shock. Phew, that was a _close _one. I'm about to ask about Jarel's car, too, before I see that slightly racing ahead of us. Okay, that's good to know, we both made it past the truck wreck.

Seriously, though, what the hell, Tela?

"There we go," says Shepard, gripping the metaphorical wheel harder.

"You're enjoying this!" shouts Liara as we round a corner after Tela.

"What else is new?" I ask as we exit the transit tunnel.

We then trail Tela, right as she veers back into oncoming traffic. We have room to stay away, though, so Shepard uses this time to gain some speed on Tela.

"A head-on collision at this speed..." mentions Liara.

"Yeah, I hear those can be bad for you," replies Shepard. Oh, dear, they've got an idea I may not exactly like much.

God help me.

We chase Vasir, evading another truck in the process. And then, we gain up on her rather quickly thanks to some left-over boost. Wait... taxi cabs can boost in the future? What is this, F-Zero or something? Gah, where the hell is Captain Falcon when you need him for things not related to punching people in the face? It eventually gets to the point where we end up right next to the Spectre's car.

Okay. We caught up to her. Now... the first rule of chase scenes involves cars crashing together when they're level, so...

Yep, Tela went right into that. She drives her car up against ours, trying to veer us off course. Of course, Shepard isn't having any of it, what with making sure we don't veer off.

Given the impact that we feel next, then, that only makes it more shocking for us. Even Tela looks surprised, glancing to her right. Hm... must be Jarel at work here. And now Tela is sandwiched between two cars.

Oh, let the fireworks start.

It begins a massive battle of reverse tug of war. We all weave out of the way of cars that could hit me and Jarel, but all the while Tela is having a difficult time trying to wedge out of the deadlock we have her in. This dance goes on for a few seconds before we feel a bump. It separates our car from Tela's, but Shepard is back to clamping the asari spectre between us and Jarel's group for a few seconds more.

And then I see a random car that isn't turning out of the way. Shepard sees it too, and before I can bring it up both Shepard and Jarel turn away from Tela at the same time. We then watch as the car crashes into Tela's sky-car, causing the Spectre's vehicle to begin careening away. It goes down in flames, with Tela having almost no control of the vehicle. It spirals down, and then I see it eventually fall over to a building that honestly wouldn't look out of place in Downtown Miami.

The crash that I see soon afterwards is equally satisfying.

I smirk as Shepard brings us in to the nearby building in question.

"Well... I think we can all agree things will get a bit easier from here," I mention.

"Probably," says Shepard. "We'll see."

And with this, she pulls up to where Tela Vasir crashed. Soon after, Jarel's car follows along, and lands just a short distance away. We step out, and then see the car where Tela Vasir crashed rather violently against the one side of the hotel.

I then hear more sound above us, and then I notice some carriers coming in bringing reinforcements for Tela. Oh, great, more bloody commandoes.

Well, hopefully she won't get _too _far, what with probably being very injured at this point. Either way, we all scramble to cover, right as the first of the Commandoes comes out. Okay, if this was anything like it was in the Baria Frontiers office thing, it won't be very long. Besides, we have a salarian Spectre with us now.

Hm... speaking of which... I fire my first shots at some dude off to the side with my pistol. Hm... I see drones. Looks like we've got a bunch of engineers gunning for us at the moment. Damn it.

Well... I guess it's over to where Jarel is, just on the other side of the cover I'm using. He gets off a few shots with a submachine gun, frowning as he reloads. I slowly inch over to him, checking my own ammo stock as I look to the salarian.

"So... _Spectre _Brosca now, hm?" I ask, smirking at this.

He fires a few rounds before ducking behind. He then looks at me with a blank look. "I think we'll have time to talk after this," he states plainly.

I shrug. "I just wanted to congratulate you on becoming a Spectre," I say. I then come up over cover, shooting at a Shadow Broker guy just after he's tossed a flashbang at where Thane is. Thane's shields look like they're down, but the drell rolls into cover before there are any problems.

I quickly retreat into cover, seeing Jarel still facing me. He nods. "I... I see," he says. "Thanks. It wasn't easy, though, let me tell you that."

"I'll bet it wasn't." But hey, you're awesome now, so let's do this!

I see him grab a small disc-shaped object from his belt, and then he tosses it over to a bunch of commanders that are close to where we are. Oh, boy, it's a grenade. I look out, expecting to see a flash when... well, that's not what happens. The grenade goes off, and I see people catch on fire soon after.

Okay, so he has incendiary grenades. Hm, one of the perks of being a Spectre is that you get new stuff when you go do other things. All right, I see that happening. I reload my pistol, edging away slightly to give him some room as I notice some more Shadow Broker people come in.

All right, let the fireworks begin!

* * *

><p>It takes a bit, but after about four minutes we've dealt with the reinforcements that came to help Tela.<p>

Too bad they're all kinda dead now. It tends to happen when you have eight people fighting you, especially when six of them came back from the infamous Omega 4 Relay. But hey, we have a rogue Asari spectre to stop.

I follow Shepard as we all walk over to the wreckage. Conveniently, the wreckage of one of the vehicles that was carrying the reinforcements for Tela created a hole in the wall. Well, more like created a ramp up to the next area, anyway. It's then that we notice the trail of blood there, black blood leading away from the crash and somewhere else.

"That must be Vasir's blood," says Liara, clarifying it for us.

Jarel looks on. "She can't have gotten far," he says, kneeling down and frowning. "It looks like the blood here started coagulating about a minute ago, and there's a lot of it. She can't have gotten far; the crash must have wounded her severely."

"Enough to incapacitate her?" asks Shepard.

"Hardly," replies Jarel as he stands up. "Tela is a tough woman. One sky-car crash won't be enough to kill her." Jarel shakes his head. "Besides, I'd like to take her alive, if possible."

"You know she's going to make it more difficult than it has to be, right?" asks Liara. "She has to take that data off of you."

"Then why'd she turn in the other direction?" asks Shepard.

"Maybe to find some medical attention first," says Jarel. "It doesn't look like she had medigel in the car, and if she did the might have ruined whatever stocks she had in there."

"So we follow her blood trail," says Shepard. "All right then, let's go."

With this, we follow Shepard, watching as she too follows the black blood trail left by Tela Vasir. As we do this, we weave in and out of the building. Hm... Wow, this place looks like some kind of hotel.

"Oh, dear," I hear Liara say soon after as we move into a certain area of the building. "I think we know where we are."

"Where is it?" I ask.

"I think it's called 'Azure'," Jarel comments.

"Sounds uncomfortable," I mention as we exit the room.

"It's named after a part of the asari body," says Liara. "It's a very... private part of the asari body."

"Okay, I don't think we needed to know that," I say as we move on. I'm just gonna drop it there while I have the chance... We go through the room, ending up with more places where the trail of blood leads. Nobody says anything as we move along, following Tela's blood trail. It leads us through some more balcony walkways. We follow the trail along more balcony space before we the trail lead into another hotel room. I hear more screams right as we approach the door, but of course once we get to it all is very, very quiet. We walk through, Jarel frowning as we cross the threshold.

"She must be close," mentions the salarian Spectre. "Most of this blood is relatively new."

Shepard notices the door at the other end of the room. Quickly, she walks over to it, drawing her pistol as she then hits the door panel.

And sure enough, there's Tela Vasir walking off, clutching a wound in her side. Her gait is kind of slow, almost at a limp as she moves along. Hm... Yeah, she didn't get that far at all. Liara and Jarel both draw their pistols at exactly the same time, and I watch as Shepard runs out after the rogue Spectre. They both come to a stop in front of some stairs, and I see that Tela sort of stumbled into a sort of balcony restaurant kind of place.

...

Oh, God, why is it we can _never _have showdowns in any of the _de_-populated areas whenever things like this happen?

Of course, this works to Tela Vasir's advantage, as the Spectre then turns to a random human waitress she just happened to walk by. Her smile turns evil, as she glows biotically blue. She then rushes up to the waitress, grabbing her by the neck as she drops a datapad in shock. Tela holds the pistol up, her arm securely around the human woman as other patrons look on in shock.

Oh, shit... This isn't good. Fuck...

"Tell me, what's your name?" asks Tela as the other patrons of the restaurant area start screaming and fleeing the area.

The woman who's hostage beings shaking uncontrollably, and her response is a mere mumble.

"I don't think they heard you, lady," replies Tela condescendingly. "What's your name again?"

The woman hesitates, and I can see the tears already forming in her eyes. "M-m-mariana," she says, still sputtering, though now it's at a much more audible level.

"Mariana," Tela echoes, pointing her gun at Mariana. "You want to live, don't you? Tell them how much you want to live." There's a... _sadistic _edge to Tela Vasir's voice at this, and it makes my heart skip a beat as the woman in question shivers.

"I... I want to l-live..." says the human woman.

"This is too far, Tela!" shouts Jarel.

I see Shepard nod her agreement, even as her expression hardens in hatred. But she turns to Mariana, giving her a reassuring nod. "I'm here to help you, Mariana," she says. "Just stay calm, and we'll get you out of this."

"We'll see about that," replies Tela. The asari Spectre shakes her head. "All you had to do was walk away," she says. "Now it gets ugly."

"P-please, I have a s-s-son..." stutters Mariana, who's obviously terrified beyond all belief by this point.

"A son?" asks the asari Spectre. "I hope he gets to see you again. I hear that the death of a mother is _so hard_ on children. Scars them for life. You wouldn't want her boy to grow up without a mother, _would you_?"

I take in a deep breath. Oh, Tela Vasir is _so _dead.

"I will _end _you, Vasir," states Liara, and I can feel so much as see the glare she's giving the asari Spectre.

"It's all right, Liara," says Shepard. "We'll handle this, the usual way."

"You want Mariana's little boy to grow up without a mommy, Shepard?" taunts the asari Spectre. "Thermal clips on the ground, now. Power cells too."

Fuck. We've got a hostage situation, and I wouldn't put it past her to kill Mariana. I mean, she _did _kill Maelon without waiting for Mordin to say anything against what he already said he wouldn't do. I don't really know, this is just...

This bitch is totally dead, but it'll be no good if the hostage dies...

Fuck, I guess I better-

"Is that it?"

All eyes suddenly turn to Jocelyn Shepard as she asks this with a very steely tone. Oh fuck, don't tell me...

"What?" asks a now very confused Tela Vasir.

The Commander simply looks at her. "Vasir, I sacrificed _hundreds _of human lives to save the Destiny Asenscion," she says. "I unleashed the rachni on the galaxy." Wait, why is she...? "So for your sake, I hope your escape plan doesn't hinge on me hesitating to shoot a damn hostage."

W... What?

"You're bluffing!" replies Tela as Mariana cries even harder than before. Tela points her gun at Shepard, though, so at least the firearm isn't in Mariana's face anymore.

I dunno Tela, I don't think-

...

Wait, why's that table over there levitating?

"Now, Liara."

And then I turn to see Liara glow blue. What...?

Oh. I see what you did there, Shepard. I see what you did there.

I turn my head just in time to see the table slam into Tela Vasir. The effect is immediate, seeing that Tela takes the full brunt of the impact. Mariana falls to the ground, her body landing softly. And of course, Tela Vasir is sent _flying _in an arc I honestly didn't think was possible for _anyone _to fly from impact with a table. She arcs high in the air, and a few seconds later she lands in a fountain I only just notice is there. The splash is immense, and before long Shepard is walking over to Mariana. I follow suit, stowing away my pistol as I kneel next to her.

"Are you all right?" I ask as she looks at me.

"I... I don't..." she says, stumbling over her words. "Thank you!"

I nod, tapping her on the shoulder. "You should get out of here, Mariana," I say, glancing to the others as they all point their weapons at the place where the asari Spectre splashed down. "Things are about to get ridiculous out here, if I read this situation correctly."

The former hostage nods, and then runs away in the direction the other customers ran off to. I stand up, pulling out my assault rifle just as I see Tela rise up out of the water, being held by her own biotics. I see the asari Spectre charge away from us, pulling out her assault rifle and glaring at us with the most hateful glare she can muster.

Oooh, boy, she's _pissed_. Pissed enough that she'll apparently ignore the fact that she's slowly bleeding to death.

Ah, well... this may just make this fight easier for us.

Here we go...

I quickly run towards Tela, watching as Jarel vaults over and gets behind cover. I'll bet he's shaking his head, wondering why Tela couldn't just leave it well enough alone. I raise my assault rifle, aiming it at her and firing some rounds as quickly as I can manage. The rest of us pour out, and as my rounds impact against a biotic barrier she apparently has, she fires off a biotic attack at someone. With this, I see it head towards Jarel, and he is unceremoniously knocked back. I then watch as Tela charges where Tali is, sending her flying back with a biotic punch.

...

Wow, Tela's got huge biotic powers. But she just punched my girlfriend.

She is _so _going down.

I fire some more assault rifle rounds, even as she builds up biotic energy in her fist. I look at her, getting some rounds on her barriers right as she suddenly comes rushing for me. I then feel an incredible pain in my gut, and the wind is knocked out of me as I'm sent flying a good five or so feet away. I slide to a halt soon after, groaning as I clutch my stomach in pain. Okay, ow, that was way too powerful a punch. Fuck my life... Ow...

I take in a deep breath to sooth myself, and I open my eyes just in time to see a table fly over me. It quickly passes by on its way to someone else, but I don't feel ready to stand. But I see Tela off to the side... and my assault rifle is further away. Just my fucking luck. But, I have my other weapons, so...

With this, I draw my pistol shakily, holding it up as I look at Tela. Taking yet another deep breath, I aim it at Tela, firing once. The shot doesn't have much effect, probably because of the fact that it missed. Wildly. I shake my head, concentrating and squeezing my left eye shut as I take another deep breath. All right, calm down... I shoot again, and this time I'm met with slightly more satisfactory results, in that I don't miss as wildly as I did before.

It's by the time I get to the third shot that I feel myself slowly coming around. I missed the third shot, too, but my aim was less shaky than before. I think... I think I can try to stand now. So that's exactly what I do, pushing myself from the ground. I do indeed feel well enough to stand, but it's a little shaky.

But it gives me a good view of the fight as I see Tela very narrowly dodge a singularity that Liara threw at her. Shepard comes in, and while Tela takes a shotgun blast directly to her biotic barrier, it gives Tela enough time to turn around and punch the Commander in the face. She reels back, but right as she's about to go in for a biotic shot, she makes to dash across the thing biotically.

Well, until I shoot her a fourth time. This one makes the mark, and this time it hits her right in the leg. The asari Spectre lets out a cry of pain, falling into the fountain right as she starts the dash. The splash of water arcs over, and I can see it just touch Jarel's feet from where he's standing on the other side of the pool. Hm... she must've been about to charge him. What with the fact that she got pretty far across the fountain before she splashed down in it.

After a few seconds, she biotically rises again, and now there's a look of pure, unadulterated murderous intent on her face. She then crashes down, right in front of where I see Thane. However, the drell is able to step to the side of the punch, and as it is directed in the ground, the assassin sees it as a good opportunity to do some hand to hand stuff. As Tela rises, I see Thane deliver a punch to Tela's face, causing the asari to rear back in pain. However, right as Thane turns to give her a good kick in the side, Tela manages to attempt a punch. Thane dodges this artfully, but it's all she needs to then jump back. I see a table lift off, coming at him at a terrible speed. Lucky for him, he is able to jump over it quite efficiently, but by then, Tela has moved on to firing her pistol at a rapidly approaching Jarel.

The salarian, however, moved quickly, so then I raise my pistol, hoping to get another hit. She sees this coming, though, and glows blue for a second. Right at the second I fire, I find myself being lifted towards her.

... Oh, God, I just got pulled...

Before I can contemplate this further, though, I see Tali rushing in, brandishing a nice new combat knife. Tela doesn't notice this, of course, as she's busy dodging a table being tossed at her by Liara. Tela and Liara exchange a few biotic attacks as Shepard lands another shotgun blast. A loud sound goes off, and I hear Tela's scream of pain as she grasps her arm. Wow... I gotta admit, she's only _now _starting to tire... Yeah. As the pull loses its effect on me, I fall down...

...and it's only until I feel the water surround me that I realize I was above the fountain. Okay, good thing I can swim. I come up to the surface, taking a breath as I grab the edge of the fountain. I take a deep breath, noticing the pistol is still in my hand as I then see Tali sink the combat knife into the lower part of Tela Vasir's leg. It's then that I notice the quarian is on the ground, laying there from probably having been knocked over.

Tela's cry of pain is loud enough, but then I see her get shot somewhere else. There, I see Jarel Brosca standing with his finger on the trigger, and I shake my head as I brush some now thoroughly soaked strands of hair out of my face. I pull myself out, watching as Tela sinks to the ground after Liara shoots her in the stomach again.

The asari Spectre is only strong enough to pull herself back to where I've just pulled myself out of the water. Wow... she took a huge beating. I count at least four bullet wounds, a stab wound... and that's not counting the blood loss from the accident earlier. She glares at Shepard as she and Jarel Brosca come forward. The salarian Spectre shakes his head, sighing sadly at Tela Vasir as she dies slowly.

"I don't understand," says Jarel. "You told me our loyalty was to the Council. Why did you betray them, Tela?"

"You wouldn't understand," spits Tela spitefully. "The Shadow Broker's given me damn good intel over the years. Intel that's kept the Citadel safe, and has saved lives. If he needs a few people to disappear, that's the price to pay."

Jarel shakes his head. "You're wrong," says Jarel, glaring at his former mentor. "You just violated everything the Spectres stood for."

"And Shepard didn't?" asks Tela, glaring at the Commander.

"I already told you why she didn't," replied Jarel, giving Tela a frown. "I'm not explaining myself again. You killed civillians to get your way, Tela. _Civilians_, the very lives you _swore _to protect, and the same ones you said you saved with the Shadow Broker's intel. You committed treason worse than ours!"

"And you think you're so high and mighty, _Brosca_?" she asks. "What about that genophage cure? You believe you're helping the lives you'll save with that, but deep down you know it could create a cataclysm, and it's higher treason than what I've done here on Illium. You know you'll have committed high treason of the greatest order by reversing one of the biggest genetic treatments in the known galaxy. And yet you're doing it anyway, for the good of a few lives. Think of the bigger picture, Brosca! You're damning more lives than you're trying to save!"

I frown, crossing my arms. Oh, no, you are _not _pulling a Jack Nicholson on him, bitch! "You're only saying that to cover your own fucking ass," I reply angrily. "Stop it."

"I've had enough lecturing from you," says Shepard. "We're facing the Shadow Broker, and we will defeat him."

"It's a fool's errand," replies Tela, even as she coughs up her own blood. "The Shadow Broker is more powerful than anything you've ever faced."

"We'll see about that, _bitch_," I reply, crossing my arms. "Or do you forget we took down a Reaper?"

Tela frowns, but I walk away from the scene, as does Jarel. The salarian spares her a glance back, shaking his head as he pulls out the OSD from his pocket. Hm... He's not saying anything, even as we walk side by side. I bite my lower lip, letting out a soft exhale as I feel my anger slowly dissipate. Hm... He's probably really conflicted about this...

"You all right, Jarel?" I ask. "I mean, with the whole 'I'm killing my mentor now' thing?"

The salarian takes a deep intake of breath. "I don't know," he admits. "Tela was my mentor, and I looked up to her... She was the one Spectre who inspired me through everything I did as a candidate. And then I found out about all this..." He shakes his head. "I don't know, Art..."

I shrug, looking at him as he opens up his omni-tool. He inserts the OSD into it, looking at the interface with a certain sense of defeat. A few seconds passes in silence, and I close my eyes as we both come to a stop.

"I didn't want it to end like this," he admits right then. "I... I wished Tela could've lived past this. There's nothing we can do now, but..." He shakes his head, closing his eyes. I can see the slight glint of... a tear? A tear rolls down his face. "For the first time in my life, I'm not sure what to do..."

"You'll figure it out," I supply, patting his shoulder comfortingly. "Most people always do."

Jarel nods, opening his eyes and watching as information comes onto his omni-tool. "I guess so," he says. He glances to the side, and then he walks off, looking through the information in a rather disjointed way. He doesn't really look like he cares all that much, anyhow. Must be tough on a student to have to kill his mentor like that, it really must be... I feel bad for him.

I sigh, closing my eyes as watch him stand off. I'll ask him about it later. No use talking about it now, not when he's just had to deal with the whole betrayal aspect of this whole involved rigmarole.

Well... Tela Vasir's dead. I never really liked her, I must say, but even I can't help but be left with the lingering feeling that we could've done _something _to make sure she lived. I dunno, I would've preferred to bring her alive. Then she could go on trial, then she could be properly punished... killing her now was not the best decision. But, she was resistant to the end. I guess that all things considered, we never really had a choice in the matter.

Eh, I dunno either. This is a little more complicated than I think it really should be. Ah, well... I shake my head, closing my eyes as I think a little further about things not related to this. Soon after, I feel a three-fingered hand brush some strands of drying-up hair out of my face before resting supportively against my shoulder. When I open my eyes and see Tali standing there, I nod, and look out to the skyline of Nos Astra.

* * *

><p>Some time later, we've taken a cab all the way back to the spaceport at Nos Astra. I think Shepard and Liara got into some kind of argument before we all took the cab back, but I think things between them will be better somehow. I sit back in the passenger's seat, with Tali sitting behind us as Jarel manipulates the driving board in front of him.<p>

"So, Jarel, what are you planning on doing after this?" I ask.

"I... don't know," says the salarian Spectre. "I do know I want to see this business with the Shadow Broker to the end, though. I am not sure what to do after."

"You could always join the crew of the Normandy," offers Tali. "We could use people like you on the ship."

"With the great Dr. Solus?" asks Jarel, shrugging. "I'm not sure. And I don't know if the Council would take my joining a Cerberus ship all too well."

I shake my head. "We're not Cerberus," I reply. "Not anymore, anyway."

Jarel gives me a confused look. "Really?" he asked. "This is new."

"It happened when we left the Omega 4 relay," I mention. "Let's just say that Shepard gave a large part of Cerberus the galaxy's most explosive middle finger."

"Indeed..." says the salarian nervously. "I guess that makes the decision a little easier, though I doubt the Council and I will see eye to eye, as you humans would say it. I know we don't see eye to eye on the genophage cure." He shrugs. "Tela's a little more correct about the situation than she realized. I know the only reason they let me keep it was because they don't think I can get the resources. I'm not sure why they don't just destroy the data outright, though..."

"I'm sure they know that you've probably got it backed up somewhere," I mention. "Besides, you're a Spectre. You do the things the Council isn't willing to do sometimes."

Jarel nods, looking out at the Nos Astra skyline. "That's true," he says. "I've... got a lot on my mind. I'll have to think about what to do after we take care of the Shadow Broker."

I nod, looking right at the Spectre. "Indeed," I say.

Tali looks out the window as the cab pulls into a parking lot. "Well... here we are," she says. "I guess we'll finally find out what happened with the Normandy."

I nod as the doors open. Jarel steps out first, followed by me. I turn around and help Tali out of there, smiling. "Yeah, I guess we will," I say.

With this, we walk over to the dock at Nos Astra. A little distance away, I can see Jarel step out of his car, helping Liara out as Thane and Shepard both got out of the car. We reconvene close by, and then the seven of us walk over to the docking bay, where no doubt we're going to be seeing the Normandy. Okay... I wonder what Liara's done with this ship. If she's had us stay off it for a week, and spent a hell of a lot of credits, then it's gotta be something big.

We'll find out soon enough.

* * *

><p>...<p>

Wow. I got nothin' else to say.

I stand in the docking bay, looking up at the Normandy. Wow... she looks _totally _different from the last time I saw her, and for a lot of reasons too.

Now the Normandy's paint job is substantially different. No more SR-2 there, nor any more Cerberus logos. Those all got taken off, and replaced with the label SR-3 and a small little written-out symbol on the side that I have never seen. Hm... That's certainly an odd symbol to have. It's something I'll have to ask Liara about later. Well, after we get all this Shadow Broker business done.

And once I've told her the truth about myself. That too.

Or... I can get to that now. Either way.

Anyway, it's now got a more greenish look to it. The symbol is green, and there's just something a lot more green about the whole thing I'm not sure exactly what it is, but it just looks so much better than the old Normandy did. Besides, green is a good color on the Normandy, I have to admit. And the symbol is unique enough that it sets us apart from every other ship. No alignments to Cerberus, no alignments to the Alliance, no alignments to the Council... Just good old fashioned 'ally yourself with whoever the fuck you need to' and we're good.

Best approach for the Reapers, anyhow.

I look up, and I frown ever so slightly. I turn to Liara, who's standing next to me as she seems to admire what all her hard-earned credits went into. I look back at the ship then, smiling.

"You renovated the ship slightly," I say.

The information broker nods. "Yes," she says. "The floor plan is slightly different now. I didn't make too many changes, and I avoided tampering with the drive core, but everything else was fair game."

"Indeed." I look at the ship, my eyes coming to rest on the symbol again. "So what's the symbol you painted on the ship supposed to mean?" I ask.

Liara shrugs. "It's a group of characters from Prothean cuneiform," she says. Hey, so she _has _encountered it! All right, then that'll make getting that small little tablet we got easier to translate! "It is the word for 'fighter' as written in that writing."

I raise my eyebrows at that. "Really?" I ask. "You know enough about Prothean cuneiform that you know how to spell words?"

I subtly sink my hand into my pocket, grabbing a hold of Orange as Liara goes on. "Oh, yes," she says. "One of my first papers as a doctoral student at the University of Serrice was a paper on old Prothean poetry that was recovered and had to be translated from cuneiform. I had to learn it." She looks up at the symbol. "I chose fighter because that is what we are."

I nod, smiling. "And we'll keep on fighting against the Reapers until we get them," I mention. I smirk at this before turning to the asari. "Is it me, or is this ship slightly bigger than it used to be?" I ask.

"Only slightly," mentioned Liara. "I may have asked to have the hangar bay expanded a small amount."

I raise my eyebrows, crossing my arms. "More hangar space?" I ask. "Hm... That's certainly interesting. Anything else?"

"Oh, nothing extraordinary," she said. She then looks over to where the airlock is. "All of your things should already be in that room by Life Support. The rest of the crew saw to that, or so they tell me."

"We'll have to see," I say, crossing my arms as I smile. "Come on, let's go give this place a looking-over."

And with this, I walk toward the airlock, the asari following my every move as I glance at the exterior again.


	3. Chapter 2

_A/N: All right, so now we go on to other, bigger things! Like the second half of the LotSB chapter. In which things happen! And more things happen! And people trade lines! And crazy times are had for our intrepid hero!_

_And more shameless plugging for other people's fanfics! So... you guys looking for great stuff to read in the ME section? Well... I've got something for you. I recommend you all seek out Renegade Reinterpretations by College Fool. It's really more of a notebook than anything, but I've been stalk following it for a while now, and it is some really creative stuff. Seriously, go check it out, because it's just awesome like that._

_Either way, it's gonna be a wild ride, so hang on tight people, we're going in!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker<p>

EDI's avatar pops up almost as soon as we enter the ship.

"Dr. T'Soni, I hope to welcome you aboard the ship."

I glance behind me as Liara jumps back about a foot in the air. She blinks for a second before turning to look right at Shepard.

"You didn't tell me your ship had an AI!" she said. "Where was the core?"

"Crew deck, behind the med bay," I comment casually. "We pass-protected the AI core with really complicated passwords."

Liara glances to the side uncertainly. "So that explains the extra room they mentioned..." She let out an uncertain sigh. "Shepard, are you sure the AI is safe?"

"EDI's helped us through a lot," says Shepard, crossing her arms as she walks to the AI. "She can be trusted, Liara."

"I can likely compound that." Jarel walks over to the AI's avatar. " I was a little wary about the AI, I must admit. I saw it on my first time here, and was a little worried that she would turn. But it doesn't look like it's turning against you, so... I think I can deal with one AI."

Oh, dear. "Actually..." I comment, glancing to the side. "That's... changed a bit since the last time you were here."

The salarian Spectre gives me a questioning look as we walk away from the airlock. "Why?" he asks. "Did something happen?"

I shrug. "Well, we... _may _have had to unshackle EDI from some of her restrictions to save the ship..." I take a deep breath. "Long story, involving the Collectors trying to get on the ship and steal the Normandy from us."

"We repelled the attack in question, Serviceman *********," replies EDI. "I also do not see how it is relevant to mention that some of my restrictions were lifted."

"Yeah, they tend to get a bit paranoid about that kind of thing," I mention. "Which makes... the _other _thing a little more difficult to take in."

The ship's two newcomers give me another questioning glance. "What do you mean?" asks Liara. "Is there something else on the ship we should be aware of?"

More like a thousand, one hundred and eighty three somethings, actually, but that's beside the point. "Well..." I say. "Some stuff happened... And... Well... Oh, how do I explain this...?"

"We _may _have picked up a geth unit at some point before entering the Omega 4 relay," finishes Shepard.

The incredulous glances from Jarel and Liara are only the beginning. I see Liara turn to Shepard. "Shepard, you did _what_?" she asks in disbelief.

"You brought a live geth unit here?" asks Jarel. I see the salarian Spectre draw his pistol.

"Wait, Jarel, hold on, let us explain!" I shout.

But Liara looks at us. "You better explain fast, then!" she says. "Shepard, you know how dangerous the geth are!"

"They attacked the Citadel!" shouts Jarel. "You fought them yourself, Shepard! And now you're allying yourself with one! What are you planning?"

"Relax, Jarel," says Shepard. "This geth is not like the ones I fought on the Citadel."

"And you just trust it like that?" asks Liara, giving her an incredulous look. "You know how they are, Shepard. Why is this one different?"

"This unit _talks_."

All our attention turns to Tali soon after. She's got her arms crossed, and is looking at Jarel and Liara with a leery expression visible behind her visor. Hm... her voice has cleared up just a little bit. Everyone's attention is on the quarian machinist, and she only looks right at Liara and Jarel. I can tell.

She clears her throat before continuing. "I was there when we found this geth unit," she says. "It spoke to Shepard, calling her Shepard-Commander. And then it fought a bunch of husks with us."

"But husks are geth technology," points out Liara.

"Yeah, we thought so too, before husks randomly showed up on Horizon when the Collectors tried to take the colonists there," I mention. "There was not a single geth in sight there, either."

"And this geth unit fought with us when we went through the Omega 4 Relay," says Shepard. "There is a lot about the geth that the galaxy doesn't know."

Jarel doesn't look totally convinced, but he's still not pointing the pistol above the level of his shoulder. "And you're sure about this," asks the salarian Spectre.

"Yes," says Shepard, looking right at the Spectre with a look of confidence.

I'm sure that if it had been anybody else, Jarel would've shot. But he hesitates slightly, looking at all the rest of us. Liara seems to settle down ever so slightly, but she still seems a little on edge. I dunno... I should've expected them to act like that over the news about Legion, but still. I mean, I understand Liara, and I really understand Jarel. But will Shepard really be able to get them to see things her way?

I glance to Jarel, and then he finally lowers the pistol, holstering it on his hip. "All right," he says. "But you better be right about this Shepard. Or we'll _all _pay the price."

Well, a chance is better than nothing, really.

"It won't come to that, trust me," says the Commander. "For now, we have bigger issues." With this, she walks up to the galaxy map with a newer sense of purpose. "Joker, get us to Hagalaz. It should be in the Sowilo system of the Hourglass Nebula."

"_You got it, Commander_," says the pilot. "_Here's a one-way ticket to getting our asses kicked by the Shadow Broker._"

I roll my eyes, shrugging as the ship moves. I look to the others, and then I glance back at Shepard.

All right, Shadow Broker, here we come!

* * *

><p>I sit in the medical bay, long after the others have had their turn, and after I've given Liara the run-down on everything here. All right, there's Dr. Chakwas, with Sturge ever so happy to provide random assistance. So now he's the medical assistant as well as the assistant mess sergeant, hm? He's gonna have a lot on his hands, though I guess the fact he doesn't have a piano to look through anything with anymore kind of gives him a lot of time to do other things.<p>

I don't really have any major injuries in need of being checked on, but I did want to check in with them first. I imagine the Shadow Broker's base is going to be quite frenetic, and I wanted to make sure the expanded Med Bay worked for them.

And by expanded, I mean really expanded. They managed to fit another berth in this space, which works for them when we have cases of massive injuries. I love it when we have more space to put the injured. And the windows are now extra bullet proofed, with new wiring. I glance out the window to see Gregor and Jenny McKansa both having a rather animated conversation with Rael and Tali about something. Knowing them, it's probably related to quarian culture, especially since Gregor missed out on all the stuff Jenny learned when we were there. And Rael and Tali are sitting together. That actually comes across as a really good thing for them, now that I think about it.

I shrug, turning my attention back to Dr. Chakwas as she types some things out on her terminal.

"So you're telling me that Hagalaz is either way too cold or way too hot, and that the in-between involves violent thunderstorms?" I ask.

"Yes," says Dr. Chakwas, leaning back in her chair. "Or so I hear anyway."

Sturge shrugs from where he stands, checking some of the equipment by the birth I'm sitting closest to. "You know, I never thought I'd ever hear about planets with geology like that, and yet here we are," he says. "Should I mention I find all this really fascinating?"

I shake my head, smiling. "Nah, you don't need to," I mention. "This was all really crazy to hear about in fiction. You think it's strange seeing it all live?"

"Yeah," said Sturge. "Except that I don't think you knew Hagalaz existed, right?"

"Yeah, I didn't," I reply, looking right at Dr. Chakwas. "Who would've thought the Shadow Broker would hide out in a planet like that?"

"You had different expectations?" asks the medical officer of the Normandy.

I shrug. "Yeah, pretty much," I comment. "Remember, I never saw what the Shadow Broker looked like. In the first game, he was restricted to a plot device. In the second game he was also restricted to a slightly bigger plot device. In neither game did we actually get to see the guy. Either way, I know he's got a lot of power, and he's got a _hell _of a lot of information."

"Almost too much information," comments Sturge. "How is it possible that one man can hold all the secrets of the galaxy?"

I shrug. "It depends on the man in question," I reply simply. "You never know with these things."

"You think he knows about our secret?" asks Sturge. "I know Liara doesn't know, but the Broker...?"

Hm... That's a good question. "I dunno," I say. "I'm hoping for the best, but you never can tell. This is a guy who can have the secrets of the galaxy at his fingertips, and by that I mean _every _secret. But I dunno; I've been careful about hiding who I am from other people. Well, apart from many things I've done, but... You know." I shrug helplessly. "I just hope we can get him when we finally do find him. And hopefully we can find this 'Feron' guy too. It looks like Liara could do with finding him."

"She seems kind of antsy right now," Sturge says. "Can't say I blame her, honestly. She's spent years hunting this guy down, if what you say means anything. And now that we're finally on our way... All the planning must be catching up to her."

I chuckle. "Plan?" I ask. "Since when did anyone ever plan how they were gonna kill the Shadow Broker? Sturge, you're talking about the most secretive person in the face of the Milky Way!"

"He does have more than a few points, Michael," states Dr. Chakwas. "Many people in the galaxy don't even know what species the Shadow Broker is. Until now, there have been no starting points at all. It's difficult to plan how to kill someone when you don't even know where to start."

The old man nods. "True," he says. "Makes me wonder, though... Are you sure you'll make it out all right?"

I smirk. "We have to," I comment. "Laws of video game narrative state that if a protagonist dies, you automatically get the game over screen, thus implying that you were meant to survive or beat that encounter."

Sturge rolls his eyes, shaking his head as he looks back to me. "You know that those things don't apply here anymore, right?" he asks.

"Yeah, but sometimes it helps to have an optimistic mood about stuff," I mention. "The only thing that could make me more optimistic is if I could actually have time to sleep first. But no, it's heading straight there, after travelling across FTL distances for a few hours." I shrug. "It's gonna be a wild ride, let me tell you."

Chakwas cracks a smile. "You say that as if you haven't already had a wild ride," she says.

I smile back in return. "Well, sometimes, the ride is so wild, you just learn to run with it after a while." I stand up as I say this. "So when I say it after that, it really_means _something. I'm gonna go chill until we get there. If you guys need anything, feel free to ask."

The older occupants of the room nod, and then I take my leave of them.

* * *

><p>And sure enough, several hours later, we're at the Broker's base. The Kodiak is being filled up, with all of us getting our pressurized helmet appliances on for the walk into the base. Of course it's a giant ship that we can't just enter with the shuttle: it wouldn't be anywhere near as dangerous if it wasn't.<p>

I glance over to Shepard and Liara, who are both sitting across from where I am. Jarel is hovering over Jenny, looking outside the window of the shuttle as he's apparently deep in thought. From what EDI mentioned, Jarel had a pretty involved conversation with Legion just now. The salarian Spectre seems to be taking it as well as he can, though, what with having the galaxy's stereotype of the geth having been thoroughly upended. He's definitely taking it better than Rael, though, I can tell that much. We'll have to see what becomes of that.

Tali and Thane are coming along for this mission, too. I look to Tali as she sits next to me. The quarian nods silently, and I smile beneath my helmet. Even if she can't see it, I think she knows it's there, though the fact that my hand is squeezing hers lightly sheds some light on that. Thane is sitting across from Shepard, looking at her with an unreadable expression behind the mask he carries for functions within a vacuum. I glance to him, watching as he takes part in some meditations. There's something different about his posture, but I can't quite place what exactly it is.

I see the shuttle door close, and then Jarel steps out of the way as Jenny turns to look at us.

"You guys ready?" she asks. "This 'ere is gonna be a really bumpy ride comin' in!"

"We're ready," replies Shepard as she adjusts her seat.

"All right." With this, the pilot turns her attention back to the controls, her fingers flying across them rapidly as I feel the shuttle shudder slightly. "Hang on tight, mates. We're goin' in!"

With this, I feel the shuttle go, and through the window, I can see us exit the Normandy. It's very thin atmosphere up here, from what I can tell, but as we descend into Hagalaz I can already see the thunderstorms.

"Hoo, boy, that looks like it puts your average hurricane to shame," I mention, taking a deep breath. "I hope to God the thunderstorm decides to leave us alone..."

"Afraid of thunder?" asks Jarel.

I nod. "And heights," I comment, glancing to the side nervously. "And I just realized how close to death we'll be with the winds that are around the ship..."

"Heights, I understand, but thunder?" asks Liara.

"Bad experience," I comment. "I was about nine feet away from a lightning bolt when it struck back home. It wouldn't have been so bad if not for the fact that it happened to me when I was nine years old. I've been scared of thunderstorms ever since." I glanced to the others. "Seriously, I almost died!"

"That does justify your fear somewhat," mentions Jarel. "I'm nervous, personally. What will happen when we get in?"

"I don't know, Jarel," says Shepard. "That's assuming we can get in."

"We'll find a way," Liara replies, a frown settling over her features. "And then we'll find Feron."

I nod, glancing outside as a huge ship comes into view. "That we will," I say. "That's a _huge _ship, though. Hell if I know how we're gonna find how to enter the damn thing."

Liara simply looks at us as Jenny gets closer. "We'll find a way," she says.

The rest of the ride is taken in silence, the winds buffeting the shuttle a little bit on the approach. It takes a couple minutes, with Jenny compensating for the wind as best she can. In the end, though, she gets us to our destination, and then she opens the shuttle door after fixing on her helmet.

"Remember, guys, don't leave us hangin' out there!" she shouts to us. "And be careful!"

"We'll keep it in mind," I hear Tali say as we begin to step out. Liara steps out first, looking around on the ship as we look back to the pilot. "You stay safe too."

"_Keelah se'lai!_" says Jenny as soon as Liara and Shepard are filing out.

Oh, boy, she's using khelish terms now... I always knew she loved quarians, but that may be pushing it just a little bit. Well, maybe not that much, but still, it's quite a lot the more you think about it. Anyway... I step out last, rounding out the group as we survey the area. Okay... I see Shepard gesture to all of us, and before long, we're following her down a path of girders that are in the ship's side. At least I think they're girders, they kind of don't leave much room to the imagination, honestly.

Well... we're at the base, so here we go...

We move along, and the first thing we see is a bunch of drones coming to meet us. I grap my pistol, making sure one hand is against the wall. I take a deep breath, watching as the others look at the drones in question.

Without waiting for anything else, Jarel shoots at one of the drones, the thing falling down in a state of disrepair as the shots strike true. It sputters out for a bit as Shepard uses her biotics on another one. Okay, Art, just don't look down and you'll be fine... I look at one of the drones, bringing my pistol to bear. My finger squeezes the trigger a little too hard, but at least the shot was somewhat accurate. Well, in that it caused one of the thrusters to malfunction and send the thing spiralling- oh dear, don't look in that direction!

I turn away quickly in time to see Thane shoot at another service drone. It's the last one we see here, though, and I lean a little further against the wall.

"Service drones," comments Liara.

"I assume they're not going to be the only hostiles we'll have to deal with here," Jarel adds.

"Expect hostiles?" asks Shepard.

"Definitely."

We advance forward soon after this exchange ends, walking along the edge of the ship. After a while, we come across a little pathway that I imagine we're going to cross the ship with. Thank Jeebus, I can actually have some semblance of not falling off right about now. I bring my hand off the wall as we ascend, and then I see some conductors of electricity that are just kind of standing there. Hm...

I'll bet those store energy from the storm that's going on around us. Yeah, that's gotta be it. Capacitors to run the ship. I wouldn't be surprised, frankly; this ship looks like the kind of ship that can't slow down for even a second.

We keep moving across the walkway, moving along as we keep on gunning down service drones. It's nothing but service drones out here, though I imagine the Broker will be pretty keen on changing that up if we get far enough on the ship. We just need to find an entrance to get in and hope it's close to the Shadow Broker.

Either way, we cross the ship along the pathway that was riddled with a lot of service drones. But of course, we have to get to the other side.

And then I'm leaning against the other wall for support, because damn it that looks really dangerous! I take a deep breath, keeping as close to the Broker's ship as I possibly can. Damn it, don't look down, don't look down...

I turn my gaze ahead, not seeming to realize anybody else is there. Right in front of me, I notice some mechs that are standing up, looking like they just booted up.

All right, LOKI mechs. Sure beats shooting down drones all the time.

I take a deep breath to steady myself as a second mech walks in front of us. Of course, Liara's already one step ahead of us, lifting the mech that's walking up above us. It floats around helplessly, allowing the rest of us to concentrate on another two mechs that have appeared. I shoot at one of them with my pistol, but then stop in surprise when I look above us to see the mech that was lifted do very... curious things. I see it lurch a little at first, and then a second later, the thing flies right over us. I duck in surprise, leaning against the wall as I see the mech fly behind us.

...

Oh, God, I hope they don't have biotics patrolling this ship. If I get lifted here, I'm done for...

Okay, Art, calm down, you're not gonna get lifted to then plummet hundreds of thousands of feet to your death. Just stay close to the wall, and-

"Art?"

I blink, opening eyes I never realized I had closed. I see Tali standing there, with one of the mechs having been dealt with.

...

Oh dear.

I take a deep breath, slowly getting away from the wall. "Sorry," I say. "Fear of heights. Ask Shepard; I froze up when we were recruiting Thane."

Tali nods, patting my shoulder. "You'll be fine," she says. "Just be careful. Now come on; I don't think you'd like to fall behind either."

I nod, glancing at her as I take a tentative step forward. "Yeah, I guess not," I comment.

Okay... Just gotta be careful. I grasp a handrail as we then go within the ship.

* * *

><p>And inside...<p>

"Holy shit..."

I forget my fear of heights temporarily as I settle my gaze on what must be the ship's engine. It's... wow. I've never seen anything like this. It's just... what looks like large sheets of metal going between two sides. There's always some movement there, it's regulated, and I can see the lightning that is powering the engines to move in the way they do. This is certainly nifty.

"Look at the engines..." says Jarel, pointing at them.

"This base must have taken decades to build in secret," I hear Liara say.

"I wonder what happened to the contractors," mentioned Shepard.

"If these engines stopped even for a moment..."

And there's my fear of heights kicking in again. Thanks, Liara.

"Let's not think about that. We've got enough on our minds without imminent death by engine malfunction."

Thank you for mirroring my thoughts, Shepard.

"Yes, you're right," agrees Liara. "Besides, at least we would take the Broker with us. Let's go."

With this, we all set off, my hand still gripping the railing. You know... I just realized, we still haven't found an opening yet, have we? Yeah, we haven't.

This is gonna take a while...

* * *

><p>Eventually, we arrive at what looks like a large set of double doors. There's this large open arena out as well, with plenty of cover.<p>

Hm... My genre savvy senses are a-tingling... I imagine that thanks to the amount of chest-high scenery there is around here that there's going to be a firefight pretty soon. I wonder when it'll start...

Now's not the time to think about that. I watch as Liara walks up to the door. Hm, they look like they're attaching some kind of thing to it.

"All right, we have this decoder that'll open this door for us," says Liara. "But we have to stay here and defend this spot."

"Will we have to defend you?" asks Jarel.

"And further, did you test it?" Shepard asks

"No, the thing will start hacking into the door once we get the protocol started," said Liara. "However, it's illegal on Illium."

"Well, did you test it?" Shepard asks immediately.

The asari shakes her head, rolling her eyes. "I just said that it's illegal on Illium," she says. "Anyway, I'm sure the Shadow Broker won't like what we're doing. We haven't met that much resistance on the way here, but they can swarm us at this position."

"No kidding," I mention, glancing around. "At least I have a few walls to make sure I don't fall over."

"Tell me you tested it," Shepard repeats as I then sit with my back against the piece of cover. I see Tali and Thane walk over soon enough, the drell pulling out his submachine gun as Tali pulled out her shotgun.

They both lean against the same piece of cover I'm sitting against, the two of them looking right at me. "So you think there'll be biotics?" asked Tali.

"Maybe, I dunno," I reply, shrugging. "This wasn't in the game. But I imagine that just to screw with us, they _would _throw something like that at us in real life. I get the feeling fate really hates me sometimes."

"I should not think so," Thane replies. "You are here now. Whatever your previous life was, in this one you have a chance to do things differently."

I nod. "A _lot _of things," I add, shaking my head.

I then see Liara run from the thing, the object she attached to the door showing five red panels arranged in a sort of circle. Hm... I'm guessing those turn green as it hacks into the door. Okay, so we just need to guard that spot for however long it takes to open that door. I see Shepard and Jarel take a position close to where we are, with Liara taking position right in the center of our little hold-out area. I take out my assault rifle, faintly hearing the first footsteps of the oncoming Shadow Broker troops.

"May Amonkira be with us," Thane says.

I nod, and then turn facing outside of our little circle. I hear the faint hum of biotics firing up, and when I look to the left I see a bunch of people rushing in.

All right, peeps, bring it on!

I bring my assault rifle to bear, watching as these two come in. Hm... looks like humans, and there are plenty more coming where they came from. As Jarel is the closest to them, I see him lift his submachine gun quickly to shoot at the incoming people. He manages to take their shields down, but not much else before I raise my assault rifle. I bring the rifle to bear, shooting at one of the incoming mercs quickly. I hear gunfire erupt all around me as he goes down, and I barely have any time to concentrate on his falling before I look slightly to my right.

Hm... Combat drone. I turn to the combat drone, firing my assault rifle at it. The shields go down, and after a little more shooting I actually manage to send it falling. Before it falls all the way to the rest of the ship, though, I see it get surrounded by something blue. Before I know what's happened, the drone is then sent hurtling to the side where there are more mercenaries coming. True to its mark, it slams right into a human mercenary as he's running up, knocking him completely off his feet and sending him sprawling back. However, I then notice that he's _really _sprawling back, and before long, I see him get pulled by the winds of Hagalaz, and completely off the ship.

...

Wow, I'm surprised I didn't think of _that _kind of tactic before.

I turn my attention to another security drone just as it comes in, and I smirk. All right, let's play a game of ball, people! I shoot at the drone again, smirking as I take down its shields very, very quickly. As soon as its shields are down, I turn slightly to see that Liara is the culprit behind that particular bout of biotics. I turn just in time to see the drone slam into a salarian tech person, who promptly also gets thrown off the ship. I look over there to see a couple more mercenaries, one in the process of getting shot down. I fire my assault rifle at the other one, seeing him fall very quickly.

I nod, reloading as I lean against my cover. My attention then gets concentrated on Liara's little hacking tech, watching as the top of the little circle thing flashes green.

Okay, so it's making some progress. Just gotta defend it a little longer, and we'll be good.

I turn then, watching as people start pouring in from the right. Immediately, I see Jarel turn to face our new enemies, and...

Oh, crap, they have asari with them. Fuck, they _were _going to roll out the biotics eventually, weren't they? They just came earlier than I expected. I take a deep breath, watching as one of them approaches, unleashing what looks like a singularity at us. Whoah, holy-!

Before I know what's happened, I feel something freeze me in place, and I'm left to look around in surprise as every other person around me starts firing at them. I see Shadow Broker mercenaries go down quickly, I see asari go down quickly... and I'm just frozen here, unable to move a single muscle.

Well, except for my eyes. I can move my eyes, for some reason. But that just makes it creepy as my shields deflect a few rounds. I watch as the others quickly move to the side, shooting down whoever they can. Honestly, it seems more like the Shadow Broker's goons are just getting themselves gunned down en masse. Out of the corner of my eye, though, I can see Thane clutching at his right arm from where a bullet probably grazed him. I see Liara rush over and give him an application of medigel, right before I see her biotically lift one of the mercs in question. He just floats up, and the winds of Hagalaz do the rest.

Right as Tali comes around to provide assistance, I feel control very suddenly return to my muscles. I very briefly freeze up, but then I hear something ping off against the armor of my right leg.

Shit! I get back into cover as quickly as I can, and then turn to glance over at the circle thing on Liara's tech. Okay, two of them are flashing green... three to go.

I turn to look at the area directly in front of my cover to see a lot more drones coming my way. Hm... I've got an idea.

"Hey, Shepard!" I shout. "You up to playing a game of eight ball with these things?"

The Commander looks ahead, seeing the combat drones. She frowns, turning to me. "Playing eight ball?" she asks.

"Yeah, we shoot down the combat drones, you launch the ones we shoot into others that are coming along!" I mention.

She kneels there for a second, but when she smirks even _I _can feel it. "All right," she says, glowing blue. "Let's play some eight ball."

Eh, personally I prefer nine ball, but whatever.

I come around so I'm peeking out of the cover I have, and then aim at a combat drone that is approaching us. I smirk, and then shoot at it. The rounds take out its shields, and then I see the thing sputter slightly. Right as I duck back behind cover to reload, I see the thing get encased by a blue energy, and I turn to Shepard as she glows blue. Okay... I quickly slam the thermal clip into the rifle in my hands, checking to make sure I got it in right. I nod when I see I'm successful in this, and then turn out to where I was before, shooting at another drone. Before I can get any damage in on that one, though, I turn, noticing one of the drones facing me. Right when I take its shields down, I duck back into cover. Not a moment too soon, either, for then I feel the explosion that bounds against the cover I'm at. I take a deep breath, and turn to Shepard to see her glow biotically. I hear the crash go by, and nod to her.

I come out of cover, and then the Commander and I basically take part in this symmetry. I glance to the side briefly, and see everyone else starting to do something similar, too. So this keeps up for a bit, even as I glance to the side and see some mercs. Jarel's already on getting them out of the way, though, and then I see people running around giving him a helping hand.

Hm... more people are coming from the sides, which means...

I glance back. Yep, we're over halfway there. Three out of five. All right, we can do this.

I turn to the side, watching as Shepard flings a final drone at an incoming merc. Hm... It looks like they're only coming from the front, but there are no more drones...

Wait a minute. I see the capacitor things all around them. Yeah... Yes, that could work. I turn to the conductors, frowning at them as I take a deep breath. I see a group of mercs go by...

Now!

I fire a short burst at the capacitor, but one shot is really all it takes. For then, there's a massive electricity surge, and then a bolt of lightning strikes a random merc. I then watch as the bolt travels through to several other mercenaries in the area. It disables the shields of a few of them, outright kills some of them, but generally just leaves them all disoriented. This, of course, gives everyone else time to eliminate the others, either by biotics, or by gunshots.

Hm... The capacitors leave a good targeting tactic. Just don't take them all out, or it's likely the engines will stop and then we all die by falling from a really high place.

I feel a shudder travel through my spine at that. Jeez, if I die, I don't wanna be given time to dwell on it! Especially since this is the second time I'll have died...

I look to some final mercenaries as the ones that were affected by the capacitor surge all do stuff. I smirk at them, firing my assault rifle on them. It takes down their shields, and before long we've taken them all down.

"Well, it's a good thing they haven't thought of trying to surround us yet," Liara says.

Shepard turns to her in disbelief. "Don't give the mercs ideas, Liara," she says.

At this, I glance back to the circle thing. Okay, that's four out of five portions of the circle that have gone green. All right, almost done!

Almost immediately, though, I see mercs come out of every opening. Oh, great, they're flanking us, aren't they?

"Gee, thanks for giving them ideas, Liara!" I shout, turning over there. Okay... which capacitor can I get next...?

Ah, yes, that one. I quickly shoot one of the other capacitors, and then the bolt of lighting goes through everyone yet again. I see it travel through everyone, but even as the last of the bolt is dying, I see service drones come along. Okay... I shoot those down again, nodding in satisfaction when I see someone finally take the biotic initiative on them. I shoot a fourth one down eventually, and then notice that the capacitors are back online. Huh? I thought I destroyed them when I shot them. Wouldn't they... Never mind. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

I turn, shooting the capacitor in front of me...

And right as I fire the bullet and watch the lightning bolt arc around, I hear a loud click behind us. I turn suddenly, and then I see the fifth and final circle segment light in green.

"All right, it's open!" I shout, stowing my assault rifle and pulling out my pistol. I rush out of cover, running towards the door as Liara is already opening it. I see Jarel run in there first, and I turn around and fire a few shots into the approaching mercenaries. Thane and Shepard are through soon after, and right before Tali can enter, I'm past the threshhold. Tali enters last, and as the quarian gets some final shotgun rounds on the mercs outside, the door quickly closes, locking behind us as we look ahead.

I see Jarel nod. "All right, that takes care of that," he said. "I wonder how much we pissed them off."

"Well, unfortunately, they can't do anything about it," said Liara. She removes the seals on her breathing apparatus. Oh, okay, so it's safe to take our helmets off... though I don't know where I'm going to put mine... Ah, fuck it. I take my helmet off, shaking my head in relief that I don't have to breathe artificial air anymore. "They're locked outside now."

"That's for the best," Shepard says, nodding to all of us. "Come on guys. Let's get moving."

I nod in turn, keeping the pistol at my side as I bring my helmet along. I see the others remove their respective breathing gear, and then we're setting off down the hallway to find where the Shadow Broker is.

* * *

><p>We move at a fairly good clip once we're inside the base. It's actually got quite a few more guys running around than I would've expected, but really, we're outnumbering most of the groups that come lumbering our way. Really, by this point, it's more a fact of 'they see us, they all get riddled with bullets more or less' than there is any real fight.<p>

But we're still moving at a very good clip, which is a good thing as far as finding Feron goes. Hm... Watch, he's going to show up right before the Shadow Broker makes himself known to us.

Actually... I still find that kind of unnerving. I'm going to face off against the Shadow Broker, and _none _of us know what he _is_, let alone what he looks like. The galaxy's best kept secret... and we're gonna be fighting it.

God help us.

I move forward, navigating around the hallways. We've cleared out a lot of resistance by this point, so... I wonder if there's anything else that is worth mentioning. I look ahead, holding up my pistol as I glance around. Shepard is a little ahead of me, with Liara standing close by. Jarel, Thane, and Tali are a little further back, all three of them mostly supporting backup fire. Well, if we had enemies, which we don't.

We just walk forward a little bit. Okay, looks like a door that leads somewhere... I wonder-

"Grenade!"

I don't get time to react before I'm shoved behind a wall by Shepard. Liara throws up a protective barrier, and shortly thereafter I see Jarel, Tali, and Thane duck into it just before I see an explosion impact against the bloody thing.

What the...?

I turn my head to the source of the grenade... which was behind us, for some reason.

And there, I see this _giant _of a salarian, just standing there with an _extremely _annoyed expression on his face. He's holding a grenade launcher in his hand, and he's priming it up again. He fires the launcher again, the grenade impacting against Liara's barrier.

"Tazzik!" shouts Liara.

...

Wait, you mean that huge salarian guy from the tie-in comic is here? Hoo, boy, things just got really heavy.

"The Broker has paid extensively for your lives," says the salarian threateningly, in a tone of voice that would sooner fit a Clint Eastwood character than it would a salarian. "I intend to act on that."

"How can you, when the last time we met Feron and I managed to outsmart you?" Liara asks. "Or did you forget what happened the last time you tried to take us out."

"That was a mistake," Tazzik immediately replies. "This time, I intend to act on my word."

With this, I see the salarian charge right at us.

Uh... what's that gonna do? We can still shoot you, and you're not really a krogan. You're huge for a salarian, but that's not saying much. I mean, jeez, Tazzik, why not just shoot us? You're just making it easier for us to defeat you later!

...

Yeah, I probably shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth here.

Liara lets go of the biotic barrier, and stands there with the others scrambling to the side. Hm... If we can play it like the Hercules boss battle from _God of War 3_... Yeah, we can get him to charge right past us, and into something that'll stun him.

So right at the last second, Liara gets out of the way, causing Tazzik to go barging right past her. A split second later, I've hit the release on the nearby door, and Tazzik thunders through, unable to change direction. I raise my pistol, stepping into the room quickly as a loud crash suddenly sounds. I look ahead, and see the larger salarian stumbling away from a wall. He just looks really dizzy right there, but he snaps out of it quickly.

I hear him growl as he sets his eyes on me. Oh, dear, that's not good... I raise my pistol and quickly fire off a couple shots. However, his shields reflect the shots, even as he slowly stalks in my direction. I frown, firing off a few more shots that wear away at his shields. Okay, just one shot to the head...

I fire the shot.

And then watch as this weird protective white thing flares up around his entire body.

...

What?

I fire a few more shots, seeing that he's now protected by something I've never seen before. It's deflecting everything, and unfortunately it doesn't look like it's a barrier that can be whittled down eventually.

...

Oh, that is just _cheap_!

He walks right up to me, and before I know it, he's sending a fist in my face. Fortunately, I see it coming, and am able to duck below it. All right, asari martial arts, don't fail me now! I deliver a sweep kick below Tazzik, which the salarian dodges by jumping up. It gives me purchase to rise up and deliver a punch to his midsection. He's anticipated this, though, and he grabs my fist quickly. He then tosses me behind him, and I slide for a couple feet. Okay, maybe fighting him hand to hand in armor isn't the best idea, but what can I do?

I skid to a halt just as I see the others go through the door. I look at them as they raise their weapons.

"Don't shoot!" I shout. "He's got this thing where he-!"

Tali is the first one to ignore my warning. And of course, I turn back and see the mass accelerator rounds just ricochet off the white barrier thing that's covered his body. I look back to the others, even as they scowl.

"...can deflect all the things you shoot him with," I finish.

I hear Tali swear at this, and I glance back at Tazzik to see him approaching where I'm laying down. Crap, crap, get out of-

"Then I guess we're doing this the old-fashioned way."

I turn, seeing Jarel rushing right up to where we are as he stows away his pistol. Tazzik simply raises his grenade launcher, but the Spectre is faster. Before he can even fire off a round, Jarel is there, diverting its aim. I see Tazzik fire a shell that impacts against a wall on the opposite side of the room we're in. My barriers take the brunt of the explosion, but it takes them completely out. Also, I swear I can feel a faint stinging sensation in my right leg somewhere.

Not important right now. I stand up, watching as Jarel delivers a strange kind of karate chop thing to Tazzik's arm. This gets him to drop the grenade launcher, which the Spectre then kicks away from the both of them so it lands next to me.

Right, I'll take that! I grab the rocket launcher and hand it right to Shepard, just as I see Thane rushing forward in much the same manner.

I turn my attention back to the fight that's going down, seeing Jarel narrowly dodge a kick being delivered by the larger salarian. The drell runs right up almost immediately, grabbing the leg in question quickly and giving a slight yank. The larger salarian falls, but he's got good reflexes as he lands on his hands. He uses the momentum to push himself back up. On the rise, he manages to nail Jarel in the face, sending the smaller salarian stumbling back.

I see Tali pull the knife she always has sheathed at her feet soon after, looking at me. "Art, have you ever tossed a knife before?"

I shake my head. "Uh, no," I reply. "It could bounce off the thing."

"Shouldn't someone be there helping them in the fight?" asked Liara.

I look over at Thane, who's just released a biotic attack at Tazzik. This sends the large salarian flying back, but he still lands on his feet. However, this gives Jarel enough time to recover. Hm...

"Thank you for volunteering, Liara," I mention, grabbing her arm with a certain amount of force before gesturing to Tazzik. "Keep him busy while we try to figure out how to incapacitate him."

With this, I pull her forward, but by the time she's past me she gets the general idea. Thus, when I let go, she uses the momentum already gained to rush straight at Tazzik. She glows blue for a second, rearing her hand in a punch. Soon after, she charges at Tazzik, and manages to deliver a punch to the huge salarian's gut just as he dodged Thane. Liara steps back, noting the slightly winded expression on Tazzik's face.

"I've wanted to do that for a _long _time!" she says.

The fight between Jarel, Liara, Thane, and the huge Shadow Broker goon goes on for a bit, and then I turn my attention to Tali.

"Okay, who do we want to handle the knife?" I ask.

"Thane," Tali and Shepard are both quick to mention.

"But why do we need the knife?" Shepard asks.

I shrug. "Well, we can't just shoot the guy," I mention. "That weird little white barrier thing is gonna make sure we can't."

I turn my attention back to the fight to see Tazzik delivering a kick to Liara's chest. He does this, even as he dodges a jumping kick from Thane. The... hitman, I guess, manages to turn just in time to deflect a weird little maneuver by Jarel that looks a bit too similar to Liu Kang's bicycle kick for my liking. Either way, the salarian Spectre crashes to the ground.

Tali sighs. "I'll throw it," she says.

I blink. "Tali, are you su—"

Before I can finish my sentence, the quarian has tossed the knife right at Tazzik. I watch as the knife sails through the air, headed straight towards the confrontation in question. The overly large salarian sees it too, but by then it's too late; time seems to slow down as the blade sinks into the salarian hitman's torso.

Okay, so the barrier thing isn't affected by knives. Good to know.

I see Thane close by, who then takes advantage of this. He grabs the knife, pulling it out of Tazzik's torso. Even as the salarian hitman swats at him blindly, I see Jarel grab his other arm, holding Tazzik in place as best he can as Thane twirls the knife in his hand briefly. He then turns completely around and sinks the knife into Tazzik's back quickly, the hitman letting out another groan of pain. This forces him to his knees, even as Thane is already bringing the knife around.

And right as soon as the knife sinks into Tazzik's right shoulder... yeah, three stab wounds never did anything for salarians, did they?

I see the hitman collapse, a look of shock written on his face, After a few seconds, he reaches out to Liara, almost as if he's trying to mentally strangle her. But of course, Thane isn't having any of it, for the knife sinks a final time into Tazzik's back, right around where the heart would be. This causes the salarian hitman to enter rigor mortis, and soon after he expires.

Thane bows his head appreciatively as he takes the knife and wipes the green blood off of it. There's silence, and I look over to everyone.

Wow... we took down a massive salarian. It was a bit harder than we expected. I mean, wow. Go super salarian strength, apparently. I see Thane bend down, offering a prayer... Probably to Kalahira, if I remember correctly. Jarel simply stands there huffing and puffing as he lets go of the hitman's arm, and Liara just stands there, breathing in and out heavily.

"Well... that was a little anticlimactic," Liara immediately mentioned. "I distinctly remember him being a little harder to deal with the last time we met..."

"I guess you had something with him?" I ask.

Liara nods. "Yes," she says. "He was the hitman charged with getting Shepard's body to the Shadow Broker. We had a few close calls with him, but in the end, Feron managed to outsmart him." She sighs. "At least that part's over now…"

I nod. Well, that's all fine and good, but there's something that's bothering me...

"What _was _that barrier thing, anyhow?" I ask.

Jarel, who by this time has come back over to us, glances at us briefly. "I think it's a prototype," he mentions. "A barrier that makes you absolutely invincible to gunfire, provided someone doesn't get a lucky break with destroying it." He shrugs.

"You think the Shadow Broker's going to have that weird white barrier thing?" I ask.

"I think so," says Shepard, looking around.

"Well... we'll have to figure out what to do when we get there," says Liara. "There may be something in this room on Feron's location..."

...

Wow, we were so concentrated on fighting Tazzik we completely forgot to check the room. It's weird. I see a huge door over there that looks kind of locked. Hm... If my time playing any Legend of Zelda games is telling me anything, it's that the Broker himself will be right behind that door. But we have other issues. Like... where the hell is Feron?

After a minute or so of wandering the room, I think I know where he is. For I walk further into the room, noticing a door near a console. The panel is green, so... Hm... I wonder what is in there. I walk forward, frowning as I open the door.

And then, the door opens into a little walkway. I turn towards the walkway, raising an eyebrow. Okay, what is this? I see... a control panel there. Okay, so... beyond that glass is obviously something... I take a tentative step forward, looking past the huge windows. And when I do... Oh, God, now I wish I hadn't seen that!

I step further into the room, looking at the contraption in front of me. It's this huge little thing, with what looks like a surgical table in the center of it. It has all these apparatii all around, all these... electrostatic aparatii. And they all look primed and ready to shock something. And then, there's medical equipment there too. Like it's meant to keep something alive. Or someone, given that there's a person strapped down to the table. He's a rainbow-ish colored drell, with teal being a prominent color on his scales. Some of the scales look a little... burnt, though. Like he's been strapped to this thing for a while.

So this is a drell... And Liara mentioned that Feron was a drell, so...

"Holy shit... He's still alive..."

No sooner do I say this when I hear footsteps in the walkway. I turn to see Shepard and Liara walking in. Liara notices the contraption right away, and then I see her expression shift. Jarel walks in soon after, but Liara's already running to the control panel.

"Feron!" she says, removing all doubt as to the identity of the drell strapped to the surgical table.

The drell in question stirs, looking right at us as Tali and Thane file into the room last. He looks up at Liara, blinking in confusion. "L... Liara?" he asks.

"Feron, you'll be all right!" says Liara as she immediately begins manipulating the panel in front of us. "We'll get you out of there!"

"N-no," says Feron. "Don't-" He's then interrupted by being shocked. He lets out a loud yell of pain, and it's so piercing I have to cover my ears.

Almost by instinct, Liara backs away from the control panel. Sure enough, it stops shocking Feron. "What...?"

"It's rigged directly into my body," Feron mentions, looking at Liara. "I'm connected to the Broker's main information network. If you get me out now, my brain cooks. You have to shut down the central power first."

Jarel steps forward then. "Are you sure about that?" asked the salarian. "Maybe there's a way we can get you out of there without… cooking your brain."

"I don't know..." says Feron with a defeated expression.

"Perhaps there may be something I can do to help," Jarel offers. "My expertise is not electronics, but I may know something that can help." He turns to the commander immediately. "With your permission, I could go down there and see what I can do."

Shepard nods. "You go ahead and do that," says Shepard. "And as soon as he's out of there, you make sure he's given some medical attention."

The salarian nods. "Yes, Commander," he says. With this, Jarel exits the room, leaving us with Feron. Shepard looks over at Feron, taking a deep breath.

"Do you think you can tell us anything about the Shadow Broker?" she asks, looking at the drell.

Feron stirs where he is. "I never got a good look," he says. "But he's big, and not everyone that goes in there gets out."

Hm... So that narrows down the possibilities. Okay, so the Shadow Broker is possibly a krogan. Which... doesn't really strike me as being all that convincing, honestly. I mean, if the Broker was a krogan... That would just mean that he's in the wrong place for that. I dunno, this is pretty complex. We'll have to see when we get in there.

Oh God. I just realized I'm going to be seeing the Shadow Broker himself soon. This is gonna be a doozy, and my heart's already flying at a really fast speed. Okay, Art, calm down. We'll kill the Shadow Broker, and then everything will be all happy again. Feron will be safe, Liara will be satisfied, and everyone will be better off for it. I think, anyhow. Just remember that when you look at the Broker, and you'll be fine.

"I see..." says Shepard. "How do we turn off the central power?"

"I don't-" and then he's shocked again, writhing in pain.

"I think the Shadow Broker is trying to keep him from answering certain questions," says Tali, looking at the drell below us.

Shepard nods. "Damn it," she says. She then looks to Liara, who is in turn looking at Feron. "We're going to have to get the Shadow Broker, then."

"Oh... Of course." The asari nods her agreement. Her gaze then turns to the captive drell as we see Jarel walk within view of the contraption he's stapped to. "Feron... Stay calm. Whether they get you out or we do, we'll get you out of there. I promise."

"Be fast," says Feron.

And with this, we all know the conversation has come to a stop. So we all file out of the room, and Liara gets this incredibly resolute look on her face. We turn around in the room, and there's the door to the Broker's hub. Or the way to it anyhow. I take in a deep breath, looking at Shepard with a resolute nod.

"All right, we've seen what this Broker can do, Shepard," I mention. "I say it's time we went in and showed him what we're made of."

"Make that four of us." Shepard grabs her assault rifle as everyone else brandishes a weapon. Soon after, we walk right up to the door closest to us. That opens, but we find it's only a hallway to another door. Okay... just a little further... and we're at another door.

All right... This is the moment of truth. Here I am, finally about to find out what the Shadow Broker is. This is going to be crazy! This is going to be insane! This... is going to be one hell of a doozy.

We enter through the door, and then I see an absolutely massive figure sitting at a desk... He's got about eight eyes or something, with gigantic horns on the top of his head. He looks kind of like a beast of some sort, I don't really know. His mouth looks really, really wierd, and he's huge.

... Okay, there are three thoughts in my mind. One, nobody should be this grotesquely large. Two, this guy is one ugly son of a bitch. Three, Cronenberg would be all over this son of a bitch.

All these things lead to one question:

What the hell is this guy? Hell, it's not even a Bioware race! What, did someone decide to throw a curveball at me? I don't know... But... No, it couldn't have been in the game. They had already introduced the drell and the vorcha in ME2: if they'd want to reveal anything, it would have to be the females of all these species. I know they handwave the existence of salarian females, but what about turian and krogan females?

Well, no matter what the case, he's broken one of the cardinal rules of the galaxy; you never mess with Commander Shepard. Ever. So he's going down, no matter how big he is.

I frown as the five of us come up and look at the broker. I lift up my gun and see Thane, Tali, Shepard, and Liara all do exactly the same thing. Liara's expression is hardened... can't say I blame her after finding out what the broker did to Feron for two years straight. Right... I look over to the Broker, seeing him hold his hands out in front of him on the desk.

"Breaking into my base..." he says. Whoah... his voice is deep, boomy, and his mouth movements are ridiculously wierd. "Reckless, even for you, Commander."

"That bombing on Illium wasn't exactly subtle," comments Shepard with her gun held out in front of us.

"Extreme, but necessary," comments the Broker.

Liara's frown hardens as she looks at this strange fucking alien. "No it wasn't!" she says. "Neither was caging Feron for two years!"

The broker simply casts a sidelong glance at Liara, his voice gravelly as he speaks again. "Dr. T'Soni, your intereference caused all this," he says. "Feron betrayed me when he handed you Shepard's body. The drell was simply paying the price."

I frown at him as Shepard's grip on her gun tightens. "Someone was bound to come after you after working with the Collectors," she comments.

"It was a mutually beneficial partnership." Oh, come on! Really, Shadow Broker? I call bullshit! "Fortunately, the Normandy's IFF will let me salvage the remains of the Collector's base."

Oh, really? We're not here to let you walk onto the Normandy and kill everyone, especially not the Brotherhood. Fuck you, Broker!

Shepard seems to feel the same way, and we're all frowning pretty harshly at the Shadow Broker. Finally, she gestures with a sutle tilt of her gun. "It'll be pretty hard to run a ship this size with no crew," she adds.

"They're replacable," he comments nonchalantly. "Your arrival is barely an interruption." He glances at all of us briefly, and I can tell he's sizing us up very, very quickly. Yeah, having eight eyes can probably help with that. "Enough talk. My operations are too crucial to be compromised by a traitor."

Liara's grip on her pistol visibly tightens. "You're quite confident for someone with nowhere left to hide," she says, her glance hard as she looks at the monstrous alien.

"As are you," comments the alien, looking to us. "You travel with fascinating companions, doctor. There is the Commander, of course..." His eyes rest on Thane, and I can see something twitch just behind his face... Some fin-like thing? I dunno. "Bringing an assassin was a shrewd move, doctor. I will send Kolyat my regards."

Before he can say much more, Shepard steps forward. "If you or any of your agents lay one hand on Kolyat, I can guarantee you will all be killed in the most brutal ways imagineable."

"_Siha_, are you certain about doing that?" asks the assassin.

"I'll scour the entire damn galaxy for them if I have to," says Shepard. "But these people aren't laying a hand on your son. Not while I'm here."

Thane simply nods, but it looks like the Shadow Broker has flashed some kind of grin. "I had heard rumors about a relationship between you two," says the broker. "It is strange to see they are true. But for now, we have other companions to concern ourselves with."

With this, his eyes settle on Tali. "Interesting choice bringing the quarian, doctor," she says. "Her team on Haestrom died under her inept command. Had someone else been in charge, they likely would have survived."

I frown, but before I can say anything Tali is already on saying stuff. "I'll have you know their sacrifices were not in vain, you _bosh'tet!_" she exclaims angrily. "And they were loyal to the end! How _dare_ you speak of them that way!"

"And besides, not all of them died," I point out. "And you don't know how revered she is back at the Fleet regardless! So fuck you, and shut the hell up!"

And then his eyes settle on me. "I will not take such a course of action," he simply states. "And I am aware of high opinions of her on the fleet. But this is all trivial. Since you have spoken... I must say, you are the most fascinating of all of her companions." He then turns his gaze to the doctor as his enormous arms shift at his desk. "Tell me, Dr. T'Soni: has Mr. ********* ever told you the whole truth about where he's from?"

I move to make a comeback, but right before I can, Liara speaks. "He told me he's from Earth," she says. "And from America! Or some country like that. He never got too specific about it."

"Do you ever wonder why that is?" asks the Shadow Broker, all eight of his eyes blinking at exactly the same time.

...

Ah, shit.

"What are you implying?" asks Liara, holding her gun. I can see her frown lessen slightly, though... Oh, shit.

The broker's face is impassive as he shifts slightly in his seat. "I would think that as an information broker you would look into his history a little further," says the Shadow Broker. "I have looked for his records on Earth. Curiously, as soon as we touch his planet of origin, his trail vanishes. There are no medical records, no history, not even anything as simple as a family picture; it's almost as if he did not exist." He looks back to me. "And in a way, you could say he did not exist originally; isn't it right that you have admitted more than once to not being of this universe?"

I feel the question bearing down on me like a vise, and suddenly I feel very suffocated in the room. I lower my pistol, the shock apparent on my face as I look to the doctor.

"What are you saying?" asks the doctor. "Are you telling me that-?"

"How the fuck did you find out?"

These words are almost squeaked from me, and it immediately causes Liara to stop dead in her tracks with the question she was about to pose the Broker. All eyes fall on me as this is heard. Shit... He knows about my real origins... And he told Liara... Well, there goes pulling her to the side and telling her myself the way it happened with Wrex.

Liara's shock is eminent in how she asks her question. "W... what is he talking about?" she asks.

"I..." I begin, but feel something constrict around my throat as I blink in shock. Jesus Christ... he knows... "It's a long story. To make it short; I am from Earth, but it's not the same Earth you know right now; it's an earth from around 175 years ago. I... I was planning on telling you after all this, but-"

She shakes her head, her frown returning as she raises her pistol again. "Then you can tell me after, like you planned," she says, gritting her teeth. "For now, it doesn't change the fact that we're both enemies of the Shadow Broker. And this will end here!"

"It is pointless to challenge me, asari," replies the Shadow Broker as he looks at her. "I know your every secret, while you stumble in the dark."

The asari scientist looks over at the Broker with hate in her eyes. "Is that right?" she says. Oh, dear, I'm guessing Liara knows about this thing? "You're a yahg, a pre-space-flight species quarantined to their homeworld for massacring the Council's first contact teams. This base is older than your planet's discovery, which means you probably killed the original Shadow Broker sixty years ago, then took over. I'm guessing you were taken from your world by a trophy hunter who wanted you as a slave... or a pet." The silence after she says this is palpable, only broken when she speaks again.

"How am I doing?"

In response, the... yahg? I guess? I dunno. He stands up... Holy shit, is this guy huge. Wrex would really get a kick out of a fight with him... Right?

... I can't believe we're fighting this... thing. I really don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do against it. But easy, this isn't gonna be. I move about, keeping my pistol more or less level as I pass behind Shepard so that I'm on her left side now, Tali doing the same as Liara and Thane both shift to her right. I gaze up in awe at his size.

And then, faster than I can say anything, his hand comes down on his desk, breaking the thing in half and sending a few sparks flying as I flinch in shock. But before I can react, both of his hands are around his desk, picking it up like it's a pebble...

And then it's flying towards us.

I don't even bother to say anything, I jump to the side as quickly as I can, but it's not until I feel a pair of arms wrap around my waist that I really feel myself get propelled. I miss the piece of debris by a mere half an inch, and then I fall to the floor as I hear a great crash just behind me. Damn, whatever happened to that desk, it's probably not pretty. I feel myself go down with a thud, along with whoever's holding my waist.

I quickly stand up, looking in front of me to see the Shadow Broker whip out this weird chain gun like thing. My hair stands on end, watching as Tali gets back up behind me. I look to the side to see Liara and Shepard standing up, and to see Thane... Crap, Thane's out of the fight, if the fact that he's unconscious against the pillar on the far end of the room says anything.

I look to the Broker in surprise, quite shocked to see him pull the mini-gun out on us. Crap... crap...

Pillar!

I rush behind the pillar, holding my pistol tight to my body as the Broker starts firing it at us. I see Tali jump out of the way, getting behind a pillar different from mine. Shepard simply has no fear, though, for she lets loose a bunch of rounds at the Shadow Broker. These impact against whatever shields he has, taking them down as Liara tosses a biotic warp at the Broker. This quickly whittles down his shields, but it does concentrate his fire on them. So with this in mind, I peer out of cover, firing a few shots at him as they bounce off against his shields. He's got a lot of them, and we just go around trading spots as the Broker advances towards us and fires his chain gun.

Okay... a few more shots should do it... and... The barrier is down...

And then I see that white thing again.

Of _course _the Shadow Broker would have that.

I frown, shaking my head as Shepard walks up, holstering her gun and cracking her knuckles. "This again," she states in a very unamused manner. "Everyone, stay back!"

With this, she charges the Broker, going in with a right hook. This gets the broker in the face, and causes him to slightly lose his grip on the chain gun. The Broker looks rather pissed off with this, so he swipes a hand at Shepard that she narrowly dodges. She goes in to kick the Broker, but this time she gets swatted away by the hand.

And then, when she lands, I see the Broker pull out this strange energy shield thingamabob that looks like a shield from Dragon Age... Wow, that's a weird choice of weapon. However, it looks to be feeding off energy of some sort. However, it also means that the white blocks-all-mass-accellerator-rounds thing is off, so that means we can shoot at his shields again.

Joy.

So then, we go around the room, watching as the Broker shoots at us with his chain gun. However, it's now harder to get a round on his kinetic barriers, because of the shield apparatus he's got. Now that's just directly blocking our shields, and I realize this just as I'm reloading. I take a deep breath, steadying myself. Okay, Art, calm down, you can do this.

Okay. Now... I check my pistol once again-

-and then I promptly feel myself get launched forward, falling a few feet so that I land on the ground in front of me. What the...?

I look back, and then see the Shadow Broker looking down at me menacingly. Oh my...

I scramble to my feet, but by the time I've gotten up the rounds have penetrated my shield. Oh, fuck this is not good. I run as fast as I can, but I think the Broker anticipated this, for then I feel a really sharp pain in my foot right as I round the corner.

I let out a really loud hiss of pain, and nearly stumble for a second. Fuck... Gotta keep moving, gotta keep moving, gotta keep moving... I move back into cover before the Broker can shoot anything more vital than that, and take a deep breath as I feel the pain in my foot.

Mother_fuck_er, that hurts. Oh, God... I open my omni-tool, applying medigel to it. Okay... Wow, that feels so much better. I stand back up, only to wince when I put pressure on it. Okay... Just be careful with that foot, Art.

Yeah... chain gun rounds would render me nearly crippled, wouldn't it? I lean against cover as I watch the Broker walk back where his desk used to be.

I glance to the other side as I very slowly and laboriously make my way so that I'm behind cover in relation to where the Broker is. I then glance over cover to see Shepard and Liara talking to each other. Hm... Well, it's more like Liara telling Shepard something. I'll bet she has an idea of some sort. Well, if it takes care of the Broker, I'll be a happy man.

I glance to Tali, who looks right at the Broker as he charges for her pillar. However, she manages to jump away in time, and gets a few shots on the Broker's kinetic barriers. With this, she runs clear to the other side of the room, diverting the Broker's fire from me. I nod, making a mental note to thank her for that later as the Broker walks back to the center of the room.

I then see the white barrier thing go up again. Oh, dear, here we go.

I watch Shepard rush at the Broker. The Broker seems ready for this, and charges at her. He swings his shield at her to get her off balance right as he approaches. However, Shepard seems to anticipate this, and rolls to the side of the Broker's shield. She then jumps up, looking at the Broker.

And the Broker is right where Liara wants him, it looks like, for then Shepard backpedals like _crazy_. "_Now_, Liara!"

With this command, I see the asari glow blue from the other side of the room. She raises a single fist, and it's only then that I notice what is directly above the Broker.

And you'd think that I'd have noticed it earlier, given that it's this field of white electricity that is only separated from the Broker himself by a thick layer of glass. Liara seems to be working on making that more difficult, however, as the glass cracks under pressure. I see the Broker look up, and then at Liara, who is grunting in concentration.

Oh, no! You are _not _doing that, Broker!

I come out of cover as quickly as I can, feeling immense pain in my foot as I aim my pistol. I then fire a few shots at him. Lot of good that'll do against that white barrier thing, but that's not what I'm aiming for. He then turns to me, looking at me like he can't believe what I've just done.

What an idiot right? Well, Broker, not as much as you'd think.

For then, I hear a huge groan above us, and the thousand little licks of static electricity that just got released as they grow in intensity. The Shadow Broker looks at us as Liara brings her hands down to the floor, the glass shattering all-mightily around us. For a second, the silohuette of the Shadow Broker is visible in the white lightning as it rains down and gathers around the giant creature. His eyes glower madly at us, but before long, he gets vaporized by the lightning that is all around him. Soon after, it results in a small explosion that nearly takes my hearing with it. I lean harder against the pillar I'm leaning against, ignoring the pain as best I can as suddenly, the lights go out all around us.

When I open the eyes I hadn't realized I had closed, the lights had powered back on. I look back to see that the electricity thing isn't falling through the huge hole that's in the glass now, and then I see Liara and Shepard standing there as they walk in. The Broker is nothing but a pile of ashes now, I'm sure of it. Well... even the ashes got vaporized. I lean back, literally hopping on my good foot as we all come to the center.

Well, except Tali, who's helping Thane out of the debris. Great, so Thane joins us in the fight, only to wake up soon after it goes down. He stands, a little wobbly at first, but no worse for wear than he was before. We all look at each other with rather confused looks on our faces.

I... I think we just killed the Shadow Broker. Wow... I... I don't even know what to say to that. We just killed the most secretive person in the entire galaxy. That's just... I have no idea what I'm supposed to say to that. I really don't. That's just... yeah.

Before I can realize just how awesome it is, though, we see something come up on this huge holographic projector just in front of us.

"_Shadow Broker, this is operative Morat. We have had a momentary connection failure. Can you confirm status?_"

...

Oh, _shit!_ Shit, we should've thought about that. Oh, fuck, we are so screwed now...

Liara walks up to the panel as a chorus of voices start coming on, all asking for the Shadow Broker to confirm that the network is still online. She looks around as various windows pop up, all showing sound waves that come up. Oh dear... this isn't good. I watch as Liara looks around, and then bows her head slightly. Oh dear, is she...?

She then walks up to the panel in question, and starts inputting a bunch of commands. I then watch as she enlarges a window.

"This is the Shadow Broker," she says. I feel my hairs stand on their very tips as soon as I hear this. Holy shit, is she...? "The situation is under control."

... Yes. Yes, she is.

"We experienced a power fluctuation while upgrading hardware," she continues. "It disrupted communications momentarily." I hear the sound of a pistol being drawn soon after, and then look back to the entrance to see Feron running in, holding up a pistol that's aimed at where Liara is standing. I see Jarel walk in soon after, also holding a pistol aimed at Liara's general direction.

Liara doesn't seem to notice. "However, we are now back online. Resume standard procedures. I want a status report on all operations within the next day."

She then looks right at the screen.

"Shadow Broker, out."

A tense silence is felt throughout the room, and I glance back to Feron. He lets down his pistol, looking at Liara with a look of disbelief on his face. "Liara... Is...?"

"The Shadow Broker's gone, Feron," she says. "Everyone who's ever seen him in person is dead, so..."

"Is taking over as the Shadow Broker really a good idea?" Shepard asks uncertainly.

"It was either that or lose everything," replies the asari. "His contacts, his trading sources. Those will really help us." She walks over to the console again. "With the Shadow Broker's information network... I can give you..." She hesitates slightly as she approaches the console. "I can..."

I hear an uncomfortable silence take hold of the room, before someone coughs. "I'm... I'm going to go check on the engine," says Jarel.

Feron nods. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea." With this, he followed Jarel out of there. Tali and Thane simply watch them leave, and then the door closes behind them.

When it does, I look to Liara, who looks more than a little stressed out about the whole thing. Or, rather, that a huge weight has been lifted off her shoulders. She lets out a deep exhale as her expression falls again. Shepard walks up to her, giving the asari a nod as I hear her exhale.

"It's over..." I hear Liara whisper. "Two years... and it's finally over."

"Hey," says Shepard, looking at her with a glance of understanding. "It's all right." She gives Liara a very sisterly hug soon after this, which I see Liara sob into slightly. I nod, letting out a deep exhale as I watch the two reconnect over... something, I dunno what. They hold it there, neither one of them saying a thing. Finally, they part, and Liara nods.

And then her gaze turns to me.

...

_Shit_, I completely forgot about the fact that the Broker basically just revealed me.

But when I see Liara's approach, I don't see her getting all pissed off. I just see her... looking kind of confused about something. Hm... I guess she got her aggression out during the battle.

"But... there's still one thing I need to check before we look at our options," she says. "The Shadow Broker mentioned you said you were from another universe. Is... is that true?"

Well, there's no avoiding it. I was planning on telling her whether or not the Broker himself said anything anyway, so I might as well. "Well... it's actually a lot more complicated than that," I say. "And I know that you probably won't believe any of it if I just tell you. So..." I swallow, looking right up at her.

"Meld with me."

The room is dead silent soon afterwards, and even Liara reels back in shock. Tali isn't as shocked as the rest of them, but... I bit this came kind of out of nowhere for everyone else. Hey, what can I do, right?

"W... W-what?" asks a now thoroughly shocked Liara.

"It's the only way to know for sure, right?" I ask. "You share memories when you meld with another being. I can't hide anything from you, so... meld with me."

"It's an exhausting process," she says. "And there's so much I need to do." Before I can reply, though, she nods. "But... you do have a point." She steps forward. "Have you ever done this, Art?"

I shake my head. "Haven't had the will to until now," I say. "Trust me, I think you're gonna flip when you see some of the things I've got on my mind."

"I don't doubt it," says Liara. She then walks right up to me, so that we're standing directly in front of each other. "Try to relax, Art. Think of the energies of the universe that surround you. Imagine yourself becoming one with these energies." She closes her eyes at this. "And imagine that you can see everything in the galaxy, every little action, every little creature..."

She then opens her eyes, looking directly at me as she does so. They're black as night, and uncompromising to boot.

"Embrace eternity!"

Before I know what has happened, I feel myself get pulled in, and the rest of the world around us fades away.

* * *

><p>When the world phases in around us, I see-<p>

Whoah!

"What the fuck? How the fuck are we in the Fade?"

I look to the impossible landscape around me, even as Liara walks by. Holy shit... we're in a field of visions! I look to the asari, who's given me a confused glance.

"The Fade?" she asks. "I've heard this place get called many things, but the Fade? How do you even know what it is?"

"Long story," I reply, grabbing her hand as I look to the orbs. "Let's just say this isn't the first time I've been down here. What I wanna know is how the hell you got down here in the first place."

"It's... this is what embracing eternity is," she says. "We see into each other's minds, and we become one for a brief second. Usually, though, it manifests as something else entirely. This is the first time I've ever seen anyone who's aware enough of this place to give it physical form... I've just never seen a mind like this."

"You mean plain of subconscious," I say, looking at each circle. "Liara, if you dream hard enough, you can get down here too. Embracing eternity apparently isn't the only way to get all the way down here. Now come on. I have stuff I need to show you." I begin walking through the field, grabbing Liara by the hand. "What's a good memory... Hm... No..." I sift through the memories while tugging a very insecure Liara around. "Not that one... All right, this will be good."

I walk right up to one vision with Liara being visibly confused. "What are you talking about?" she asks. "You're confusing me even more than I thought possible."

I shrug. "It's a really long story," I say. "Let's just say the Protheans knew more than they were letting on, and that they had discovered how to go all the way to your base subconscious. It's a long story, and doesn't at all relate to what you're about to find out." I look to her. "Now, prepare yourself. You're in for quite a doozy."

With this, I touch the sphere of my plain of subconscious, closing my eyes as I feel the vision take form around us.

When I open my eyes, I open them to see myself back on the street that my school stood on. I blink, seeing all the trees around us. Hm... We're in autumn right now, apparently, what with all of them being red and stuff. And all the people in jackets, that too.

I turn to Liara, who looks shocked at all the other people. "Where... where are we?"

I shrug. "We're... around a hundred and seventy six years into the past," I mention. "Back where I came from." I glance to my school. "This is where I went to school, before I wound up on the Citadel. And in fact..."

I watch as an exact copy of me walks out of the school. He walks down the stairs leading up to the doors, and then goes off to the right. I see him wave at someone else before moving on... Hm, that was Kevin and Justin again... I gesture to my copy, looking at Liara the whole while. Finally, she seems to move, but her expression does not betray her confusion.

"So this is time travel?" she asks.

I shake my head. "More than that," I say as we walk around the city, following my copy. "You'll see why in a second. For now, though... this is what I had to get used to."

"Goddess..." says Liara, looking at all the people as they walk around minding their own business. "I never thought... what was the year here?"

"This... is 2009, if I remember correctly," I mention. "I came here in 2010 in my home universe. I jumped about a hundred and seventy three years into the future."

"That's..." She looks around. "This looks like a pre-space flight civilization, all right. From what I know, the yahg were like this. I can't believe this is what you came from... How did you get used to being thrust onto the Citadel?"

I nod, closing my eyes. "That's... the other thing."

When I open my eyes, we're back in the field of visions. "Okay... There was a different vision... here we are!" I walk forward, touching another orb as I grab Liara's hand again. I feel the world take form, and when I open my eyes I'm back in my apartment, sitting in front of my laptop. It's night outside, and... Yep, I'm playing _Mass Effect_there. I gesture to the laptop in question, pointing it out.

"Look at what's on the screen," I tell her.

Liara leans forward, frowning. "What in... What is that?" she asks.

"That... is something really crazy about me that only a small handful of people in this galaxy know about," I reply. "I think the Shadow Broker might've known about this too, but... You haven't." I take a deep breath. "I think it's time you finally knew the whole truth about how much I knew back then."

With this, her attention turns to the screen. With luck, it's turned to a dialogue screen, which shows my second Shepard there... There's good ol' Arthur Shepard. I nod. Okay, this is more or less how I remember it, with Liara and Ashley standing in the back, talking to... I think it was the Shiala clone at the Thorian.

At this, I see Liara's expression shift. "That's... That's the Thorian!" says Liara, recognizing it instantly. "And that's me, and Chief Williams. Though... I don't know who that man is."

"He's a Commander Shepard from another time, in another place," I mention. "It's a long story. But... you remember most of this, right?"

"Yes... yes I do..." she says. "But how? It was nearly a hundred and seventy six years before we met you..."

I nod. "Well, here's where things get really weird," I reply. "In my home universe, everything that's happening here was all part of a game series called _Mass Effect_. I was just a player of that game who happened to get sucked right into it by doing stuff. Long story, it would take a lot of explaining for you to figure it all out, and you'll have enough on your mind as it is when you try to wrap your head around the fact that it meant I knew everything that was going to happen thanks to playing this game."

And sure enough, Liara is dumbstruck. She's silent for a minute or so, trying to think of a reply as we stand there in the vision. Finally, she shakes her head. "You mean... You knew everything that was going to happen?" she asked. "Including Shepard's death and what just happened with the Shadow Broker?"

"It's... a bit more complicated than that," I say. "Yeah, I knew what was gonna happen, but some things changed. Shepard's death was one of the things that_didn't_change, actually, so... But there were other things that changed. You remember Tali's father? If things had gone totally according to how they had in the game, he'd be dead." I let this sink in before nodding. "And for another, I... lost that precognition after we went through the Omega 4 Relay. We only had two games in the series when I had gotten here, and I certainly didn't know what the Shadow Broker was. Hell, I don't even know what a yahg is, so from here on out I have no idea about what's going on."

Liara turns away from me, her body language expressing major disbelief. "I... I don't know what to make of this," she says. "First I find out you're from another universe, and then I find out that you could figure out what was going to happen next. And then... I don't know what to make of this, Art. This is just... I don't want to believe this is true, and yet... here we are, in the middle of the meld, where you can't lie to me at all."

I nod as the vision fades around us. Soon enough, we're back in the Fade proper, where I look to Liara. "Yeah, it's a lot to take in," I mention. "But imagine where I've been standing all these years. It's been like a really long dream for me, watching things unfold that I knew about well before hand. And then... I dunno, Liara, it's been weird. But I imagine this is all a lot for you to take in."

"I don't know," she says. "I'll have to think about this. For now... I think I've seen more than enough." She nods. "You know, I susually experience this as a flurry of memories, and usually the right one just comes to me."

I nod. "I kinda figured that," I say. "This is the first time it's ever been lucid for you, right?"

"Yes," replies the asari. "I don't know... I need to figure this out. In the meantime..."

The Fade begins to fade out all around us, and I blink as we return to the real world.

* * *

><p>When we're back to reality, Liara blinks, her eyes returning to normal. She nods, looking at me.<p>

"As I said in there, I'll have to think about it," she says. "For now..." She glances at the control panel close by. "We need to consider our options."

She then walks up to the Shadow Broker's panel tentatively, looking at it. She takes a minute to collect herself first, taking a couple deep breaths. Yeah, after the bombshell I dropped on her, she's gonna need to come back from that. I watch her nod briefly, and then she scans everything around her.

"No safeguards or user restrictions..." she notes. "It's like he never anticipated anyone but himself being here." She looks back to Shepard. "And it's all ours."

"Funding too?" asks Shepard as she walks forward. "Because we could use some of that."

"I imagine so," says Liara. "As for what files there are... I'm not sure. You will have to come back later. I need to look through all this." She steps back from the panel. "All I wanted was to rescue Feron. But... is it wrong that a small part of me wants this?" She turns to face the people still in the room soon after. "With this information network, I can help you. Maybe turn this operation into something better." She glances briefly back to the console that we were in front of. "I... need to sift through this."

Shepard nods, looking at Liara. "It's been good seeing you, Liara," she says. "I'll hang around Hagalaz for a day or two, and then set off for the Citadel. I'll stop by before I leave."

"Yes," says Liara. "That would be good."

The Commander nods. "Don't be a stranger this time."

"Small chance of that," replies the new Shadow Broker. "I'll look forward to your visit before you leave."

And with this, Shepard turns, walking out of there. Soon after, Thane follows along too. Before I turn to follow them, I glance back at Liara, who simply stands there. I see her expression soften for the shortest moment possible, and then she nods at me. I smile back. Don't be a stranger, Liara. It's been good seeing you again.

With this, I turn to Tali, who offers her shoulder. I nod, leaning against it as I limp my way back to the Normandy.


	4. Chapter 3

_A/N: All right, last time we had the LotSB DLC go by! And crazy times were had for everyone._

_So this chapter, we wind it down quite a bit. Why? Well... this chapter is going to be all about the SB Dossiers. Well, almost all about them, anyway. We have a couple more revelations, so... yeah. Oh, and Art's dossier makes an appearance, so remember that._

_Crazy times are had with that. Trust me, after this chapter, things will get crazy in a way you wouldn't expect. So stay tuned, and for now, let's have dialogue!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: The Journey Begins<p>

"Ow! That stings!"

"I did tell you it would sting."

"Yeah, you did. Still, I didn't expect it to sting that much."

"Of course. Be careful with your foot for the next two days. Those are critical to your recovery. Come back tomorrow, and I can apply some other procedures to speed the process along. Until then, you are to use a crutch to help you walk everywhere, and as it so happens, I have a couple here on the SR-3."

With this, Dr. Chakwas hands me a crutch. I look down at my foot again, seeing it wrapped up in a rather large bandage around where the Broker's chain gun round entered it.

I smirk at this. "You gotta love modern medicine," I say. "You know, back in the time period I came from, they'd consider what happened to my foot a very serious injury that could cripple you for life. And yet here, its' 'come back in two days and I can make it all better'."

"Not always," replied Dr. Chakwas. "Some injuries still leave scars. I'm afraid what happened with your foot may be one of those injuries."

I shrug. "Eh, not much you can do about that, right?" I ask. "Besides, it's not like I'm going to go running around barefoot everywhere once this injury is healed."

"That is true," admitted Dr. Chakwas as I move around on the berth. I look up at the doctor, and she smiles. "Well, that should be all. Remember to see me tomorrow, and we'll see what happens there."

I nod, giving the doctor a smile. "Thanks," I say. "You always work the miracles here." At Chakwas' chuckle, I smile. "Oh, and Dr. Chakwas?"

"Yes?"

All right, let's have some fun. "Later today, we're going to have to find some way to kill some darkspawn."

She arches an eyebrow inquisitively at this. "Does that involve drinking their blood, which may or may not kill us?" she asks.

Aha! There we go! "And possibly meeting a Witch of the Wilds along the way," I reply.

"Then I guess I should send a messenger to Highever," the doctor says, giving me a soft smile. I nod at this, even as she turns to look out the window. "You know, since everyone on this ship knows your secret, I am not sure we need that code sign anymore..."

I shrug. "Maybe not," I say. "But it's fun coming up with new code phrases. And I also love confusing the other occupants of the ship if they try to ask."

"Still, I'm not sure it's necessary," said the doctor. "I'm probably not in a position to tell you about what to do to call a Brotherhood meeting, but I think it could use a revamp."

"I'll think about it," I mention, looking at the doctor. "For now... I should probably go a-"

The door to the medical bay opens before I can even stand on my good leg. There stands Shepard and Tali, as well as Jarel Brosca. The three of them enter rather quickly, with Jarel looking rather quickly to where I'm sitting.

Oh dear.

I see the salarian Spectre sit on the berth across from mine. Tali comes right up to my side, with Shepard taking a place close by the berth where I'm standing. I get the sense that Chakwas isn't going to be a part of this conversation, but she still stands around, looking at the bay's new occupants.

"Uh... hi?" I ask.

"Hello, Art," replies Jarel. "I..." He glances to Tali before looking back to me. "I've thought a little about what you proposed. About joining this ship's ground team."

I raise my eyebrows at this, glancing at Shepard and Tali. "Is that why they're here?" I ask.

"No," says the salarian. "They're here for a different reason. But... I've thought about it, and... Well, I think your commander can be really persuasive."

I snort, rolling my eyes as I smirk. My gaze turns to Shepard as soon as he says this. "That's kind of an understatement," I comment. "Right, Shepard?"

"Maybe," says the Commander as she looks right at Jarel. "Don't overinflate my persuasive abilities."

"I'm not," I reply, looking at her with a serious expression. "You have that thing about you where you can just persuade people to take your side on things even if they don't agree with it. It's something I think we all could take."

"I guess," replies Shepard, looking at Jarel. "Anyway..." Jocelyn then gestures to Jarel, who nods as I turn my attention to him.

I nod, getting her implication. "Sorry," I say, looking at Jarel. "Anyway, you were going to say...?"

"Well... I've been thinking a bit, and I realize that you've been doing good things for the galaxy," he says. "And I don't really have any new missions for a while. So... I was thinking I could join the ground team until I got called to do a mission for the Council. So... I've sent them a message that I'll be joining the crew of the Normandy."

Really? Hm. That's nice. "Well," I say, giving him a smile. "That's great! I figured you'd fit right in with all the misfits here!"

Jarel chuckles good-naturedly. "Yes, I can tell," he mentions, looking right outside of the medbay. "Shepard and Tali were just introducing me to most of the ship." He then looks at me. "I must say, it's dangerous behavior bringing a criminal like Jack on board."

I shrug. "She's getting more calm," I reply. "Give her some time, and I think you'll find that she'll actually become quite sociable." I give a hand gesture. "Bad experiences during her childhood. She's actually the most vehemently anti-Cerberus person here. So if it was ever in doubt that Shepard planned on leaving Cerberus some time?"

"And now you're under the funding of the Shadow Broker," the salarian notes. "Considering who the new Shadow Broker is, though, that may not be such a bad thing."

I nod. "Indeed," I say. "But we're dancing around the point here. There's gotta be a different reason for you coming down here."

Jarel nods, leaning in a little closer. "Shepard and Tali may have mentioned that you have been keeping a really big secret from a large part of the galaxy."

...

Yeah, I figured as much. I turn to Tali and Shepard, looking at both of them. "I was planning on telling him myself, you know," I state. "You didn't have to push me into it."

"But he asked about that," replies the quarian. "Besides, you've known Jarel for some time, right?"

I nod, looking back at the salarian. "Yeah, you're right," I mention. "It is about time he found out. Anyway..." I bite my lower lip. "Jarel, fasten your metaphorical seat-belt. This is gonna be a doozy to explain."

And so, I tell him about the fact that I'm not actually from this universe, and that I had precognition for most of my adventures.

* * *

><p>"That... That sounds..."<p>

Yep, he's confused.

"Preposterous?" I ask.

Jarel shakes his head. "Not the word I'm looking for, but that also applies, I think," he replies. "It sounds... complicated."

Pfft. "You have no idea," I reply. "And it's been difficult for a lot of people to take."

"I imagine so." The salarian looks right at me. "I always thought there was something off about you, though. Ever since Virmire, I have to admit."

"Really?" asks Shepard from behind me. "Why didn't you say anything during the brief time you were on the Normandy?"

"He must have had his reasons," Jarel replies. "That is what I assumed, anyway. But now... I think that's underestimating it slightly." He shakes his head, and it's only then that I notice the surprise in his eyes. "I'm still surprised that such a thing can happen, actually. I don't really know what to make of what you just told me."

I shrug. "Very few ever really do," I tell him. "If you need some time to think about it..."

"Yes, that would be good," replies the salarian Spectre. "I need to think about it for now." He then looks right at Shepard. "So we have the geth unit behind the Medical Bay?"

"Yes," says Tali. "I think most of us still get suspicious of Legion, so he never really leaves."

"Oh, this oughta be fun," I say, grabbing the crutch and standing up.

Jarel follows my lead soon after, giving me a rather short look before fixing his attention on the door to the AI Core. "I can't say I trust this geth, Shepard," he says. "If he tries to do anything that can threaten the crew, I will shoot it."

"Very well, but I don't think it'll come to that," mentions Shepard. "Come on."

With this, Shepard and Jarel both walk over to the AI core, Shepard opening the door. I hobble over slowly, looking right at Tali as she nods. Okay, I think the explanation was taken rather well by Jarel. Not sure how that happened yet, but hey, it's a minor victory, and it's better than nothing at this point, so yeah. I then follow Jarel into the AI core as he gets introduced to Legion.

"We suspect that Brosca-Spectre will have plenty of thinking to do before arrival at Citadel."

"I think that's putting it lightly, Legion. This is something completely new."

"It was new for everyone, not just the Council."

"Affirmative. Addendum: this has been a doozy."

...

I burst out laughing without any prompting, so much that I almost lose my grip on my crutch.

Oh, Legion, you are so fun sometimes.

I smile as I look to Jarel. He's still rubbing his chin. "And now it's picking up human catchphrases," he mentioned. "I think you are beginning to rub off on it, actually."

I shrug. "He's very curious about organics."

"It is as *********-Serviceman observes," mentions Legion. "We wish to pose a few inquiries to Brosca-Spectre."

"I know I'd probably like to answer that," replies Jarel. "Shepard, stay a minute, will you? I think I'd like to get some answers myself."

"Suit yourself, Dr. Brosca," replies Shepard as she leans against the bulkhead.

Jarel chuckles softly. "You have to remember that I'm technically no longer a doctor, Shepard," he says simply. "I think... Art, Tali, do you have any further business here?"

"Not that I'm aware of," I say. "Right, Tali?"

"I don't think so either," says the quarian. "So... I guess we'll leave you here?"

"Something like that," says Shepard. "I'll see you two around."

I nod, giving Shepard a smile. "Seeya, Commander," I reply, turning around even as I say this. I nod to Tali, and then we both walk out of the AI Core.

The two of us continue out of the Med Bay, and then I turn to Tali with a rather crooked smile on my face. I nod to Tali, gesturing back to the AI Core. She gets my meaning, and then nods in turn.

"It has been getting quite friendly," she says. "I almost can't believe that a geth is actually making friends with not one, but two Spectres."

"I know," I say, shrugging with my free shoulder. "You wouldn't expect it. I mean, hell, _I _didn't even expect it, and I knew he was gonna be a good guy before any of the rest of you did."

Tali nods, helping me as we go off to get food, I guess. We're headed into the mess area, anyhows. "Yes, that is true," she says. "It feels weird knowing you don't know the future anymore. Are you sure there's no way to check it?"

I glance at Tali, shaking my head. "There is, but by this point it's probably not going to matter," I mention. "Even with knowing everything I did before, it all sort of just changed on me, and when it didn't it was because it was in development long before I came here." I shrug. "And let's not forget the parts that just jumped out at me from nowhere."

The quarian nods, taking a seat next to me briefly. "Including all that stuff about the Prothean prophecy?"

I snort, rolling my eyes. "_Especially _all that stuff about the Prothean prophecy," I reply. "Seriously, all that sort of just came out of nowhere."

"Given where we are now, I can't say I blame you there," replies the quarian. "Speaking of which, you're going to approach Liara about the small thing you found at the base, right?"

I raise my eyebrows, looking at Tali as she helps me into a seated position. Oh, yeah, the cuneiform tablet. I need to get that to Liara soon, don't I? Yes... Yes I do. I better get right on that then. Definitely before we leave for the Citadel.

"Yeah," I said. "I was actually thinking of going onto her ship tomorrow after I get some sleep. I think I'll give it to her then."

Tali nods. "Yeah, that may work," she says. "And now that she's the Shadow Broker, there's really nobody left to find out."

"Well, except her assistants," I point out. I then give her a smile as I take her hand in mine. "So Tali... What do _you _think of the fact that we now have the Shadow Broker in our pocket?"

Tali is not sure what to make of it at first. However, she simply shrugs and looks right at me. "Well..."

And then she goes on to explain her feelings about Liara becoming the Shadow Broker.

Some time later, I drop her off in engineering. She's needed there anyway, even if Liara didn't even dare to touch the drive core. But still, she has to get used to some of the engineering panels, as some of the paneling changed. So I left her with that, but not before leaving a kiss on her hand. Mm... I wish I could just hold her there and do whatever. But we both know she has to return to work.

Better let the engineer do her thing.

I walk out of the engine room, and then a thought occurs to me. Jack and Al. I wonder how they're doing down in the now possibly expanded hidey hole. I think I better go check that stuff out before I do anything else.

* * *

><p>I nod, smiling a rather amused smile as I walk down the stairs to the new hidey hole. I raise my eyebrows as I look around, seeing how new and shiny everything is. Hm... So shiny... This actually looks really freakin' nice. Probably not good for Jack's tastes, but hey, what are ya gonna do, ya know?<p>

I make it to the bottom of the stairs, and sure enough, I see Al and Jack sitting there. The room's expanded a little in size, and now it has room for _two _cots rather than just Jack's. I guess that's where Al is, judging by how both he and Jack are just sitting near where one of the tables used to be. Well, there were two tables, and now there's only one, so... Yeah, crazy times.

And I see Jack and Al looking through a datapad, doing stuff. Hm?

"Hey guys, what's up?"

At this, both of their attentions turn to me.

...

Ah, shit, I came in at a bad time, didn't I? I can tell from Jack's expression this was probably not a good time. What... What happened?

If she shows any signs of weakness, Jack brushes it off almost immediately. "Hey," says Jack. "Art, I've got a question for ya."

"Shoot," I mention. I blink, realizing exactly what I've said. "Well, not _that _shoot, but... Well, you know what I mean."

"Nah, don't worry, I'm not gonna shoot ya like that," she replies. "Then I'd have to explain to Shepard why all your fuckin' blood is on the ground."

"And I doubt that would help anyone," adds Al from next to her.

"Yep, what he said," Jack admits. "Anyway, question: did they mention anything about my life before that Cerberus base we blew up?"

Hm? That's an odd question to ask. I shake my head in reply. "No, not really," I say. "All I know about your past is what you know: that you were always raised in a Cerberus facility. And certainly nothing about where you were born." I shrug, taking a step closer. "Why do you ask?"

"I figured as much," Al mentioned, looking right at me.

Jack nods, walking forward as she holds the datapad. "I just got this from Shepard," she says. "Not sure why, but your new friend the Shadow Broker has been sendin' her a _lot _of files. Shepard sent me this over the extranet about ten minutes ago."

I raise my eyebrows as she holds the datapad up to me. Hm... I guess I better look at it. I take the datapad from her grasp, and start reading it.

Hm... This looks like some kind of conversation log between two people. One of them is a woman... And the other is some kind of doctor. Wait... They're talking about a child here... A child with biotics... And the doctor is telling the woman about how her daughter just died or something, and how they need the body to do some tests of some sort... And when the woman leaves...

Oh. Oh shit.

I blink, my lips pursing together. I glance back at Jack for a few seconds before reading the final few lines.

I...

"Holy shit..." I say, looking back at Jack. "I..." I glance to the side, shaking my head. "Wow. This changes a lot."

"Yeah, you better believe it does," says Jack. The way she says it, though, I don't think she's angry with me. "I always thought my parents had abandoned me when I was a little girl. Along comes Cerberus, and then they start experimenting on me..."

"But as it turns out... you had parents that loved you very much," I finish for her. I'm silent for a brief second, letting this all sink in. Wow, Jack's parents loved her. But of course, they don't know she's alive... I breathe in deeply, closing my eyes for a second or two before nodding. "It kinda makes you think, doesn't it?"

"It made Al think," the biotic is quick to reply. "I don't know about me, but... I guess it must have." She looks away. "I don't know..."

"Do you want to meet them, maybe?" I asked.

"No." Jack's reply is incredibly absolute, like she's already made up her mind.

I blink. "No?" I ask. "But... don't you want to meet them?"

"Jack and I already talked about this," says Al, shifting where he's sitting at the table. "She doesn't want to." He shrugs. "I'm not going to ask why."

I look at Jack then. "I... I don't know," I say. "Don't you want to meet your parents? Maybe just say a few things?"

"Not interested," says Jack. "Art, you're telling me I should go up to them looking like this?" She gestures to herself, showing some of her tattoos and her bald head. "And then tell them that this psycho bitch who I am is somehow their little girl?"

Hm... That _is _a good point. It would be awkward as _hell _to explain that this little girl was their daughter. And... And actually, now that I think about it, she didn't have the experience I did. My parents at least knew me for nineteen years, so if I inexplicably came back from the dead to show them that yes, I was still alive, they wouldn't be creeped out. But that...

I nod. "Yeah, you've got a point," I say. "Still, most people I know would've jumped at that chance."

Jack simply smirks. "And when the fuck was I ever like most people?" she asks, playfully punching me in the shoulder.

"That is also true," I comment, crossing my arms and smirking in turn. "I guess I wouldn't have it any other way, either."

"That's what I thought," said Jack, walking back to sit next to Al. On a limb, I follow her over there, and she sits down with a shrug. "I dunno. I just thought you should see that."

I place my hands on my hips before I nod. "Yeah, it's... weird to know that you had a loving family once, but still," I mention. "Though I wonder... why _did _Li-" Oh, shit, don't refer to her by name, Art! "Uh, the Shadow Broker show that to Shepard?"

"Not sure, don't wanna know," replies Jack.

"I get the feeling the Shadow Broker knew it would be interesting for Jack to read," said Al. "The Broker's been releasing a lot of files to Shepard."

I shrug. "I wonder if anyone else is getting those kinds of notices," I ask.

"I wouldn't put it past the Shadow Broker, now that the Broker is allied with us," said the N7 operative.

Well, that's true. "I guess we'll find out later," I mention. "I just wanted to check on you guys." I gesture to the space. "How are you adjusting?"

Jack simply looks at me, placing one hand on her knee as she leans forward. "The space is a bit fucking big," she says. "But I think I'll get used to it. It's still away from the others."

"Yeah, it did get larger, didn't it?" I ask, looking up and around as I take in how much more space there is here. "Fun times, fun times."

"And now it's got room for cots on opposite ends of the room," mentions Al. "It'll be good for Jack. We can have two people down here, _and _she can still have some space for herself." He closes his eyes, shrugging. "And we all know how much she likes her personal space."

Wait... So does that mean... "So Al's staying here now?"

"Yep." Jack smirks at this. "I don't know how the fuck he's going to get his shit down here, but we'll figure it out..."

"We'll just have to see when we get there," I finish. "Anyway, I think I should get going. I just wanted to check in on you." I turn to Al. "Behave, all right? I don't want to explain to Shepard how you got sucker punched by Jack because you couldn't keep it in your pants."

At this, a furious blush takes form on Albert Shepard's face. Jack simply scoffs at the N7 operative's expense, sharing a laugh with me. Oh, Al, you are so transparent sometimes. Well, I know you're not going to take it fast, but hey, it's time that you got mocked for once. You know, because teasing them about their love lives can actually be kind of fun.

With this, I exit the hidey hole, letting out a contented sigh.

* * *

><p>As I exit the elevator to get over to the crew deck, I suddenly get stopped short by someone else.<p>

I blink, looking in surprise at the armory officer, who's standing at attention in front of me.

"Oh!" I say, blinking. "Hi Jacob."

Ah, there's Jacob Taylor Lautner all right.

The former Corsair nods in greeting. "Art," he says, giving me a rather nice expression. "I was actually just heading up to the CIC. Heading back to my office."

I smirk, looking at him. "Lemme guess, you were killing time with Kasumi?" I ask.

"Yep," says Jacob as he enters the elevator. Hm... Ah, what the hell, might as well keep up the conversation. I step in after Jacob. "I gotta say, she's much better company than you'd think at first."

I smirk, looking at him as I lean back against the wall. Eh, I needed to talk to Mordin anyways. "She grows on you," I mention as I step back in. "Actually, since I need to go talk to Mordin soon anyway, I might as well ride up the elevator too."

"That important, huh?" asks Jacob. "Sure." He shrugs at this.

I smile, walking back in as the elevator doors in. "So how've you been, Jacob?" I ask.

"Can't say I can complain," the former marine admits. "I still think that was a hell of a way to tell the boss we're quitting back at the Collector base."

I chuckle at this, shrugging. "Well, when in doubt, go with the most explosive option," I mention. "That's how Shepard rolls, you know?"

"Indeed," Jacob agrees. "Though I am worrying about the fact that our new boss is the Shadow Broker." His expression gets very serious soon after this. "This is a risky business, allying ourselves with the Shadow Broker. You know what he's done better than anyone."

I shrug. "Personally, I think we'll be fine, Jacob," I reply. "Right now, we've got the Broker right in the palms of our hands. So I think we'll be fine." I glance right at him. "Besides, _someone _needs to get us the credits, and it's not gonna be the Illusive Man, so..."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," says the marine. "You weren't on the Lazarus project. Remember, we almost didn't get Shepard's body."

I nod, glancing down. "Fair enough," I say. "But I'm sure you'll come around eventually."

"Maybe," says Jacob as the elevator doors open out to the CIC. "Have you noticed these elevators are faster than they used to be?"

I let out a soft laugh, nodding as we both step out. "You have _no _idea, Jacob," I reply. "I thought the elevators in the first game were slow enough, but compared to real life? Oh, I hadn't seen a _thing_, let me tell you." I step out, following him to the new armory. "Seriously, the elevators in my high school were faster, and those were some shitty elevators, let me tell you."

We both step into the armory shortly afterwards, and it's there that I get a good glimpse of it. Hm... two tables now, and they're separated by some distance. Nice. I guess Jacob is loving how much more room there is, what with the fact that one of the tables has some lighter weapons while the other has some of the heavier bits. One guy can't do it all alone, though, so... I'll bet he could use a helper.

"I imagine so," says Jacob as he comes up to the table closer to the door. "And now that you can't tell the future, I'll bet that won't be the only thing you get caught off guard with."

"I don't doubt it," I mention. "Don't mention anything to Jarel, but he never had this prominent a role in the game. In fact, I think that the only other Spectres we saw apart from Shepard were turians, so..." I shrug. "Still, it's nice to see a salarian Spectre. And it's even better that I'm going to be talking to him on a regular basis now."

"Jarel looks like a good man," Jacob states. "I'm going to keep my eye on him, but I think he'll be all right by me. So long as he walks the walk, we won't have a problem."

I give him a subtle smirk. "With you, it's always like that," I point out. "And you know, I think you're a good man for it. You stick by your principles, and that benefits everyone in the end."

"Yep," says Jacob. "You know, sometimes I feel a little out of place here."

I raise my eyebrow at this. "Why, because you're the most normal person on the whole ship?" I ask, crossing my arms. "I think that's the best thing about you, actually. You've always got a clear head, and I think you're just as good a judge of the situation as anybody else around here." I smile, leaning forward. "That makes you good to talk to."

I glance over at the door that would normally lead to the comm room. Hm... I really should be getting over to Mordin's right about now. I've got a lot to talk to him about with the dream-share. Mostly because we were going to try to see if we could get some schematics from within my dream about how the briefcase works. Either way... we'll have to see.

"Just remember to stay normal," I tell Jacob. "We need more stable rocks on this ship, I think."

"You and me both," says Jacob. "You off to talk to Mordin?"

I nod. "Yep," I say. "It's been good talking to you again, Jacob."

The former marine gives me a polite nod, and then salutes in my general direction. I exit not long after this, and I notice just before I turn that he diverts his attention to the assault rifle that's laying on the table in front of him.

* * *

><p>I nod, moving along in the ship as I hum a small, merry little tune to myself. I walk across the way, noticing how the hallway seems to have gotten the slightest bit larger, no doubt accounting for the extra space here. Hm... Well, now Jacob has the larger bay to deal with, and now I imagine Mordin also has a larger lab. Well, now that he has Jarel on this ship too, I imagine he'll get stuff done faster. Lab assistants always were good for progress, I think. And now they have a larger lab too... Hm...<p>

Well, I'll have to see how busy Jarel and Mordin are with the genophage cure, but maybe I can also get them to get started on a Kepral's cure of some kind. That would be nice.

With this, I enter the new tech lab, and am surprised to see that it's also expanded slightly in size. But now, there's a berth that's more or less right next to the table. Hm... could be good for getting samples of stuff. I look around, seeing the scientist salarian balancing a test tube of some sort, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He sets it down on the test tube rack, and types some results down on his terminal.

"Ah, Art," he says, having noticed my entrance without really looking up from his work. "Good timing. Just finished latest batch of dream-share chemical."

I nod, looking right at the salarian doctor. "Really?" I ask.

"Should make a habit of making batches of dream-share chemical," he said. "Not the best use of supplies, but best if we hope to continue our dream-share research. Need to fill that thing constantly."

"Yeah, that would be nice, not running out of stuff," I mention, taking out Orange as I fiddle around with it. "I actually really want to see a briefcase right now. I can't wait to see what goes down when we have more than two people sharing a dream. You know?"

"Of course," says Mordin. "Still, need to study briefcase in dream before that can happen."

"That we do," I say, looking at the doctor. "You think you can remember it all?"

"Shared dreams with me before," he continues. "Should know by now that salarians are aware of dreamshare. Brain processes too fast while awake. Not much decrease in brain activity during sleep. Higher rate of lucid dreams."

"Particularly when they're being invaded," I mention.

"Also true," he admits. He pauses, looking right at me. "Have noticed you and Tali'Zorah lately. Both you and her seem rather happy." He shiffs. "Must have used potent mood music."

I chuckle, rolling my eyes. Oh, Mordin. "Not really," I say, smiling and shrugging. "You see, Mordin, that's what happens when people feel as corny as Kansas in August. They fall in love, get happy, and don't seem to mind when they come down with a cold for a week."

Mordin blinks, looking right at me. "Of course, expected as much," he states. "Also expected cold. Recovery time, though..." He inhales sharply. "Faster than I expected. Will have to look into this further."

... Okay, this just got slightly creepy. I shake my head, looking at the salarian. "I'd rather you not," I say, moving towards the berth. "Trust me, Mordin, I'd _really _rather you not get into the scientific aspect of things." I shake my head. "It's creepy thinking about things like that."

The salarian simply looks at me as I lay down on the berth. "Simple scientific curiosity," he says as he walks over to where I've just laid down. "Nothing to be 'creeped out' about, if I use the idiom correctly."

I let out a sigh, applying the device to my wrist as I close my eyes. "Never mind," I say. "Do what you must, but..."

"But...?" Mordin says, looking right at me.

... Oh, what the hell? "Please don't talk to me about how fascinating you find my sex life." I open my eyes, looking right up at the doctor. "For the record, I do _not _like hearing you talk about it like it's the next big scientific advancement thing that's going down. It's... _awkward_. And unsettling. Also bordering a little on voyerism, but that's an entirely different animal right there, and one I'd_really _rather not think about. I have this thing where I actually _want _my sex life to have _some _degree of privacy, so... I'd like it a lot if you could not bring it up to me again. Well... if you don't mind that is?"

"Do not mind," said Mordin, closing his eyes. "Doctor-patient confidentiality, sacred trust. Should operate according to what they are comfortable with." Here he sniffed again. "Ready for dream share."

I smile. "So am I," I say, handing him his connection for the dream share. "Just be aware that I've shared a dream with Garrus recently. The chemical worked just as well with him as it did with you."

Mordin seems to look on in curiosity. "Hm. Proves my hypothesis about functionality with dextro species," he notes, applying the wrist thing to himself. "Wasn't sure you had tested that."

"Well, you know how it is," I say. "I haven't tested it on Tali yet, though. It's a bit tough to figure out how you're supposed to use an intravenous injection on an envirosuit."

"Should be quite simple," said Mordin. "Recommend you ask Tali'Zorah or Rael'Zorah about that. Should provide interesting answer." He looks right at me as I hold the device in my hand. "Anyway, should study briefcase. Make schematics, remember schematics, import to real world, perform expriments..." He sniffs again. "Should be good."

I nod, and without any more words, I depress the button that gets the magic sleep thing to work. And so, I fall asleep in the tech lab, off to do more stuff with Mordin in my dreams.

* * *

><p>And sure enough, true to Mordin Solus, he managed to map out an entire set of schematics for the briefcase in one real world hour. Crazy times were had with that. And he always talks so bloody <em>fast <em>all the time, too. But nevertheless, he remembered the schematics and transcribed them to the real world. So now, we have some more stuff to do with the dreamshare. I think I might actually hand the schematics off to Liara or something. Now that she's got this vast wealth of resources... well, I think we'll be in good hands once we start getting that thrown in.

Yeah, I may get that to Liara, so... Yeah. Crazy times.

Speaking of Liara, actually... after getting a good night's rest with that, I decided I'd head on over there with Tali. So I figured, eh, I'll get the Prothean cuneiform thing over to her then. So here it is, in one of my pockets of my casual pants, ready to be handed off to Liara T'Soni.

Liara. It's still kinda weird to think she's the new Shadow Broker, even a day after it's happened. Though, it's good because we absolutely won't go bankrupt. Thank heaven. But still... after all this time... It's tough to think about, really. But, I think I'll have to roll with the punches. This'll be the first of many things I won't have seen coming, so I might as well get started with taking it all with a grain of salt.

The shuttle ride over to the ship was bumpy, but in a world with perpetual thunderstorms, what are you going to do? We get to the ship safely enough, though, and thankfully this time we're given the luxury of going right into a hangar bay instead of camping out outside and trying to hack our way in with untested technology. It also means I don't have to wear a breathing helmet all that much, which is also very welcome.

And the ship itself... it's nice to walk around this place without getting shot at, I realize as I make my way up to the Broker's little hub area. I glance at Tali as I hold her hand in mine while traversing the halls. Yeah, this is definitely nice. I hobble along on my little crutch, moving along as Tali walks on.

It takes a while, but we finally arrive at the hub. And now that I look at it, I only then realize how much room there is in this place. It's like the Shadow Broker never really did think anyone else would enter. And yet, here we are, though I imagine that now with three people running the show, this place wont' really be devoid of inhabitants.

And as soon as the door opens, we see this little white ball come to greet us.

"Hello Shadow Broker," it says cheerfully. "How may I be of assistance?"

I blink, looking at the little white thing. "What in the world...?"

"Oh! You'll have to excuse the VI." I then see Liara walk towards the VI. "It's all right, I'm fine."

"Have a good day, Shadow Broker," the white ball replied. It then flew away from us, moving to another part of the room.

Tali looks at it strangely. I can tell by the slight tilt of her foot that somehow, she's actually a little morbidly curious about this. I blink, looking at Liara. "What was that about?" asked Tali. "I've never seen anything quite like that."

"That was the VI that came with the base," said Liara. "It is useful so far." She then frowns. "The trouble is, it thinks that everyone in the room is the Shadow Broker."

"Ooooh…" I say. I nod in understanding. "So I see…"

"Yes," Liara says. "I've been meaning to talk to you."

I shrug. "Then I guess it's a good thing I'm here, right?" I ask, shrugging. "What did you want to talk about?"

She looks to Tali, giving a confused glance. "She knows, right?" the asari asked, indicating Tali.

"I've known about it for two years, Liara," replies Tali. "And he's told me e-" She then pauses, and I can see the expression behind me. "Well, _almost _everything."

I let out a sigh, closing my eyes and shaking my head. Damn it, that decision is going to haunt me forever now. Fuck my life. I nod, indicating to Tali soon after. "Yeah, what she said," I mention as the asari then walks over to another console. "_Almost _everything."

Liara shrugs as she turns to me. "I just... I wasn't sure what to think at first, but..." She sighs as she halts in her step. "I don't really know what to make of it. On the one hand, you could have gotten the galaxy in bigger trouble for letting that get out, but on the other... you just let Shepard die."

I groan at this, narrowly resisting the urge to facepalm. "Why the hell is it that _everybody _brings up Shepard dying as a minus?" I ask. "I knew she was coming back to life!"

Liara sighs. "She almost didn't," replies Liara, glancing over to where Feron probably is. "If not for Feron, we wouldn't be here right now." She looks back at me. "I still don't understand how you were able to hold all this information back from me. Saying something might've made things go a lot better. But I can understand why you would withhold that, and I know that the galaxy probably wouldn't be safe if you did say anything. I know I would not have believed it unless you offered to meld with me."

I nod. "Glad to hear it," I mention. "A _lot _of other people got really angry at that news."

"I wouldn't be surprised," said Liara as she walked over to a nearby console. "It's not every day you hear such a story."

I rub the back of my neck at this. "I'll say," I mention.

"I'm a little worried about the fact that the Shadow Broker had this information," adds Tali. "How much did he know?"

Liara nodded, turning to the console and typing away. "That is the other major thing I wished to talk about," she says. "The Shadow Broker has a bunch of files on everyone in the galaxy. I found the ones for the crew of the Normandy, and let me just say I found a lot of interesting secrets there."

I frown at this. "So you're telling me that you know everyone's dirty little secrets?" I ask.

"I'm not planning on blackmailing you with it," Liara replies, shaking her head. "Anyway, I checked your file, and I found something really interesting." She looks at me, gesturing me to come to the console. "I've looked through some of the Broker's other files. He knew about the Reapers, and that the Protheans were extinguished by them. He also knew that the Collectors were Protheans."

"So he did, huh?" I ask, frowning in concentration. "Why?"

"I think he was trying to find some way to survive," says the asari, navigating through it. "And your dossier actually compounds that." She then selects a file on the console, and something in text appears to my eyes. "He's known about you for a while, Art. He's known since before Shepard died."

I blink. "He's known for that long?" I ask. "And he was interested in trying to find ways to survive? Why didn't he come after me?"

"That's exactly it: he did," replies Liara. "This is a text record of an audio log between two agents that occurred some time before _Last Days of the Earth _premiered." She nods at me. "I loved the music for that, by the way. I thought you should know that."

I flash the new Shadow Broker a smile, nodding. "Thanks," I say. "I'll tell Mangdalar the Shadow Broker sends his complements."

After having said this, I turn my attention back to the console. I blink, concentrating as I look at the date of the log. Hm... "June 17... That was about a week and two days into the recording sessions for the score of _Last Days of the Earth_," I mention. "And by that time, I had been evicted from Garrus' apartment for at least a week. So what...?"

I then squint, reading the log. It reads a little something like this:

_June 17, 2184_

_Operative Dent: Operative Prefect, this is the third day we have spent trailing Mr. *********. I'd think an ample opportunity to get him would be in his hotel room instead of trailing him needlessly._

_Operative Prefect: Arthur, I've stated this before, it'll be too strange if he just checks out for no reason. He would have nowhere else to go, and everyone around him knows it. We need to steal him when he's not with company. Preferrably if he checks out on his own. Someone's bound to find out if he checks out and then he's seen consorting with a group of strange men afterwards. So we need to wait for him to check out, and then we can get him._

_Operative Dent: Don't you think that's kind of... needlessly elaborate?_

_Operative Prefect: Trust me on this. He'll most likely be alone when he moves to his next apartment. Remember, the Shadow Broker wanted him to vanish, and with the possibility of being seen by hotel staff, that's really hard to make._

_Operative Dent: I suppose you have a point there. It _is _hard to lug an unconscious body through hotel rooms without anybody noticing._

_Operative Prefect: I figured you'd see it my way eventually. Remember, the Broker says that the recording sessions end in a couple of weeks._

_Operative Dent: So we monitor his positions for the next several days?_

_Operative Prefect: Of course._

_Operative Dent: Ford, did I ever tell you that you take things too lightly?_

_Operative Prefect: Look at it this way: at least we're not being subjected to listening to horrible poetry all day. I'm telling you, Arthur, we could be doing a lot worse._

_Operative Dent: Yeah. But I wonder. What does the Shadow Broker want that he's willing to get us two operatives to kidnap him and take him directly to his top hitman?_

_Operative Prefect: I don't know, but the Broker himself marked it as a very high priority mission according to what I was told, so... If we botch this up...?_

_Operative Dent: Then we're effectively screwed. Right. I dunno, Ford, I get the feeling this is going to get out of our hands soon enough._

_Operative Prefect: We'll see, Arthur. For now, we just monitor his every movement. Make sure he never gets out of our sight... and we'll be good._

I blink, pulling away as I take a step back from the console. "Wait..." I say. "So the Shadow Broker... he was planning on...?" I blink, checking the date again. I nod soon after, biting my lower lip. "That was three days before I moved in with Mangdalar," I mention.

"The Dossier also has an audio log transcript of what happened when they found out you had moved in with Mangdalar," says Liara. "Let's just say he gave up on ever trying to take you away once you became relatively well-known. Besides, he also has a transcript of one of your conversations with Tali that happened soon after you moved in with Mangdalar."

I nod, looking right at Liara. "Yeah," I mention. "Still... I was targeted by the Shadow Broker..." I blink, taking in a deep breath as I think about this. Wow... if things had been any other way, I'd have rotted in the Shadow Broker's ship for... however long I would've been held. And that... I don't know what to think of that. And he'd be trying to get information off of me... information that I wouldn't have after a certain point.

I... Wow... I feel my hair stand on end as the implication settles in. I glance warily around at the walls of the complex, my breath hitching slightly. Holy fuck... I feel Tali's hand touch my arm, but even as I flinch she holds on to me gently. I turn to her, watching as her eyes shine brightly behind the helmet. They settle on me, even as she nods.

I nod back, bringing my arm around and draping it over her shoulders. I nod, giving her a grim expression as I look back to Liara. "That's a lot to take in," I admit. "I'm not sure if I want to know what else is on the dossier."

The asari turns back to the console. "The rest of it is actually relatively harmless," she replies. She then pulls something up. "The Shadow Broker actually has a record of all your music downloads over the past few years."

I blink violently, feeling Tali's hand suddenly grab my shoulder as she leans in. "What?" asks Tali. "Why would he keep track of something like that?"

"I don't know, but it's not that odd when you consider everything else," mentions Liara. "Some of the other dossiers are filled with _much _more useless information than a download list. One of them even has an extranet search the current krogan on your ship did."

I turn to Liara. "Grunt?" I ask. "That's odd. Why would the Broker keep track of that?"

"I don't really know," Liara says with a shrug. "I think the only other item of note on you is actually a list of compositions you've written since Shepard died. And I assume that's information you know already."

I nod, looking right at the asari. "Yeah, it is," I mention. Yeah, this has been a rather nice-

Wait.

_The cuneiform tablet!_

I feel for it in my pocket, and then nod as I turn to Liara. "Well... I'm actually not quite done yet, so..." I glance around, looking to see that there's really nobody else in the area. Still, better keep this private. "Where's the most private part of the ship that's close to here?"

The asari blinks. "There are sleeping quarters close to where we have video surveillance," she says. "Why do you ask?"

I nod. Okay, good. "There's something I need to talk to you about, and I can't risk Feron or the VI listening in. Tali already knows, but... this has to _stay _the galaxy's best-kept secret, all right?"

Liara blinks. Oh boy, I think I've made her just a little uncomfortable with what I just told her. Sorry, Liara, but I have to do it like this. Secrecy is our greatest weapon against the Reapers in this case, and I need you to know exactly what goes down with the tablet.

"Of course." She then turns around. "I'll have the VI keep an eye on things."

The VI's avatar immediately appears. "I will keep track of all updates, Shadow Broker," it says.

I glance back to the quarian briefly before shrugging. "Hm, she agreed to that faster than I thought she would."

"I'm not that surprised, actually," mentions the quarian. "Let's follow her."

I nod, and then the two of us fall into step behind the new Shadow Broker. We walk along, watching as the VI ball hovers in front of the display Liara was just standing in front of. Seriously, that white little VI thing is going to be kind of weird to get used to, especially when it calls everyone the Shadow Broker. I dunno, we need to be away from that blasted AI.

We walk up to a door behind that huge console. Well, it's at the top of a flight of stairs, so... Yeah, we all know how that goes. I step in, and notice Feron just sitting on the couch as he looks to Liara. The drell nods, and then the three of us walk past to a door on the right. Hm... those must be the sleeping quarters. Liara steps in first, gesturing to Tali and I to come in soon after. The door closes behind Tali and I as I enter, and already my hand is on the cuneiform tablet.

The asari clasps her hands together soon after. "All right, what is it you need?" she asked.

I nod, glancing back at the door. "Just so you know, this is super secret, and doesn't leave this room," I begin.

"Only a handful of people know what we're going to tell you," says Tali. "And we intend to keep it that way as long as we can."

"And that's why we need your guarantee that you _won't _tell anyone else about this," I finish.

Liara crosses her arms. Hm... it looks like she's already made up her mind. "I assume that can be arranged," said Liara. "What is it."

I glance to Tali, and then I nod. With this, I pull both the tiny cuneiform tablet and Orange out of my pocket. I hold the orange device out to Liara, even as Orange's presence fills my mind.

Okay, here goes...

"The Conduit was only the beginning," I begin. "The Protheans had other plans. Well... _have _other plans, anyway. And they both involve these two objects I'm holding right now."

Liara leans forward, squinting in surprise. She glances at the orange device, her eyes widening in shock as she sees this. And her eyes then dart to the small cuneiform tablet in my other hand, and I see her take a sharp breath as she looks at it. Her attention concentrates back on me. Hm, if the fact that her jaw is hanging says anything, she's pretty amazed.

"Art... where did you get those?" she asked. "It's... I've never seen cuneiform in better shape than what you have here! And that device... I've seen others like it, but..." She shakes her head, stepping back. "How did you get those devices?"

I nod, presenting the orange device. "I got this one from your mother," I say, walking towards her. "Just before she died, she gave this to me, telling me to always keep it with me." I hold it out to her. "Here, hold it. You'll see why it's so important soon enough."

Liara hesitates, looking at the device with a concerned look on her face. Her hand tentatively comes forward, taking a few seconds to get up to where my hand is. After a bit, her hand closes around the object, and then she lifts it right from my hand. She looks at it, frowning.

And then, her eyes widen in shock, and she nearly drops the thing right then and there.

"G... Goddess!" exclaims the asari. "Art... There's this voice in my head!"

"You're not the only one," says Tali as she leans back against the wall. "Almost everyone that's held that object has heard Orange at one point or another."

"Orange?" Liara moves to get more out of me when she blinks. Well, there's Orange doing her thing. "But... A thing like this simply isn't possible! Art... What does this-?" She's interrupted again, her facial expression changing slightly. It changes again a few seconds later, now taking on a rather shocked look. "Dream share?" she asks, staring directly at me.

"Yeah, remember when I mentioned the Fade when we melded?" I ask, walking towards her. "The Protheans found a way down there. I think they've got other plans."

Liara looks at me like she's gone insane, before then handing the orange paperweight back to me. I take it back, and nod.

Keeper, I cannot begin to tell you how confused she seemed to be. I think some of what I just revealed to her would be a bit much for her to take.

She'll come around eventually, Orange. Besides, she's got at least 900 years to live right now, so she's got _plenty _of time to sort it out.

Under the coming circumstances, I do not believe she will be able to come to terms with much of what I told her quickly...

Then in those cases, we just crash and burn.

I will defer to you, Keeper. I only hope you are correct.

With this, I place Orange back in my pocket, looking at Liara. The shocked asari shakes her head. "I'm sorry, I still can't get my head around most of that," she says, looking at us in disbelief. "I... The Protheans shared dreams with each other? And... they were attuned to this 'Fade'? What is the Fade, anyway?"

"It's a place between life and death," I reply, shrugging. "It's... really hard to explain. It's just kinda there, and it's not critical to the point that the Protheans had other plans."

Liara bites her lower lip, looking right at me. "Assuming this is all true... _what _other plans?" she asks.

I then nod, presenting the cuneiform piece in my other hand. "That's where _this _thing comes in," I mention. "We found this on the Collector base. It was in a room full of cuneiform writing." I take in a deep breath. "Almost all of the text was destroyed in the blast when the base blew up, but we had chiselled off this piece. Orange explained about Fade Signatures, right?"

"I... I think so," she says. "That was part of how they got attuned to the Fade, and how you can find important objects with it."

I nod, smiling. "Then you got it," I say. "This piece had a Fade Signature on it. We found it while looking for clues."

"So what does it say?"

...

_Really_, Liara? _Really_? I mean, I can't read Prothean cuneiform, so...

Wait. Oh, I think she thinks Orange might've told me. Hm... Yeah, that may be it. Hold off on the snark there.

"Well, that's what I was hoping you could figure out for us," I continue, holding the piece to her. "Orange told me when we first found this piece that the handwriting was kind of sloppy. She couldn't read it, and unfortunately there was only one person who still reads in this font that she can remember from the time of the Prothean extinction. And that person's long gone by this point, so... I figured I could turn it over to you to translate."

The asari blinks, looking at the tablet. "I... I haven't translated Prothean cuneiform in so long," she says. She picks up the small piece, inspecting it a little further. "And your friend is right, this _is_very sloppy handwriting." I chuckle a little at this, crossing my arms as Tali comes forward. Liara frowns, inspecting the piece again. "But... it's just neat enough where I can provide a couple approximations as to what it might say. Some of the characters I can tell just by looking at it... I think I'll be able to translate this."

Yes! Now _that's _what I'm talking about!

I beam, looking at Liara. "I was hoping you might say that," I replied. "Good to know you can translate it."

She looks at me with a serious expression on her face. "You know that with me being the new Shadow Broker, it's now an issue of finding time to transcribe what I see here, and then to translate it," she says.

"It's important," I mention. "I've got a major hunch that whatever is written on this little piece that we took back with us is a key part of the Protheans' plans."

Liara nods. "Then I'll see when I can get it to you," she replies, nodding. "I... I still don't know what to make of that... I'm not sure if I believe some of that."

I shrug. "Well, we're stuck here for another day or so..." I look at her. "I'd be open to sharing a dream with you right now, if you're so inclined."

The asari blinks, shaking her head. "Thank you, but no," she says, holding her hand up. "I think I've had enough to process for one day." She tilts her head to the side, giving an accepting gesture. "Besides, I _did _see into your mind. I think I have every reason to take you at your word." She crosses her arms. "Even if you did wait for two years to tell me."

I let out a sigh. "You're not the only one," I mention. I blink suddenly. "Speaking of which... isn't today New Year's Eve on the galactic standard calendar?"

Liara gasps, looking up. "Goddess, I almost forgot!" she says. "With everything that has been going on... you'd think I would pay more attention to that!"

"You wouldn't be the only one," Tali adds. "I think we're done here for the most part. We'll be returning to the Normandy now."

The asari nods at this, walking towards the door. Soon after, we follow suit, following the asari out as I nod to Tali. "Very well, then," she says. "I should probably get back to work. I'll see you two around."

I nod, smiling at Liara as we all exit the sleeping quarters. "Don't be a stranger this time," I reply.

The door opens, and then we leave the room soon after.

* * *

><p>"All right, we're calling this meeting of the Brotherhood into order!"<p>

With this, I look to everyone else, smiling. Okay, everyone's all here. Me, Tali... Thane, Shepard, Kasumi, Garrus, Madison, Sturge, Chakwas, and Miranda... We're all here. We're all sitting in various places of the expanded port observation deck, though the couches are in more or less the same position. All right, we're all here, we're all looking extremely well... and Liara's actually going to be visiting the ship in a bit. Mostly to talk to Shepard, but the tour will probably be nice for her. So here we are.

I smile, looking at everyone. "So, lots of things will be changing soon," I mention. I look over to Miranda. "Any idea what to do after this?"

Miranda shifts first. "Well, I think the best course of action right now would be to go directly to the Council."

"I was just thinking the same thing," replies Shepard. "And then we need to gather our allies."

I nod, leaning back. "Yeah, that's the basic gist of it," I say. "But then there's the question of 'where do we start our chase'."

Madison leans forward. "I'm sure we'll figure it out," she says. "We have the Shadow Broker on our side now, and she's told us she will help us fight the Reapers with the Broker's resources." She sits so that she can gesture with her hands. "We have the galaxy's biggest information network on our side already. That's going to help a lot."

"Madison is correct," adds Thane. "From there, it is a matter of finding which leads we can use."

I shrug, looking at all of them. "Yeah, that would be a good thing," I mention. "But... you do have to remember that there's also the matter concerning a certain something in my possession." With this, I take out the orange paperweight, holding it out to them before carefully stuffing it back in my pocket. "We have that to work with."

"Yes, about that..." says Miranda, looking right at me. "Why did you insist on keeping that a secret from so many people?"

I bite my lower lip. "If the Reapers catch wind of the fact that the Protheans had other plans... then those plans might become ineffective," I say. "They already made a huge risk putting Orange in Sovereign for 50,000 years. And given that it paid off, I'd rather not have the Reapers find out exactly what they had in mind." I lean back. "Besides, they'd probably find it pretty improbable the stuff I found."

"Everything about that prophecy, right?" asks Garrus.

"Yeah," I say. "Everything about that."

"Yeah, that would sound like a crock of shit to a lot of people," Sturge replies, looking at me. "If Orange hadn't known about Natan, I still wouldn't believe it." He leans forward. "What did it say about what we need anyway?"

"Well, it says we need a leader, a keeper of secrets, a wing of justice, and a sword forged in hell," I mention. "All metaphorically speaking of course, but still, I don't really know where else we've got." I look over to Madison. "I already know that Madison and I are chosen ones, though... I don't think I ever mentioned that before."

"How do you know that?" Miranda asks, leaning forward. "It would make sense seeing as how neither of you are native to this universe, but how do we find another such person?"

"Long story," I say. "But Orange says that someone else from that universe comes along to sort of confirm our presence," I mention. "So... with that in mind, we need to find our leader, and our sword forged in hell. Only issue is, I have no idea where the _hell _we're supposed to start with finding them."

"I think we can agree with you on that," Madison says, leaning back. "We'll just see what happens."

"Yeah, I guess so," I say. "Hopefully, it'll be like you where we just randomly bumped into you while doing a mission."

"Yeah, but how often does that happen?" asks Kasumi. "The chances of it happening like that again aren't going to be high."

I shrug. "Then I guess we wait for Liara to do stuff and hope that she manages to get something," I mention. "In the meantime, though... I guess that's really all I needed to say about that. Just... we'll watch for leads when we get them." I then turn to Shepard. "So... we go to the Citadel and we present everything we've got to the Council."

"That's the plan," replies Shepard. "Hopefully, they'll _finally _get it through their heads that the Reapers are a very serious threat. We're going to Anderson's office again."

I nod, looking at Shepard. "Okay, so... I guess that's all we're really going to get done about the Reapers until Liara can get us some leads on stuff to do," I mention. I look at the others, shrugging. "So yeah. I guess we've got other things going on right now. So..." I smile mischievously. "I hear Liara's been sending you sensitive information, Shepard."

The commander blinks, her face giving away her surprise in one fell swoop. That surprise quickly turns to dread, and then she looks to Thane for... some reason, I dunno. But... well, I opened that can of worms, so now most of us will have to share stuff.

This is gonna be _fun_!


	5. Chapter 4

_A/N: Excellent! Now the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC is out of the way, we can move on to the bulk of the story of MV3. So what happens next?_

_Well, a lot of crazy shit is going to go down in this chapter. We get Shepard's meeting with the Council, we get a bunch of other things going down... and we get the first really huge twist of MV3 that will make sure that it's _completely _different from how the developers envision Mass Effect 3. Remember, Mass Vexations is going to be an animal all of its own. There are so many different elements in place, so many changed plot points, so many other things, that really, I'm better off running with it than chaining myself to ME3 as it's actually going to happen._

_So this chapter... you'll see what happens. Just don't expect it to be good._

_So stay tuned, and here's the next chapter!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: Bela Bartok: The Miraculous Mandarin<p>

Liara's visit was _very _pleasant, as one would probably imagine. She stopped by the cabin, had a glass of wine with Shepard, gave some dog tags to Liara, and had a rather nice talk about stuff. And as is typical Liara, she worries herself sick over everything. And then she had to go back, do whatever Shadow Brokerey duties she has back there, and then soon after that, we all got some sleep.

And then, we headed for the Citadel. All right, we're on route to the Council again, this time to do stuff to get them to believe in the Reapers. Shepard has extensive proof thanks to the info me, Madison, and Kasumi managed to fish out of the Collector base, we're off to see them now... and hopefully, they'll believe us this time.

Though knowing them, they're going to dismiss this claim too. But... a guy can hope, right? Besides, if we can't fall back on the Council, we have the Shadow Broker to help us, and that's a really powerful organization to be backed by. Plus, TIM looks like he's getting on the good side of things again, so we'll be good. Okay...

I lay awake, thinking about this. Tali is sleeping next to me, the rough material of her enviro-suit lightly rubbing against my bare chest as I stare off. Tali's already asleep, but I'm so damn giddy about this that I just can't sleep. I've remained frozen here all night, just staring in front of me.

I just... I can't seem to get over how crazy this is. For the first time, there's no decision that has an easy outcome. Now I'm not sure if the Council will believe us or not, and it's making me really excited.

Jesus... It's been so long since I've felt this sense of... uncertainty about anything. Like, for real. I never knew what would happen next, but... but now that I don't even have _that,_ it's kind of like now my emotions are running high. I just... This is going to be a doozy, I can tell.

Either way, hopefully it won't get too out of hand.

I continue staring straight at the ceiling. The blue light of the drive core seems to light it up just a little bit, and it's then that I notice that this space was expanded ever so slightly. Like, yeah, it's only about three inches, but still. Three inches makes a _world _of difference, apparently. Because now my room feels much more... roomey, I guess. Never really thought about it like that, but hey, what's a guy gonna do?

I close my eyes, trying for the third time to actually will my body to sleep.

It works about as well as one would expect, given the circumstances.

* * *

><p>Docking at the Citadel went about as well as one would expect. That is, it went very well. The only issue is, it was <em>very <em>uneventful.

But hey, that's how it always is.

I step off the Normandy, rubbing my head again. Damn it, I haven't gotten any sleep lately. This is gonna _suck_. _Hard_.

I feel Tali's hand rest on my shoulder. "You look tired," she says.

I shake my head, though it's more the rapid shake to wake me up than it is denying it. "I haven't exactly had the best sleep patterns over the last couple nights," I reply, rubbing my head. "I've just had a ton of thoughts running through my mind." I shake my head. "I'll admit, it's not the best thing to go to the Council on a small amount of sleep."

She simply glances at me, and we walk over to the other side of the platform to wait for the others. "Are you sure you should be out of the ship?" asks Tali. "You should probably get some more sleep."

I shake my head, and this time it's to deny something. "I need to see the Council's reaction," I tell her. "I've been with Shepard ever since the beginning. Well, I wasn't on Eden Prime, but you know how it is. Anyway, I need to be there to support her." I gesture as the door to the Normandy's airlock closes. "She needs a lot of friends there, and I think she'll need it if the Council does their whole 'we're gonna stay in denial about the Reapers' shtick again."

Tali nods at this. "I hope you can stay awake throughout the meeting," she says.

I wave my hand. "I think that by the time we get over to Anderson's office on the Presidium, I'll be awake," I mention. "All the walking to get to the Embassy, you know?"

"That's true," she said. "Listen, if you're afraid about anything, don't be afraid to talk to me about it."

I nod, taking her hand in mine. "Trust me, Tali, it's nothing I haven't talked to you about yet," I say. "It's just been me thinking so hard about... you know. Lack of precognition and all."

"Yes, we have talked about that," she says. She looks straight at me, and I can feel the smile. "It'll be all right."

I nod, looking back at the airlock as it opens. Okay... out steps Garrus, Miranda, and Madison. Okay... now that Thane and Shepard are the only ones that need to come out, we don't have to wait too long. Okay, that's good. I just want to get this meeting over with, because damn it, I told Mangdalar and Yelena I was going to be on the Citadel today!

"I hope you're right," I say, squeezing her hand lightly as the others approach.

Miranda looks at us as we approach. She doesn't seem to smile, though, and... Hm... She doesn't look terribly happy about something. But... she has that aura of professionalism that she always has about everything. So I think we'll be all right.

Madison just walks over, crossing her arms. "I can't believe I'm actually coming to see the Council," she admits, looking right at us. "I've never really had that many interactions with people of authority."

I shrug. "Well, excepting your indirect run-ins with one Carter Blake," I mention.

Madison simply shrugs. "Well, yes, but remember I didn't actually talk with him," she replies. "I was just chased by him."

"That's true," I say. "And besides, didn't you have altercations with Aria?"

"That's true," replies Madison as she edges closer to Garrus. "I wasn't the only one that needed to go to her to get help, though."

"Yes, but you _were _something of a friend of hers," comments the turian with a hand gesture. "We sent you to her a lot as an informant."

The former journalist nods, crossing her arms. "That's true too, I suppose," she said. "We'll have to get her help on the Reaper War soon, now that I think about it. When do we go to Omega?"

I shrug. "We'll have to see about that," I say, glancing back at the airlock door. It's not open yet. "Maybe that'll be our next destination after we're done here?"

"Maybe," says Madison. "Though I'm worried about Garrus coming there again."

"Yeah, they're probably not going to be too happy that I managed to get away," says the turian.

"Except that you've already been on Omega after that incident," I point out. "Don't tell me you forgot how we got Madison onto the Normandy."

Garrus blinks briefly. He then nods, crossing his arms. "Hm, I suppose that's true," he concedes.

I shrug. "Just don't wear your helmet or your old C-Sec armor, and I think you'll be fine," I mention. I spare an extra glance at the airlock door. Now it's opening, and I see Shepard and Thane both stepping out. "For now... we'll think about that later."

The others follow my gaze, and then Shepard walks up to all of us. "Well, here we are," she says. "Let's go show the Council what we've got."

We all nod, and then it's following Shepard all the way from the Normandy to the Presidium. Hoo, boy, this is going to be a doozy. The Councillors probably won't believe us, but we'll see what happens with that. Who knows, maybe they'll believe us for once, though the chances of _that _happening are fairly small. Still, gotta hope for the best, right?

I nod to myself, and then we walk towards the C-Sec security checkpoint. Well, here goes.

* * *

><p>The ride to the Presidium is not terribly long, but hey, what can any of us do about it? Once we're at the Presidium, though, it's really not that long a journey to Anderson's office. Thank God. I was beginning to get a little miffed about all that.<p>

Well... only mostly miffed. Politics is annoying, but thankfully, it's not as bad as it was in other places. Thank Jeebus.

Anyway, we get to Anderson's office, and we get admitted in pretty much straight away. So we walk over to the office, and now, here we are, about to go right into it. I glance to Shepard, shrugging.

"Let's hope Udina's not in there," I say, gesturing to the door.

Shepard's expression falls. "God help us all if he is," replied Shepard. "I might not be able to resist punching him in the face if he starts talking again."

I shrug. "Hey, if you need someone to hold him down..."

Miranda shakes her head. "It might not be a good idea to do or say things like that," she says. "After all, he is one of the most powerful politicians on the Citadel today."

"Yeah, and he's the assistant to the most powerful human there, so that's not saying a lot," I mention. "Anyway... let's get this Council meeting over with, shall we?"

"Yes," says Shepard. Her hand goes straight to the door panel in front of us as it flashes green. It touches, and the doors part into Anderson's office.

And sure enough, there's the old Councillor, looking just as sprightly as ever. Oh, hello Keith David. He's in some rather formal attire, no doubt for the meeting that's going to go down in a few minutes. Though really, do you need to dress up for a hologram meeting?

...

Actually, on second thought, I don't know why I just asked that. Don't mind me, then.

For some reason, he's standing off to the side, conversing with some other guy. But this new guy... he actually looks very unfamiliar. Both of their attentions are turned to us as we enter the room, and then I get a good look at the new guy that's there.

Hm... That's one huge motherfucker right there. Seriously. He's in Alliance dress blues at the moment, but I can plainly see that the dress blues are stretching to accomodate some pretty impressive musculature. The man himself looks like a bit of a _Gears of War _type, honestly, but he doesn't look perpetually pissed off. I don't think, anyway. He looks rather plain, actually... he has really short brown hair in a variation of the mohawk where most of his hair is really short. He's got a lot of facial hair too, mostly fuzzy-looking but hey. Also, quite a few facial scars, particularly one over his lower lip.

Hm... The face is kind of 'eh', but the musculature... Dang it, I'm thinking back to that again! Dang it Art, you're taken! Stop thinking like that.

I blink, looking back to Anderson as he walks over to us. The new guy follows soon after, a puzzled and... surprised look on his face. Almost instantly, I can actually see him shake a little bit.

"Shepard," says Anderson as he approaches. "I wasn't expecting you to come early."

"You know how I am, Councillor," Shepard replies. "The safety of the galaxy doesn't wait for a lot of things."

"It would seem not," replies Anderson as he looks to the rest of us. "I see you brought most of the crew with you."

Shepard shakes her head. "Only the most important ones," she says, gesturing to us. "You already know Art, Tali, Garrus, and Thane. With us as well is actually Miranda Lawson and Madison Paige."

With this, Miranda steps forward, Madison giving a friendly nod from where she stands close to Garrus. "A pleasure, Councillor Anderson," Miranda says. "And how are you feeling?"

"Feeling a little older than I am," replies the Councillor. "This meeting with the Council is putting me on edge."

"Hopefully they'll listen to reason," says Miranda. "We have far too much evidence this time for them to ignore it."

"One would hope," Anderson says, looking to Shepard. "Actually, I think it's good that you've arrived here." He then turns to the other guy in the room and nods.

I raise an eyebrow, looking at him. "Is this about why the new guy's here?" I ask, indicating him.

"Yes," says Anderson, looking right at the newcomer. "I pulled a few strings with the Alliance, and managed to get an extra person for your ground team."

Shepard simply smiles, walking over to the new guy while looking at Anderson. "I appreciate any help we can get," she says. Her attention turns to the man who has all the attention in the room. "You look like you're with the Alliance. You are...?"

"Lieutenant James Vega, ma'am," says the new guy, giving a snappy salute. "Alliance marine. It's an honor to be under your command, Commander." I notice the faintest hint of a smile come to his face as he says this, and he shakes hands with Shepard rather eagerly.

I smile, crossing my arms. "Hm... Looks like we've got a fan," I say, crossing my arms. "It's good to know the crew isn't the only ones who think Shepard does good, non-questionable work."

James simply glances at me. "I'm not sure about what happened with Joram Talid, sir," he replies. Oh, trust me James, neither am I, but I'm not gonna question Commander Shepard at this point "Still, I think you have done good work for the galaxy, ma'am."

"I wish everyone felt the same way," says Shepard. "It'll be good to have you on the team, Lieutenant."

James simply nods, holding a proffesional demeanor as always. "We'll see about that, ma'am," he says.

I nod, looking over at Shepard. "Hm, it doesn't look like you have your stuff with you," I mention.

"I've made arrangements with a friend to get them over to the Normandy, sir," James replies. "It was the docking bay at the Zakera ward, right?"

"Yes, it was," I reply. Hm... he seems to stick to the formalities almost to a T. I imagine that's going to be quite something to get him to kick. "And he should be able to know the ship when he sees it, so yeah."

"Then we're set," says Shepard. "Anderson, is the Council ready?"

"They'll be on time, don't worry," replies the human Councillor. "Whether we'll be ready for them is another story entirely."

"We'll cross that hurdle when we get there," replies Miranda. Hm...? Since when did Miranda start saying things like that? Eh, not important right now.

"That we will," says Shepard. "Well... let's get this over with."

And with this, the remainder of us follow Shepard as we walk over to the holographic projection area where the Council is no doubt going to be. Hm... I wonder if the turian councillor is back in work. I mean, he's had a tough past few months. Well... hopefully with the onset of 2186 having happened a few days ago, he'll be fresh and ready for a little more handiwork.

I walk over, and sure enough, the holographic displays turn on.

...

And what do you know, we may just be getting some airquotes by the time this meeting ends.

"_Commander Shepard_," says the turian councillor, as he looks right at us through the holographic interface. "_We've got important business to deal with._"

"I assure you that this meeting won't be a waste of your time," says Shepard. "We came back from the Omega 4 Relay recently."

"_This is good news_," replies the asari councillor. "_We welcome you back to the Citadel, Commander_."

"Thank you," said Shepard. "While we were there, we actually found more evidence to support my theory on the Reapers."

"_And here we are again with this 'Reaper' claim._" Well, _that _didn't take long. "_Should we also assume that ghosts are real?_"

"_Sparatus, please, this may actually be evidence worth hearing_." Ah, thank you, salarian councillor. "_We should at least give the Commander some time from her undoubtedly busy schedule._"

Shepard shifts her foot slightly, but she doesn't look that angry. Yet. "Thank you, Councillor," she replies. "Madison? You have the files right?"

Madison steps forward, pulling stuff up on her omni-tool. "Yes, I should have it... right about here," replies the former journalist. The information is visible on her omni-tool, and then she sends it off to the Councillors. "This is a package of files that our team picked up while we were on the other side of the Omega 4 Relay. I think you'll find some rather extensive proof, if not about the Reapers, then about the fact that the Collector attacks should have been given your full attention."

The councillors all get a new message indication on their omni-tools at around the same time. In their holographic projections, they open up the folder. I can see a faint glimmer of disbelief in the turian councillor's expression before the salarian councillor looks up.

"_And what is this information we are looking at_?" he asks.

"Art?" asks Shepard.

I nod, stepping forward. "What you're looking at now is a bunch of data we managed to collect and translate from Collector text." I look ahead as they examine the data. "Mostly, it is keeping track of a resource count."

"_There are a couple of notes in some of this data,_" mentions the asari councillor.

"We had Spectre Brosca look through the data before we got to the Citadel," replies Shepard. "Those notes are some of his observations on the matter."

"_Yes, we had received his message that he was going to stay on the Normandy_," says the salarian councillor. "_This evidence is extensive... resource counts..._"

"_This data says that they were... collecting human colonists_," says the asari councillor.

"_Ah, yes, "collecting" colonists._" Oh, hello, air quotes. You're just going to attempt to piss me off, right?

"You realize that we have a group of at least five colonists from Horizon who were _there_, right?" I ask, leaning forward slightly. "We have six who can tell you the Collectors were behind the abductions of the human colonies, and at least five of them can give you some account of what happened once they went past the Omega 4 Relay. I think they can provide feedback too."

"They should be speaking with Alliance Officials at the moment," says Shepard, whose fist clenches behind her back. "If you need their account of what happened, you can ask them."

"_We will keep it in mind_," says the asari councillor. "_The amount of resources stated in this report is vast. As Spectre Brosca notes, it would indeed take a very large amount of resources to create one of these things, and that according to the schematics, it is done with a similar design to Sovereign_."

"_Which subsequently means that the geth wouldn't have had enough resources to build Sovereign_," comments the salarian councillor. "_I think this means that the geth theory can be discredited_."

"_But-!_"

"_Sparatus, I think the resource count is very clear,_" says the salarian councillor. "_Unless there are planets behind the Perseus Veil that aren't documented- a possibility which, while theoretically possible, is very unlikely given its location- then we have no reason to believe they had the sheer amount of resources this data suggests it took to build Sovereign._"

_Yes! _Glory Hallelujah, they _finally _figured it out! Well... part of the way, but still! It's better than nothing! I feel a smile tug at my features as the Council continues looking through the data. The asari councillor looks up.

"_We are not certain we believe your Reaper theory, however,_" says the asari councillor. "_The information suggested here gives the impresson that the Collectors built Sovereign_."

Hm... I guess we should have expected that. "Which is why we have different data included in the package," says Madison. "There should be something there about some data we managed to collect on Collector DNA."

"_That they share the same genetic structure as the Protheans_?" asks the salarian councillor. "_I have noticed that, but this does not mean that the Reapers are behind them. They could have simply evolved in the 50,000 years that occurred between the fall of the Prothean civilization and now._" He clears his throat. "_That is, if we can even be certain about this_."

Okay, seriously, Council. At least you don't think the geth built Sovereign anymore, but still. "So you'll have to think about it," says Shepard, her fists clenching.

Oddly, the turian councillor doesn't say anything, but the asari councillor looks up. "_You do have the word of a justicar and the word of a Spectre to back your story up, however,_" says the asari councillor.

...

Wait...

"But didn't Samara go back to asari space?" I ask.

"_Justicar Samara contacted me when she arrived on Thessia,_" replies the asari councillor. "_She had quite a few good things to say about you, Commander Shepard._"

I smile, looking to Shepard. "Samara was a valuable team member," says Shepard. She glances to Thane then. "She was also a good friend to some of our crew members. I regret that the Code compelled her back to asari space; she would make a valuable ally."

"_I don't doubt it, Commander Shepard,_" replies the asari councillor. "_Samara is one of the most trusted justicars in asari space. It is good that you have her on your side._"

"_Still, this new information warrants further deliberation,_" says the salarian councillor. "_We will talk about this in private, and then we will tell you our decision regarding this matter._"

Hm, a Council meeting where the Council doesn't piss me off? That's... refreshing, actually. Though, the turian councillor was pretty quiet during this whole meeting. I'm not totally sure why, but, there it is.

Shepard nods, looking at the Councillors. "Thank you, Councillors," she says. "I will be looking forward to our next meeting."

"_Oh, before we cut out, one more thing,_" says the asari councillor. "_We received word from Spectre Brosca that you had to kill Spectre Tela Vasir._"

...

Oh, Jesus.

"She had gone rogue, Councillors," replies Shepard. "She was doing a job for the Shadow Broker, and-"

"_Spectre Brosca's report made mention of her job for the Shadow Broker, as well as the methods she used to carry out the job,_" says the salarian spectre. "_We thought we would address that so you would know that we know about that. Spectre Vasir was a good Spectre, but unfortunately I think her behavior in her final days paints a different picture of her than we suspected. We will return to you with our thoughts on this as well as other topics soon._"

With this, the transmissions cut, and almost immediately, I see Shepard grimace.

"They _still _don't see it!" she says angrily.

I shrug. "Hey, look at the bright side, at least they don't think the geth built Sovereign any more," I say. "And they're thinking about it. It's the furthest we've come to proving the existence of the Reapers since... well, you know."

"Technically, Art is correct," replies Anderson. "It's more headway than we've made in years."

"It still means we have room to be discredited, though," Miranda points out. "Even if it is the most headway we've made, it's still troubling that they have to think about it."

"And then there's all the red tape," adds Garrus, crossing his arms. "Even if they do eventually come to our conclusions about the Reapers, they're still going to have to sift through a lot of beaurocratic crap to get to the good stuff."

Madison shrugs. "Still, we should look at the bright side," she says. "We're getting farther than we ever did in proving it right."

"That's true, I guess," says Shepard as Thane walks over to her and places a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I think I'll wait until our next meeting to see what happens."

"Either way, it's a relief to see you've survived the relay, Shepard," says Anderson. "We're glad to have you back, and out of Cerberus' reach. Do you know if it'll stay that way?"

Miranda steps forward. "I think so," she says. "I know the Illusive Man better than anyone in this room." Well, except me, but let's not bring that up to Councillor Anderson's face. "The Illusive Man spent four billion credits on the Lazarus Project, and while he may be angry that we destroyed the Collector base, he knows where his assets are. I think that as long as our goals are the same, he should leave us alone." Miranda smiles. "And he may not be above giving a few leads as well, if he's so inclined."

"So we can expect him to not be a problem, then," says Anderson. "I think that'll be good for all of us."

"Yep," I reply. "So... we don't really have that much to do until the Council reconvenes with us about all that, so..."

"Yeah, I was just about to say the same thing," says Shepard. "You're all off duty until further notice. Miranda, would you mind escorting James back to the Normandy?"

Miranda looked over at the hulking Alliance marine before nodding. "Of course, Commander," she replies. "I will also see to it that he gets settled."

James nods simply. "I appreciate the help, ma'am," he says to Shepard. He then walks over to Miranda, giving her a brief nod as we all make our way out of the office. Just before we leave, though, Shepard turns to Anderson.

"Thank you for arranging this meeting," she says. "I hope I get to talk to you soon."

"With any luck, we will," replies Anderson. Hm...? Why does he look so guilty right now? I'm not sure what that...? "Be careful, Shepard."

With this, we all exit the office, Anderson standing behind as we all walk out en masse.

* * *

><p>"All right, we've got that taken care of. I hope."<p>

I step off the rapid transit vehicle with Tali just behind me. Now that we're free to do whatever, we decided we'd go gallivanting off to the 800 blocks. We're meeting up with good ol' Mangdalar and Yelena there while the others get some time to hang around the Citadel. I know Thane and Shepard were both seeking out Kolyat so they could talk to him about the nature of their relationship, I know Madison and Garrus were just going to go around the Citadel for the first time since Garrus left for Omega, and Miranda is basically heading back to the ship with James. So now that we've gotten the Council meeting out of the way, we've got things to do and places to hang out at.

I wonder if anyone else has taken initiative and gotten off the Normandy. I think Jack and Al might, but we'll see what happens. Maybe Jarel is off too, I dunno. Either way... I think we'll be in good hands to just chill.

I step off the transport, looking at Tali as we both walk side by side. "Do you think they'll listen this time?" asks Tali.

I shrug. "I don't really know," I say. "I guess we'll just have to see what happens in the near future."

Tali nods as we walk of. "I guess so," she agrees. "But after this, what next?"

"Well... we wait and see," I say. "Hopefully by the time we leave, Liara will have something for us." I glance around... God, I hope nobody heard that! "You know how it is, Tali. Information gets around a lot in this galaxy. And from there... we build our allies, and pray to God that we're all ready when the Reapers finally do show up." I purse my lips. "Not the best strategy, but hey, we do what we can."

"In the meantime, we're visiting Mangdalar and Yelena again," says Tali, looking around the area in which the 800 blocks is situated. "Are you sure we should be doing this?"

"I think we need a break," I mention. "I mean, we _did _just replace the Shadow Broker, and we _did _just have a meeting with the Council. And given what's coming up, I really don't think we're going to have as much time to chill as we think we will. I mean, think about it, Tali. There are so many things wrong with this galaxy it's not even funny. We have alliances we need to broker between a lot of people who hate each other's guts, and I'm not sure they'll all get the picture that we're all in this together. I mean, we need to unite the batarians and the humans, we need to unite the salarians and the krogan, and we need to unite the geth and your people." I look back at her. "It's not gonna be easy, just so you know."

The quarian nods. "Yes... that is pretty daunting," she replies. "Are you sure we can do this?"

I shrug. "We'll see," I say. "Hey, you gotta hold out hope _somewhere_, right?"

"I... For the first time, I think there is some hope to be had," she says, walking closer to me. "Knowing Legion has been... strange, but it gives me hope that maybe the quarians can return home without fear of retribution from the geth. That maybe... just maybe, we can take back our homeworld in peace."

I smile warmly, squeezing her hand as it slips in mind. "That's the spirit, _querida_," I say. "Always gotta stay optimistic about these things." I blink, frowning. "Well... you gotta try to, anyway." I glance nervously to the side. "And some are more successful at it than others.

"Yes, I think I know more than enough about how you get sometimes," Tali says softly.

I nod, chewing on my lower lip ever so briefly before walking over to where I see Mangdalar and Yelena's apartment complex. "Yeah," I agree, pulling Tali along with me as we approach. "I try, but it doesn't work out. But hey, I'm feelin' pretty good right now, so that's gotta count for _something_."

"I think it does," says Tali. "I wonder how Mangdalar and Yelena are..."

I walk into the building, guiding Tali along as we enter the complex. Okay... I think we'll take the stairs this time. "I think they're all right," I mention. "Hopefully, they've had time to get over what happened on Omega. Let's go see how they're doing, yes?"

I walk up the stairs, and soon enough, I start hearing the sound of a mandible horn playing. Hm... Well, he's there at least, and... I come closer, and sure enough, there's the sound of the biotic harp. Allrighty then! We are in business!

I walk over to the door, knocking on it as soon as I get close. Pretty soon after, the sound from inside the apartment cuts out, and then I hear them talking a little bit. I nod to Tali, and soon after, the door opens, and there's Yelena, greeting us with open arms.

"Oh, Art, you're back!" she says, a cordial smile on her face. "I thought ships never came back from the Omega 4 relay!"

I shrug, entering the apartment as I look at Mangdalar. Yeah, that was his tenor horn all right. "Well, you know Shepard," I say. "And we're back, and chillin' on the Citadel."

Mangdalar nods, standing up as he lays his horn to the side. "Yeah, you did have quite a handful to deal with," he says. "How are you?"

"No worse for wear," I mention, shrugging. "How are you two holding up after the whole incident?"

"We're all right," says Mangdalar.

"It was tough getting used to it the first couple of days, but we're all right now," says Yelena with a smile. "You kept us waiting for a bit."

I roll my eyes as Tali steps forward. "We had to deal with the Council," she says.

"I guess it took longer than expected," says Mangdalar. "It always takes longer than expected with them."

I chuckle, crossing my arms as I look at the turian musician. "You've got _no _idea," I tell him. "Anyway... you guys ready to go?"

"Well... of course," says Yelena, glancing at her harp. "Let us just get our instruments packed and let's get going."

I nod, smiling at them. "Of course," I say, watching as the asari moves over to where that harp of hers is situated.

* * *

><p>A few minutes later, and the four of us are on the town, walking around looking for someplace to just chill. We're thinking maybe Dark Star, but that's a bit far, so... I don't really know.<p>

"So how was the Omega 4 Relay?" asks Mangdalar. "I'll bet it was pretty perilous."

I nod. "You got that right," I say, gesturing. "There was the largest debris field you've ever seen situated right there at the edge of the FTL jump. We almost didn't make it past that, actually." I shrug. "But we've got a damn good pilot, and a damn good set of engineers." With this, I pull Tali closer, even as she seems to be flustered by my pointing out her role in all that. "Wouldn't have even gotten to the base without that much."

"Well... except that somehow you knew you were getting there, right?" asked Yelena.

I blink, shrugging. Before I can say anything, though, Tali chimes in. "Some things changed," replies the quarian helpfully. "It could've been that we wouldn't be here right now given a lot of things."

I shrug. "Hey, it could've happened any time," I say. "So after that... we infiltrated a base in the center of the galaxy."

"Wouldn't it get sucked into all the black holes there?" asks Mangdalar. "I'm not astrophysicist, but it seems impossible for a base to stay there."

"There was all sorts of advanced technology there," I reply, shrugging. "They probably found a way around that."

"I can imagine," says Yelena, walking around. "Did everything go well?"

"Oh, yes," replies Tali. "Everyone came back from the Relay." She shrugs. "Shepard does the impossible all the time."

"Yeah, but I imagine she had a damn good team to back her up," says Mangdalar, indicating the two of us. "She's nothing without her team."

"That is very true," I state. "So that's how we got past the Omega 4 Relay." I nod, looking at them. "In other news... how are you feeling after the whole Omega debacle?"

"We're feeling better," says Mangdalar, holding his arms. "But it does still get me to have been there. I still have a couple nightmares about what they did to me in that warehouse." He shakes his head, looking forward. "I'm just thankful they didn't do anything too extreme. Imagine if they had tried to remove a piece of my fringe..."

I frown, looking at Mangdalar. "People can do that?" I ask.

"Yes, but it's not something we like to talk about," says Mangdalar. "I hear that it's supposed to hurt a _lot _if someone removes a part of your fringe. It's seen as a battle scar, yes, but if I had gotten it from a kidnapping..." The turian shakes his head, closing his eyes.

"It was tough for both of us," says Yelena, placing a comforting hand on Mangdalar's shoulder. "It was hard being around men who were always looking at you all the time. I don't know what would've happened if they had been worse human beings..." She inhales sharply. "I don't know what would have happened if they had been given the order to kill me, either..."

"Who can?" asks Tali.

"Nobody..." The asari shakes her head. "But we're recovering. I'm back getting some gigs, and Mangdalar's back to writing his music again."

I smile, looking at my fellow composer. "Yeah, that's true," I mention. "How's that coming along, by the way?"

"It's coming along all right," replies Mangdalar. "I recently got a big commission from Palaven to write stuff. It's going to be this huge thing."

I nod, smiling. "Odd how they chose you, right?" I ask. "I mean, you're the one always bringing human elements to turian music."

"I think they've gotten over that bit a while ago," says Mangdalar. "It's supposed to be this opera based on this really well-known turian play. I don't suppose you know_Kurubus_?"

I shrug. "I've heard it get name dropped a couple times," I mention. "It's supposed to be that really huge play that has two endings that can cause civil unrest if people don't really think the ending works with the actor?"

"That's the one," says Mangdalar, glancing to the side. "It's tough to make an opera out of, I'll tell you that."

"I can imagine it's also a lot of pressure," I mention. "I mean, jeez, I can't remember the last time anyone ever had to deal with that kind of really awful public opinion snafu. This is literally the kind of thing that can make or break your career."

"And that's why I took the commission," says Mangdalar. "If it makes my career, then I think I'll be in good hands. If it breaks it... well... I'll figure out what happens after that."

I shrug. "Hey, you already have a film score or two under your belt," I mention. "You could always go back into that."

"True, but you have to keep it varied, I think," he says. "So anyway... how are you with that?"

I smile, glancing at Tali. "Well, I finally finished that song cycle that's been giving me the royal headache," I mention. "And I don't think I could've finished it without my muse here."

And with this, we keep on talking.

* * *

><p>It's not until around half an hour later when I start noticing people looking at Tali and I strangely. Nothing directed at Mangdalar or Yelena, but still... I find that a little bit weird.<p>

And then it went on for about ten minutes afterward, as we all tried to sit down at the local food stand. The dirty looks just got worse. For some reason. And I know it's nothing about the interracial aspect of it; everyone's been concentrating their looks almost exclusively at Tali and I, but... it's never really been in disgust. More like... suspicion, of some sort.

I'm not totally sure why.

So as I sit there, talking to Tali, I end up frowning, turning to Yelena and Mangdalar.

"Is something up with all those people looking at me and Tali?" I ask, directing the question at the other two.

Yelena glances out to the crowd again before shrugging. "I haven't the slightest idea," she said.

"Honestly, I thought you hadn't noticed," adds Mangdalar.

Tali shakes her head. "I have received many looks on the Citadel," she replies. "But they're never normally the same emotion. This time... they're all suspicious."

"Hm... that's strange," mentions Yelena, looking at me. "Did you do anything recently that might get people on edge?"

I shrug. "Not that I'm aware of," I mention. "Except saving their asses, maybe."

"But we all know we should be appreciative of that," says Yelena. "Hm..." She looks at one of the news things on one of the walls. "Since it's everyone who's looking at you... maybe it's something on the news?"

"Could be, could not be," I mention. "You never can tell." I shrug. "You want to go check just in case?"

Yelena blinks, and looks to me. "I think we should all go," she says.

Mangdalar looks around. "Yeah, I'm not sure we should leave you out of our sight just yet," says the turian. "Come on. I already paid, so..."

I nod, and the four of us get off the stools there. We then walk up to a news station, standing right underneath it as we try to listen for the news. It's mostly just tabloids at the minute, and then we all get a better look at the looks the people are giving us. And some... Hm... some of the humans are looking at Tali and I with a lot of disdain. Not just suspicion, but... disdain. I never really noticed that. The alien races, though... That's a different story. They're just suspcious.

And all the looks are diverted away from Mangdalar and Yelena. That too.

I look over at Mangdalar as we hear yet another freaking report about the box office gross of whatever movie was big then, and frown. "Any idea why they're looking at us like that?" I ask.

The turian frowns, looking up at the display before leaning closer. "It's not... exactly common knowledge that your last mission with Commander Shepard was funded by Cerberus, was it?" he asks.

I blink, looking at the turian. "It wasn't, no," I mention. "Even when Shepard met with reporters, she didn't pipe up about that."

"Yeah, Shepard was rather... _blunt _about that with that girl from Westerlund News," Mangdalar states.

This gets a chuckle out of Tali and I. I smirk, looking at Mangdalar. "Khalisa Bint-Sinan Al-Jilani," I mention. "You gotta admit, she had it coming."

"And believe it or not, Shepard's not the only one to get like that around her," says Mangdalar. "But anyway... In all seriousness, I think that might have something to do with it."

Tali and I both glance at each other. "Yeah, getting that kind of thing revealed _would _get people to look at us suspiciously, wouldn't it?" I ask, crossing my arms.

"It earned suspicion with the quarian people," adds Tali. "When we went to the Fleet recently, they were a little wary about me being on a Cerberus ship." She looks at us. "But in a place where Cerberus is an avowed enemy of the Council..."

I nod. "Then everyone looks at you funny." I frown, looking at Mangdalar and Yelena. "You think that bit was leaked to the press somehow?"

"It wasn't leaked by us, that's for sure," says Mangdalar.

"Indeed not," adds Yelena. "Still... If so, I imagine bad things will come of that."

I shrug. "We'll have to see about that," I say. "Either way, I doubt this is more than an unsubstantiated rumor."

"It doesn't sound like that either," mentions Yelena. The asari takes a moment to look back at the people around us before turning her attention up to the news ticker again. "Too many people are looking at you like that for it to just be an unsubstantiated rumor, I think."

"We'll have to see," I reply. "But all this is already looking rather grim."

We stand there for a few more seconds, waiting through yet _another _ad through _Galaxy of Fantasy_. Hm... I just wish this thing would get to the bloody point of why everyone's looking at us. But... Then again, it might not be out on here. I might be wrong about that too. You never can tell with these kinds of things.

Hell, maybe they're all those Terra Firm... No, that doesn't explain why the aliens are looking at us funny too. Hm... This is a puzzlement like King Mongkut would never have-

"Mr. *********?"

I flinch upon hearing someone behind me say my name. I turn back, and look as a rather tall, lean man with blonde hair on his face holds his hands together in a polite gesture. He's rather tall... Looks rather like he's in his twenties or something... I dunno, he's also dressed oddly. I'm not sure where he got that get-up, but he took a few cues from... Feron, I think. As he appeared in the comic, anyway. Again, I'm not sure how that happened. He's also wearing shades. For some reason.

I glance to Tali, taking a step forward as we both turn our attention to him.

"Yes, that's me," I say. "Do you want something?"

The man nods, and approaches us. "Good, we're making good on time, then," he says. He glances to Mangdalar and Yelena before looking to me. "I need you and Tali to come with me within the next four minutes."

...

"Well, that's a rather odd request to make," mentions Mangdalar. "If a little suspicious. Actually, make that really suspicious."

"Yeah, what he said," I say. "What's the rush?"

"A lot of things," replies the tall man. "I'll be honest here: once you come with me, you won't be able to go back to whatever it was you were doing. And both your friends have to stay here."

I frown. Wait, what? "W..." I chuckle nervously. "What are you saying? This is... You honestly expect me to just walk along with a random stranger who says I can't come back here? I mean, I appreciate the honesty and all, but still, that's kinda suspect."

"Why should we go with you?" asks Tali.

"Because I work for the Shadow Broker."

...

Well, then, _that _changes everything. I think, but still... I'm a little suspect about this.

"And what did s- he, tell you?" Damn it, almost slipped there. Gotta keep that out of my speech patterns!

"It's a long story," he says. "We don't have very much time."

"You keep saying that, but you need to prove that," says Yelena.

"I can't, not here," replies the man. "Not if I want to make sure I can still defend all the contacts of the Normandy's crew once we have the major players off the Citadel. It's for more than just intel, let me tell you that now. And you have my word that if I lay a finger on him or Tali'Zorah here-" with this, he indicates Tali, "-then it won't be to harm him."

"This is really important, isn't it?" asks Mangdalar.

"Unfortunately, and you can't just meet up with him when I'm done," says the Shadow Broker operative. "Once I let him go, he's essentially going to have to get straight to... well, the Shadow Broker says 'fighting the Reapers'. Something like that." Wait, Liara actually used that? "I thought the Council dismissed that claim."

I frown. "You're forgetting the airquotes," I mention. "Not important. How are you sure this intel is good?"

"We just found it, and it's not pretty," he replies. "And if it's true, it means that you, Shepard, and everyone on the crew of the Normandy all need to leave the Citadel within the next hour."

I blink in disbelief. "The next _hour_?" I ask. "Jesus, what is this, _Time Crisis_?"

The man blinks uncertainly. "I... didn't even think you knew what that _was_," he admits. "Not important. The important thing is, yes, it's kind of like that, only you can't shoot the guys trying to kill you. I don't have a lot of time. You should say goodbye to your friends here. This will be the last time you see them for a long time, if not for the rest of your life. I'll give you exactly half a minute. Any longer, and I'll have to get "

I frown, but before I can say anything else, he turns, tapping his wrist where a watch would have fallen in the 21st Century. Damn it, you really don't leave me with any choice, do you? Well, shit.

I turn to Mangdalar and Yelena, who are both looking rather concerned. "This sounds serious," she says. "Be careful out there, Art."

I nod. "You too, Yelena," I say. "And Mangdalar, stay safe. If this whole thing turns out to be... well... fake, then I'll come looking for you."

Mangdalar glances at the Shadow Broker operative before nodding. "We'll see what happens," says the turian. "Spirits be with you."

I hold out my hand, and shake it fervently. "Just stay safe," I tell him. "With any luck, I won't have to save your ass again."

"Hopefully," says Mangdalar.

With this, I give him one final smile. I then glance to Tali, who nods. Before long, we're turning away from Mangdalar and walking towards the operative. He nods, and then he falls into step next to me as I lead Tali along.

"All right, we're going with you," I say. "But once we get to wherever it is you're taking us, you better be straight with us."

"When we get there, I won't have time," says the operative. "But I can explain everything on the way to where I'm going to drop you off."

"I hope you're true to that," says Tali, frowning. "I still think it's suspicious that someone would come up and just take us from whatever we were doing."

"Hey, technically, we're on the same paycheck," replies the operative.

"That is true," says Tali. "I think that's the only reason we're going with you right now."

"Yeah, more or less," I say, looking at the stranger.

"I figured that would help," he says as he approaches a cruiser. "If the Broker asks, by the way, I'm Brendan Ganserig. Though, most people just call me Brendan."

I nod as... Brendan opens the cruiser doors and gestures for us to get in. "Well, Brendan, this better be good."

"I think you'll find that it'll be quite the doozy."

And with this, we enter the cruiser.

* * *

><p>About half a minute later, we're going away fro the 800 blocks and to the Zakera Ward. Brendan drives briefly before he gets a call from his omni-tool.<p>

_"Brendan, I've got Madison and Garrus with me_," says the voice on the other end of the line. "_Thane and Shepard have already been briefed ahead of schedule._"

I see Brendan flinch rather quickly upon hearing this. "That's odd, Alan," he says. "How'd they find out?"

"_Probably through Kolyat, though I'm not sure how _he _found that out,_" replies the other person. "_Either way, it's less work we have to do. We just have to hope that everyone can make it to the Normandy before the shit hits the fan with that warrant._"

Wait, what? Warrant? What's this about a warrant?

I lean forward. "Brendan, what the hell is he talking about?"

The operative turns to us before holding his hand up. "I'll explain it in a minute," he says. "Look, Alan, I've got Art and Tali, and I need to explain what happened before I get to the Zakera Ward, and what they need to do once I get there. I'll call you back in a minute."

"_Okay, okay, got it,_" replies the other operative. "_Operative Day out_."

And with this, the conversation is cut short. Before I can say anything, Tali leans forward. "Warrant?" she asks. "What's this about a warrant? What happened?"

Brendan nods, turning to us as he pilots the cruiser. "It's a very long story," says Brendan. "And I don't have a lot of time to tell you everything. I'll fill in some details, but I can't fill in everything."

I nod. "Then what's this warrant all about?" I ask.

"It's a long story," says Brendan. "The Broker told me all about it so I could relay this to you. He says it's really important that you hear the full story, though I only know that it's because we're both on the same paycheck." Hm... better not bring up that the Broker is now also one of my oldest friends in this galaxy... "Anyway, not the point. The Broker found something out while you were on your way to the Citadel from his base on Hagalaz. And unfortunately, you had already set your mind on meeting with the Council."

"So s- the Broker couldn't just tell us this immediately?" I ask, looking at him incredulously.

"Unfortunately," says Brendan. "That meeting with the Council you just had? That was the last chance you had to prove you were sane." Brendan shakes his head. "A lot's happened since you left the Citadel last."

"Like?" I asked.

"Well, your friend was right," replies the operative. "The Normandy's connection to Cerberus was leaked to news outlets recently." He shakes his head, and I'm sure a frown settles on his features. "We thought nothing of it when Khalisa Bint-Sinan Al-Jilani reported it, but then we started seeing the same news popping up with numerous trusted sources..."

I blink, looking at Tali briefly. I then turn my attention back to Brendan. "But that doesn't explain anything," I mention. "When did that air?"

"The news started going around just after you killed Tela Vasir on Illium," replies Brendan. "Whoever was behind the leak could've been waiting for that so they could put pressure on the Council to do something about it." He shakes his head. "The guy who leaked it is a damn illusive bastard, too. He obviously doesn't want to get caught."

I frown, looking at Tali. "Do... Do you think...?"

"The Illusive Man?" asks the quarian. "It may very well be."

"Again, I don't know, but I don't think it's the Illusive Man for a reason that the Shadow Broker will tell you soon," says Brendan with a shake of his head. "The Shadow Broker is attempting to find out who caused the leak, but as far as I know, he's not having a lot of luck with that." He shakes his head. "That's not important. What's important is what went down _after _that. The report was enough to trigger a huge backlash, and it pressured the Council into taking action with the help of the Alliance." Brendan checks his omni-tool again, and then turns fully around, the concern on his face all too apparent.

"As of one minute and six seconds ago, there's been an official warrant for the arrest of Shepard and everyone who is currently on the crew of the Normandy."

... W...

...

_What_?

"I... I'm sorry, I don't think I heard you right," I say. "Did... did you just say the Council issued an _arrest warrant _for us?"

"I'm afraid so," he replies.

... Oh my God... Are you...? No, but that seems... Wait, but... No, that can't be right, they were perfectly willing to listen to us! This is... What the fuck? What...? Who...? This is...

"What the fuck?" I simply ask, staring at Brendan. I feel Tali clenching my hand in shock. "That can't be real! I mean, what the fuck?"

"The Council has been ready to issue the warrant ever since Tela Vasir's death," replies the operative. "The only reason they held out this long is thanks to your friend in the Council." He nods. "Anderson fought against that warrant to the bitter end. Created a media firestorm with it too, and thank God for that. He managed to stall the Council long enough for Shepard to present her findings in one meeting for her to present her findings."

"So that meeting... that was Anderson's doing?" asks Tali in shock. "But-!"

"Anderson insisted on it," says Brendan. "He fought the warrant kicking and screaming the entire time. Literally, they only got him to stop by threatening to take him down with you." Brendan shakes his head. "Damn cowards need to get their asses kicked."

I just shake my head. "I mean, what the fuck?" I ask, looking outside the window. "You're telling me that once this fucking thing lands, we'll be looking down the barrels of twenty fucking C-Sec guns?"

"Not exactly," says Brendan, steering the car. "I'm going to get you as close to the C-Sec checkpoint to the docking bay as I can. Shepard and Thane should already have started making their way to the Normandy." He looks out, and then I look out. "In exactly two minutes and forty seconds, this cruiser is going to land. When it lands, I am going to open the door, and the both of you will get out, and _run_." He looks at us with a stern expression on his face. "You have to run, and never look back."

"You're just expecting us to do that?" asks Tali.

"You don't have a choice!" replies Brendan.

I shake my head. "It's just... What the fuck?" I gesture wildly. "We just found out that if a C-Sec officer sees us, he'll probably arrest us on sight! That's just... I don't know what the fuck to say about that! I mean, what the fuck are we being charged for?"

"Conspiracy to commit treason," he says. "It's a charge that can be proven, but the warrant is going out for the crew _and _Shepard, not just Shepard herself. If you get off the Citadel, you may be able to 'fight the Reapers' and delay the sentencing of anyone left behind. We've had a lot of bad luck hit us with this: with any luck, we'll get lucky, and you won't get arrested."

"But..." I shake my head, my mouth working but unable to produce any further sounds.

When I haven't said something for a few seconds, Brendan nods. "The Normandy is on mandated lockdown, but I'm going to be going straight to deal with that once I drop you off," says Brendan. "To the best of my knowledge, C-Sec hasn't surrounded the airlock of your ship yet. If you're fast and can avoid the officers, you should still have a chance to get there before the airlock is surrounded. Everyone that's on the Normandy right now knows, and is waiting for the order to get the hell out of dodge. And once I get the ship off of lockdown, it's getting out and heading straight for the relay out whether or not everyone is on board."

"You mean we have to leave people behind if they're not there?" asks Tali. "That's-"

"We don't have a choice," says the operative. "The Broker told me to tell you he wishes we had another way to get this all sorted, but a combination of not being at the right place at the right time and a lot more bad luck happened. But he believes it's best to fight the Reapers if you have the freedom to do so. So he's getting you out of here now, but if anyone's left behind, we'll have to keep it that way."

"I... I guess..." I say, shaking my head in utter confusion. "Just... I don't-!"

"I'll be landing this thing in a few seconds," says Brendan, cutting off everything else I want to say. "I'm giving you two questions to ask and that's it! I can't waste any more time!"

I shake my head, shocked at this. So then it's Tali who pipes up, leaning forward.

"What happens if Shepard ends up getting left behind?" she asks.

"Then you're on your own," says Brendan. "If she gets captured, you'll have to take up the mantle of saviors of the galaxy yourselves."

I shake my head, looking at him in disbelief. "And how the fuck are we supposed to do that?" I ask.

Brendan gives us a sad smirk. "Improvise," he tells us. I feel the cruiser lower down. "All right, when I count to three, I'm opening these doors."

I nod, looking to Tali. "You go first," I say. Tali nods at me wordlessly. "I... I just don't know what the fuck-"

"You'll have to deal with it when you get out of here," says Brendan. "_Keelah se'lai_, and may the Force be with you."

I blink, but I only get enough time to turn my head to ask him how he knows what those two terms mean when he places his hand squarely on the door's holographic panel.

"_One_!"

I turn to Tali, shaking my head. "Tali, are you just as scared as I am?"

"Yes," she says.

"_Two_!"

I nod, biting my lower lip. I then grip her hand, holding it in mine with as much force as I can. "Don't let go."

Tali nods. "I won't."

"_Three_!"

The doors open, and no sooner do they do so, then I nod to Tali.

"_Go go go go go!_"

With this cry, I usher Tali out of there, and then we're both sprinting across the Zakera Ward on the way to the checkpoint. We're sprinting hand in hand as I see a bunch of people suddenly notice the two of us sprinting through a group of people, and I just look around at any C-Sec officers. Hm... Yeah, we'll be good until we hit the checkpoint. I hope. We just weave through people, almost bumping into the odd asari or human. But we try to keep that to a minimum, and for the most part... Tali's actually racing ahead of me. In fact, the only reason I probably haven't fallen behind is because I'm holding on to her hand so tightly.

Whatever. I'm not letting go!

The checkpoint comes sooner than I expect. I briefly register that we're storming past Bailey's office, even as Tali opens the door through the checkpoint. We dash through the checkpoint, even as the turian directing traffic into the other checkpoint chamber notices this. As soon as we pass through the DNA scanner, the alarms go off, and I register a loud blaring sound as I dash forward and slam against the green panel of the door. I'm disoriented only for a second as the door opens, and then we're both dashing out.

Okay, we made it past the checkpoint. Now... we've just gotta outrun the officers.

And speaking of which, I see our first officer move out quickly, brandishing his pistol as I spare a glance back. I turn my attention back to the area ahead of me, and I run up next to Tali just as the officer fires off a shot where my left foot was just a minute ago.

Phew, thank God my right foot healed most of the way before now! I need to give Chakwas a big, huge hug after this.

We run forward, maneuvering past a corner which should take us directly to the right place. I glance back again for a split second, and then see that a second officer has joined the chase. My god, these guys are fast! I return my gaze in front of me, seeing numerous crates all in front of us. Great, someone just had to get some shipments in today, didn't they?

Well... we've got no choice.

We approach the first wave of crates, which I jump onto from my dash. Tali does pretty much the same thing, and then I find that I have to jump over another crate before hitting the ground. I do so, but I'm not really prepared for the landing. I very nearly stumble and fall, but thankfully Tali is there to hoist me back to my feet and keep us going with the forward momentum we need to outrun the... four officers that are following us now. I turn my attention back to the front as Tali makes another jump over a set of crates.

Hm... I need to do something. I... what can I do to slow them down? Hm...

I then look right as we're about to pass a crate that has a bunch of smaller packages on it. Hm... Right as I pass it, I sweep my hand back, scattering the smaller packages around on the floor behind me. Hopefully, that'll do _something_. I briefly glance back as we run further away to see the C-Sec officers arrive... and just jump right over it.

Damn it. Well, it was worth a shot.

I keep running forward, and we round another corner. Jesus, I only just realized how far away the docking bay was from the checkpoint. I mean, we always take the shuttle there, but... But no, Brendan couldn't just drop us off at the shuttle at all! It's almost like someone decided we should have a chase scene here just to see us stumble and fall!

...

Or... Hm, it might depend on where the others went. It might actually be that they're trying to disperse the C-Sec officers away from the action. Or something. If Madison and Garrus are coming from the other direction, then that might keep the C-Sec officers on their toes.

And indeed, as soon as we round another corner, I can see Thane and Shepard. However, I see that Thane's gotten a hold of a submachine gun, and has just faced forward from firing behind him. Wait, though weren't they the ones that our friends with the Shadow Broker didn't have to warn about this whole rigmarole? That...

"Thane! Shepard!"

The drell and the commander eye us briefly as we go sprinting around. We're both walking on more or less opposite walkways, but before we can say much else, our paths merge. So then we end up running side by side as Shepard looks to us.

"Good, you got the warning," says Shepard. "Who told you?"

"We were told by some Brendan Ganserig," I mention. "He was a Shadow Broker operative, apparently."

"So that's the work of our good friend Liara, then," says Shepard, shaking her head as we continue running. "I thought as much! Kolyat was confused as hell as to why the Shadow Broker would leave information for him directly on his terminal."

I nod. "You know about everything then?"

"Yeah." Shepard doesn't waste any time, tossing a pistol at us. I manage to grab it quickly, seeing that it's got a full thermal clip. "It should already be primed to fire concussive rounds only. Don't ask me how I got those, time isn't exactly on our side right now!"

I shake my head, looking behind us as Thane briefly turns and fires another volley at the group of officers that are chasing us. I see one of the officers go down stumbling, the others seeming to pick up the pace as they raise their rifles.

I turn my hand, holding the pistol out and firing blindly. Through pure luck, I notice one of the turian officers is suddenly sent flying back from the force of the concussive shot. I don't give myself time to look at any of it; we simply turn our attention back to what's ahead of us. We quickly turn the corner just as the C-Sec officers start firing on us.

Well, right away, we have to round another corner... We're getting closer to the Normandy than we think... My heart is pounding at a mile a minute, and my legs are already getting a little tired from non-stop dashing, but damn it, I have to keep going! Damn it, I'm not getting captured over some stupid-ass misunderstanding!

We run further on, navigating our way around more crates. As we pass another checkpoint, however, I turn back to see a group of other C-Sec officers suddenly come running in from behind us. They've already got their weapons primed, and they start firing at us as soon as they move behind us. I duck down, Tali doing the same thing as we increase our momentum slightly. Some of the bullets manage to fly directly overhead, and at a couple of points, I can feel a couple mass accelerator rounds barely miss my arm.

Yeah, that would be bad if I got shot now. Damn it, where the hell is my portable shield thing when I need it?

I shake my head, even as we continue running. Damn it... something better not happen! We're getting closer to the Normandy!

I hear another round of gunfire go off behind us. However, I suddenly feel a sharp pang of fright in my heart when I hear Shepard yell out in pain.

I turn, and barely register the sight of her stumbling.

...

Oh my God! They shot Shepard!

Before I can say much else, however, Thane is already reaching back and hoisting Shepard on his shoulders. He grunts from the exhertion, before I lean in and support Shepard on my free shoulder. This frees us up a little bit, and before long we're able to get back to some semblance of fast running.

"Shepard!" I say, glancing behind me. "Shepard, are you okay?"

"Ugh, they shot me in the leg," says the commander. "Both of them, I think. Of all the times for that to be happening..."

I nod quickly, trying to pick up the pace but finding it a little difficult under her weight. "I know!" I say, noticing as Tali ends up having to slow down just a smidge for us. "Just stay calm, Shepard! We're gonna take you straight to Dr. Chakwas once we get on the Normandy!"

Shepard nods, looking forward. "Just get us there!" she says.

"We're working on it!" I shout, looking to Thane as he sets his eyes on the commander worriedly.

I move forward a few feet before Tali turns to look at our pursuers. I notice the alarmed expression on her face before she actually gives voice to it, turning to us frantically.

"Art, move faster, they're gaining on us!"

I frown, nearly stumbling over my own feet. I feel myself give a slight burst of speed, but it's not enough, and I can sense Thane sees it too. I glance back, and sure enough, the C-Sec officers are just a hair closer. But at this rate... Even now... I can see that they're going to gain slightly on us. And we've got an injured commander who can't even run reliably... Fuck!

I glance back again, seeing the officers gain on us again. Fuck... "Damn it, we're being slowed down!" I say, moving faster. "Tali, help us out here!"

"It may be impractical to carry the Commander with three people," says Thane from the other side of Shepard.

I shake my head. "If Tali could just grab her legs or something-"

"That would cause her to bleed out before we got to Chakwas' office," replies Thane. "We cannot risk aggravating her injury any further. I cannot think of any other plausible ways to get her to the Normandy."

... Fuck... What the hell do we do? We've got... We've got an injured Commander, we have to get to the Normandy, those C-Sec guys are gonna close in on us any minute now... Fuck, did they _plan _on this? They had to have? The warrant was for arrest, not for shooting on sight. So slow down the Commander, and you've cut off the serpent's tail.

Fuck... What do we-?

"Leave me."

...

W... _What_?

I turn to Shepard a second or two after she says this. "What?" I ask.

"Leave me," she says. "I'm slowing you down. You won't make it to the Normandy in time."

I shake my head. No, she can't be serious! "W-? No!" I reply. "Nobody gets left behind! We're not leaving you, Shepard! "

"That's an _order_, Serviceman!" she says. "I'll live, even if it has to be behind bars."

I shake my head, even as Tali and Thane turn to her. "Shepard, do you know what you're _suggesting_?" asks Tali. "We can't just leave you here!"

"Either I get taken in, or all of you do," she says. "It's me they're most after, anyway."

"And how the _fuck _do you know that?" I ask. "For all we know, they could try us all in court! We're not leaving you behind!"

"Art, you have to!" says Shepard. "With any luck, they'll wait for you to get captured first before trying me!"

"_Siha... _I do not think this is wise," says Thane.

I gesture to Thane. "Yeah, I think I'm in agreement with Thane," I shout. "We can't do this without you, Shepard! We're not-!"

"You can, and you have to," says Shepard convincingly. I glance behind us to see that the officers have gained quite a bit of distance on us. Fuck... She's right, isn't she? "Art, when you get back on the Normandy, I'm trusting you, Miranda, and Garrus to run the ship. The Reapers can't wait for us to get released!"

"But Shepard, we-"

She continues despite my objection. "Miranda can be the official XO of the Normandy," she says. "Garrus can head operations, and you can be... the guy that always has the third opinion." I shake my head. I'm not- "I'm trusting you with this, Art."

I glance behind me again, feeling tears welling in my eyes. No... No, this can't be... "Commander... I can't just..."

"You have to," replies Shepard, giving me a harsh glare. "You have to, and you will. You'll have to gather allies in my place, all right? I trust you to do it, because I know you'll find the determination to do the right thing! I'll be fine, even if I have to rot in jail for the rest of my life!"

...

I glance at Tali, who's looking at me with a grim expression. I then look to Thane, who has a similarly grim look in his eyes. Fuck... Damn it all to fucking hell!

Fuck you, Council! Fuck you for stabbing us in the back like this! And fuck you for forcing me into this!

I turn to Shepard, biting my lower lip as my grip on her back slackens. "If an opportunity comes to break you out of prison, I'm taking it immediately," I tell her. "I'm _not_letting these guys have their way with you any longer than necessary!"

I look to the commander as she nods. "Be brave, soldier," she says. "You'll need it for the coming days." She then turns to Tali, and nods. "Tali, make sure he doesn't lose his mind. We need him sane when you gather allies."

Tali nods briefly, not saying a thing before Shepard turns to Thane. With what she can do, she leans forward, leaving a very fleeting kiss against the tip of Thane's frills.

"Be safe, Thane," says Shepard. "And try not to die on me while I'm gone."

Thane nods, and I can sense the faintest trace of a tear running down the area between his cheeks and his nose. "May Arashu watch overy you, _siha_," he says, almost in defeat."

She nods, giving Thane a reassuring smile. I look on, taking a ragged breath even as we run on.

And then, Thane and I both let Shepard slip from our grasp. She falls to the ground unceremoniously, and doesn't even try to get back up. As I look back, I soon see the C-Sec officers swarm over her, though one or two of them do run past us to continue chasing the remainder of us.

Almost immediately, though, I can tell that suddenly we're moving a lot faster, and we're actually gaining distance from the C-Sec officers.

But as I look up at Jocelyn Shepard giving us a final look of pride, I briefly wonder if there could've been another way to handle all that. It's just... damn it. Just damn it. We shouldn't have had to leave the Commander behind! Even if she was right and she was dragging us all down... it just...

I turn away, squeezing my eyes shut right after we turn a corner. I open my eyes again, feeling a tear slip down my cheek as we continue running.

* * *

><p>It only takes another minute or so of running before we <em>finally <em>see the Normandy. Across from the docking bay, we can see Garrus and Madison both running in with a lot of C-Sec officers behind them. I turn to look at the ship, and... Okay, Brendan was right on the money! The airlock is still unsurrounded, though that'll probably change once we get in.

We meet up with Garrus and Madison within seconds, and then we're both running towards the airlock. Almost immediately, though, Garrus notices Shepard's absence.

"Where's Shepard?" he asks.

I glance to Thane. "Shepard was injured," says Thane. "The injury slowed us down, so she ordered us to continue without her."

I shake my head as we get close to the airlock. "I didn't want to, Garrus," I say as we round the corner. "I just-"

"We'll worry about that later!" says Madison, slamming her hand against the panel of the airlock. "We'll figure out what to do about that after we get off the Citadel!"

A moment later, the airlock door opens, and not a moment too soon, for C-Sec has just surrounded the airlock. I fire my pistol at them, a concussive round sending a salarian officer sprawling back as Garrus pulls out his own assault rifle. A few more officers go down as we file into the airlock... Oh, come on, don't fail us now!

The airlock door slams shut soon after, and then I glance at the pistol. Shit... this is _Shepard_'s pistol, isn't it? Fuck... I shake my head. Damn it, the decontamination cycle isn't going fast enough. It's just... Why...?

When the decontamination cycle finally ends, I rush in almost without waiting for the doors to fully open. I just barge right the fuck in, and breathe in and out a few more times as I rush over to the cockpit. There Joker sits, with Miranda standing just behind him. The XO nods upon seeing us.

"Good, I didn't think you'd..." She then looks at the group of us, frowning. "Where's Shepard?"

I shake my head, biting my lower lip hard as Joker looks up at us expectantly. "She... She won't be joining us," I say, shaking my head and closing my eyes. "I..." I slam my fist against Joker's seat, shaking my head as it leans against the seat.

"_Damn it!_" I shout. banging on the seat again.

"Hey, watch the chair!" says Joker, holding his hands out. "I'm not getting this-"

"Fuck the chair!" I shout, gesturing out there. "Shepard just got arrested by C-Sec, and-"

"Art, chill," says Joker, gesturing to the panels. "Right now, I've gotta concentrate on getting us out of there."

"_You can tell us the nature of Shepard's absence after we have left the Citadel_," says EDI.

I shake my head, stepping back and looking outside. "It's just..." I shake my head, bringing a hand up to my face and letting out a huge sigh of unhappiness as I do. "Damn it..." I shake my head, looking at Miranda. "How many people are here?"

"Shepard's the only one not accounted for," says Miranda, shaking her head. "Everyone else is on the ship, though I must say it gave James and Jarel quite a shock to hear that they were suddenly under arrest."

...

Wait...

_James._ Wasn't Anderson pulling strings for him? So... So how the hell did he do that while getting his job threatened? I... No, that's something I need to ask him. And for that matter, why the hell is Jarel under arrest? I mean... He didn't even go ro... Oh, wait, he was involved in the death of Tela Vasir. Fuck... I don't know what the hell we're going to do about that.

"So right now, we're just waiting for the operatives to give us the signal to get the fuck out of here," I say.

"Pretty much," says Miranda, looking out the window. Outside, we can see a bunch of C-Sec officers surrounding the Normandy. Well... at least law enforcement isn't going to force us into a hostage situation. I can see that Shepard isn't among the C-Sec officers out there, so that's good. But still... Damn it, Brendan, I hope he can move fast.

My eyes look up instinctively to the light that flashed in the first game to tell us about that, and I let out a shaky breath. I can feel Tali place her hand on my shoulder, and I glance to her.

"It'll be all right, Art," says the quarian soothingly. "We'll be all right."

I nod, blinking as I look at her. "I hope you're right..."

I turn my attention back to the light. The next minute or so is incredibly tense, and I feel my limbs get giddy about the whole thing. I glance back to Miranda a couple of times while waiting, and the sheer amount of tension in the cockpit is so thick that one could literally cut it with a plastic spork. I just... Fuck, what do I do?

I breathe shallowly, looking at Joker as he sits there, concentrated and waiting on the signal to get the hell out of dodge.

And finally, we get it in the form of the light turning green.

"That's the cue!" says Joker. "EDI, we're getting the hell out of dodge!"

"_All systems are fully operational, Jeff,_" replies EDI. "_Deactivating the magnetic docking clamps_."

The ship stays still for a few seconds, and then another light goes off on some display. Joker doesn't waste a second: as soon as the light goes off on that panel, he's already manipulating everything as quickly as he can, and before we know it, he's getting us the hell out of there. The C-Sec officers become smaller as we back out, and then Joker turns us around, and before long, we're heading out to the relay at full speed.

I look up. "Was C-Sec expecting this?" I ask.

EDI's avatar pops up again. "_I do not believe they were_," she replies. "_With any luck, we should be at the relay before they send out any ships to apprehend us_."

I breath in, even as we approach the relay. The Normandy moves faster than I think she ever really has, and Joker's hands are flying across the panels like I have never seen. "C'mon, girl, don't fail me now!" I hear him mutter quickly as he manipulates everything.

The mass relay gets closer than ever before, and then before long, we're right next to it. "Okay, guys, hang on to your seats!" he says. "I'm jumping us straight into the Terminus systems!"

And with this, Joker propels the Normandy into the signature FTL drive. The relay comes up close, and before long, we're in the blue tunnel of a relay jump. The jump only takes a short time, but it feels like an eternity as Joker continues moving his hands across innumerable panels. I swear, we don't leave the FTL jump for at least a minute for some reason.

Finally, however, the view from the windows give way to the light of another star system. If I look, I can faintly make out the shape of Omega in the far distance.

I breathe in and out. Holy shit...

We made it off the Citadel. Without getting arrested. And... And now...

Now what?

We're fugitives in Council Space, we'll probably have a Spectre or two chasing after us in a bit, we have no leads to go on at all, no idea where to start or even what to do... And to top it all off? We just lost Shepard. Shepard, who would know what the hell we were supposed to do in a situation like this, and the one who would have enough charisma to take on anything. I mean... this is just so fucked up. And the worst part? I still think we could've done something about it! We didn't have that much distance! We could've made it there! Right?

... Right?

This... I close my eyes, shaking my head as I clench my hands into fists.

I look over to Miranda, and I can see that the realization is dawning on her too. We're free, but what do we do with it? I...

I shake my head, looking to where EDI's avatar would be. "EDI, call everyone into the briefing room," I say grimly. "We have a lot we need to discuss."

EDI doesn't reply, but I figure she's on it already. With this said, I walk towards the CIC, Tali holding my hand as we march slowly to the briefing room. Soon after, the others in the cockpit follow me, the tension still hanging in the air.


	6. Chapter 5

_A/N: And now, Shepard has been arrested. Let the shock go down, and let everything else fade out slightly._

_So yeah, as you can imagine, it'll shake up the status quo a lot. Art gets thrust into a part leadership position, Miranda gets thrust into the main one, and everyone will have to deal with a Normandy without Shepard on it. It ain't gonna be easy, I can tell you that much. After that... everyone's gonna have some stuff to do._

_Anyway, for past reference... Those of you who caught the cameo of Sarge1995 in the last chapter all get a cookie! If you missed it, Brendan Ganserig was an expy of his character from his SI series. Crazy times are had for everyone. ;)_

_Anyway, here's the next chapter. Hope you guys enjoy._

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: Changes<p>

"What the fuck do you _mean_, we left Shepard behind?"

Of course Jack would be the first one to start yelling at us. I... I figured as much.

We're all crowded around the debriefing table. Thane, Tali, and I are at the head of the table, with Miranda on my right and Garrus and Madison on my left. Well... the rest of the team is there, right in front of us. Jack, Al, Mordin, Legion, Kasumi, Jacob... Everyone's here. Even James and Jarel, given that they're technically the new guys on the block.

And as soon as I break this news... Well, I don't think there'll be a lot of terribly happy people... And even before Jack started yelling, I see immediate reactions in everyone. Kasumi reeled back in shock, Jarel looked at us in disbelief, and Al just stiffens in shock.

"You... You just left my sister behind?" asks Al after Jack yells. "Why...?"

"It could not be helped," says Thane. "_The sound of a gun, a yell. She is injured. Iron scent attacks my nose. He looks, eyes wide in shock. We're slowed, they gain speed, the distance closes. Siha turns to us. 'Leave me,' she says. His voice protests, grating against the order._" His second pair of eyelids nictate, and he snaps out of his solipsism. "We disagreed with her. But in the end..." He stops, and it's only then that I see the tear travel down his cheek. "I..."

I nod grimly, looking back at Al. "I... I just..." Jocelyn's younger brother just shakes his head, banging his fist against the table. "Damn it! Just... how the fuck could the Council _and _the Alliance do this to her? After _everything _she's done for them, they brand her a traitor and lock her up!" Al then points a finger at me. "And if _you _hadn't let her fall into their hands, we-"

Excuse me? "She got shot in the legs!" I reply, yelling out. "We were literally _carrying _her over here! And I kept on protesting her order!"

"You should've tried harder!" Jack yells. "And now we're stuck wondering what the fuck we're gonna do next!"

"And now we are without a battlemaster." All eyes turn to Grunt as he gives a rather mean expression. Hm... I haven't seen him in a while. "Battlemasters are supposed to be strong. For one to be taken like that is insulting." He pounds a fist into his hand. "I say we go back and get her out of there."

Al and Jack both give a whoop of approval at this. "Yeah, I'm with the lizard here," says Jack. "Let's just go back and break her out."

"That's suicide," says Jarel, shaking his head. "Do you know how harsh Citadel Security will be now that we've escaped? We won't even be able to get beyond the relay before we're captured!"

"That doesn't mean we sit back and let them take my battlemaster," says Grunt, leaning dangerously close to the... _rogue _salarian Spectre. God, I can't believe I actually said that.

"Brosca Spectre brings up an excellent point," Legion chimes in. "We have calculated the statistical probability of being able to free Shepard under current galactic conditions at less than 15.73 percent, rounded up."

"Yeah, I'm with the machine on this," says Jacob, crossing his arms. "There's a heavy risk involved, and without Shepard I'm not sure we can do it."

"But... but there has to be _something _we can do to get her out of there!" says James Vega soon after, gesturing to the center of the table. "We shouldn't just leave her to whatever the Council is going to do to her!"

Kasumi starts to say something, but before we all know what's going to happen next, people start yelling at each other. I blink in surprise as the yelling contest suddenly just branches out everywhere, with Legion spouting statistics of some sort, Jack and Grunt taking part in some namecalling, Al getting in a major fit about everything, and just general cacophony.

I glance to Miranda, who shakes her head. I look at the group, and look right at them. Damn it. This is just... And now we're arguing about what to do. Damn it, Shepard wouldn't have wanted this. She...

What would she have done...?

I turn to everyone who is arguing.

"All of you, just _SHUT UP! SHUT! UP!_"

I manage to be heard over all the arguing, and suddenly, everyone stops and looks at all of us. I glance to Miranda, who simply nods to everyone else.

"Thank you," says the former Cerberus operative. "I can tell you now that nobody that is in this room is happy with these developments. Least of all Art, least of all Tali, and least of all Thane." She looks out at everyone. "But it's no use yelling at each other over what to do now. This is dividing us all. Shepard wouldn't want that." She looks at everyone. "She is trusting us to fill in her job where she can't, and that means that we all need to stay united. And arguing at each other over what to do is _not _how we stay united as a team."

"And what the fuck are we supposed to do then?" asks Jack. "Go back to Cerberus?"

Miranda frowns at this. "You forget that the Shadow Broker is on our side, Jack," she replies, keeping her cool. "We have excellent funding, a source of finding resources, and the largest information network in the galaxy on our side. As long as he is helping us, I don't think we'll need to return to Cerberus."

"Yeah," I mention, as all attention turns to me. Okay... Maybe I better address the jailbreak now... Yeah. "I know some of you want to go back and rescue Shepard, but... Legion's right." I face the geth, a regretful expression on my face. "We can't just return and get Shepard out of there."

I see Al move in to object loudly, and it's when his mouth is part open that I instinctively raise my hand "_But!_" I say loudly. This causes the younger Shepard sibling to close his mouth. "But, I promise you all this," I continue. "If we get a lead for a good opportunity to get Shepard out of custody, you can be _damn _sure we'll take it."

Grunt, Al, Jack, and James all look at each other, nodding in reluctant agreement. "Fine," says Grunt, obviously displeased at this. "But if you don't keep your word..."

I nod, knowing full well that he doesn't have to finish the sentence. A short silence follows in which the other occupants of the room shift uneasily.

"So, question," Kasumi says after a few minutes. "Who's in charge now?"

Tali shifts where she stands. "She put Art, Garrus, and Miranda in charge, with Miranda as the XO."

"I assume Art and Garrus are there for second opinions," mentions Madison, shifting slightly where she stands.

A silence takes over the room, and... Hm. We all look to Jack uncertainly, as she just stands there, her hand tapping against the table. After a few seconds, she stares at everyone around her, a confused expression coming to her face.

"What?" she asks.

I blink, frowning. "What, no objections to the cheerleader coming in and leading?" I ask.

Jack smirks. "Well, she just said that we're not going back to those fuckers at Cerberus, so she's not exactly a cheerleader any more," the biotic points out.

I smile, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, that's true," I mention, crossing my arms. "Miranda, you think you'll be fine?"

"I'll do my best," she says. "I won't lie, I don't think anyone could replace Commander Shepard, but I'll do what I can to make sure we can fight against the Reapers later."

I shrug, smiling. "That's the best we can ask for." With this, I turn my attention to everyone else. Okay... What do I say...? I shake my head, my expression turning grim again. "Yeah, I don't really have that much else to say right now," I say. "We need to do what Shepard would've done. And that means that we need to start gathering allies against the Reapers. And I'm not sure where we're going to start with that." I look out to everyone. "So... suggestions?"

Mordin clears his throat, and then all attention is on him. "Recommend a course of action for curing the genophage," says Mordin. "Krogan valuable allies against Reapers. Not affiliated with Council. Ideal starting point with gathering allies."

... What? Mordin, suggesting _that _of all things? My oh my... "Now that you need us, you're curing us," says Grunt. "What's to say you won't neuter us again after we've killed the Reapers?"

"We'll have to see," says Jarel. "But I don't think they'll revisit the genophage when you help save the galaxy a second time." With this, the salarian Spectre brings up his data on his omni-tool. "Thankfully, I still have Maelon's data on my omni-tool. It would take quite a few resources, maybe even a willing test subject that fits under the right conditions, but I think we may be able to cure the genophage before the Reapers come." Jarel nods. "We have an ally, and we give the krogan something to fight. Hopefully, after that they won't be so prone to attacking colonies." Jarel looks up at Grunt. "I think you've suffered enough."

"You better hope your species doesn't neuter us again," says Grunt. "I _will _kill you if they do."

Jarel shivers slightly as the krogan leans forward, but they're both interrupted by Mordin. "Knowing how genophage figures into krogan culture, would believe it would give hope to krogan," adds Mordin. He then sniffs loudly. "Should be interesting."

Miranda nods. "I... have some reservations about that, but I will trust Mordin and Jarel's judgment on this," she says. "I only hope we can build up the numbers needed when the time comes. Anything else?"

"This platform of the geth stands ready to assist *********-Serviceman," says Legion off to the side. "If necessary, this platform can communicate with the geth collective. Statistical probablility suggests that geth would make a good ally against the Reapers." He then looks to Tali. "This platform is also willing to go to the Migrant Fleet to negotiate alliance with the Creators. Perhaps it can be suggested that we return the homeworld to the Creators."

Tali looks at Legion in shock. "You... you would do that?" she asks.

"Provided the Creators agree to a few terms, yes," replies the machine.

I look to Tali. "Again, we'll have to see," I say. "But I think our chances might just be improving on that end." I look to Kasumi. "Zaal'Koris is an ass, but he's got the right idea with bringing peace between the geth and the quarians. Rael also looks like he's changed sides, though I can't be certain of that. But since Shala'Raan is the neutral party, we might just be able to get the majority vote needed to push for peace with the geth. So we've taken care of the admirals."

"That's all well and good, but it's all for nothing if we can't convince the quarian people that the geth have good intentions," mentions Miranda. "Remember that you have to deal with a history of hatred between the geth and the quarians, and it will not be possible to cure it overnight."

Hm... She's got a _really _good point there. Hm...

James looks at Legion with a rather wary look again. I think the rest of the crew catches it, though, for then Garrus looks right at the newcomer. "Still getting used to it?" asks the turian.

"Uh... Yes, sir," says James, glancing at the geth again. "I just... I'm expecting it to shoot us in the back at any time. What if it's scheming behind all our backs, sir?"

A table-wide chuckle goes around, causing the Alliance marine to look at us uncertainly. "My father said the _exact_ same thing when Legion first came to the Normandy," replies Tali. "Legion will grow on you, trust me."

"We will exchange further data with Vega-Lieutenant if he so chooses," says Legion. "Addendum: This should be interesting."

I smirk, looking at the geth. "Indeed," I mention. I turn my attention to the center of the table. "So those are the krogan, the geth, and the quarians that we can get started with." I look up at Garrus. "I guess we're off to a better start than I hoped."

"It sure seems that way," says Garrus. "But there are other people we need to gather too. And those people won't be as easy to get."

I nod. Yeah... "Well... all the Council races are right out at the moment," I mention. "So that means that the hanar, turians, asari, salarians, and... well... humanity will all have to wait until we can clear Commander Shepard." I blink, shaking my head. "Actually, I'm not even sure _that's_ in our hands, so... never mind me."

"In addition, we have to earn the trust of the entire Terminus systems," says Miranda. "We may be able to convince the people of Omega to do something about this given our standing with Aria T'Loak, but the rest of the Terminus may prove to be a problem."

"Not as much as you might think," says Al, leaning against the table. "I got a message from Zaeed Massani a couple days ago. He's started gathering the Blue Suns together after the stuff that went down with Vido's death." The young N7 marine looks at all of us. "So that's one merc group that we can get on our side quickly."

"And if we do something for the krogan, there's a chance the Blood Pack might be willing to assist us," says Garrus. "I'll be honest, I don't like the idea that we'll have to work with them."

Miranda simply arches an eyebrow at the turian. "Will that be a problem, Garrus?" she asks.

"No," he replies. "I'll go along, but I won't like it."

"Neither will Madison, I imagine," says Kasumi, crossing her arms.

Madison shrugs. "Well, you know," she says, glancing at the turian she's standing next to. "I don't think I'll like it either. But... if Garrus will try to live with it, I guess I've got no excuse."

The rest of us nod our agreement, and then I nod. "Which leaves us with the batarians." I shake my head. "Now, I've got _no_ idea where the hell we're supposed to start with that, so..."

"We'll think about it later," says Miranda. "Well... we have a pool of four potential allies we can start with."

"It's better than nothing," I mention, looking at the former Cerberus operative before nodding. "Okay..." I breathe in... Damn it. "I'm still not sure where to start, but I think I'll have a better idea." I look to the others. "I'll be seeing you all individually after I finish some stuff here in the comm room with Miranda and Garrus. We'll be heading out to our next port of call when we make up our minds. For now, most of you are dismissed. You know who you are if you're not."

The others nod, and slowly, they all exit. I look around, watching as people leave the room with various expressions on their faces. They all more or less file out slowly, and then after about half a minute, they're all out. And when everyone is gone, that leaves Thane, Tali, Miranda, Madison, Kasumi, and Garrus standing here. I glance around after this.

Damn it, we're missing someone. And that someone is... Shepard. I blink, breathing in and closing my eyes as I think about this. Damn it... Shepard's not here, and unfortunately it's all the fault of... whoever it was that forced our hand and forced us to abandon her there. Damn it, just... damn it.

I take in a deep breath, looking ahead of me. "EDI, call up the Shadow Broker's base," I say. "I need to have a talk with the Broker."

EDI's avatar appears. "_The Shadow Broker wished to talk to you about something unrelated to what happened on the Citadel,_" says the artificial intelligence. "_I was told to alert you to the presence of the call when you came to the CIC. Given the circumstances, I decided it was best to wait until this debriefing was over_."

I nod, biting my lower lip as the table lowers in front of us. "Thanks, EDI," I say. "Lord knows I had enough to deal with given where Shepard is now."

The table sinks completely, much like it used to before Liara upgraded it with all those credits. I look up, watching as an interface comes up. I open my omni-tool, hitting a few holographic keys, and when I do this I see a little communications thing come up. Okay... we are connected to the Shadow Broker's base. This is the most secure line in the galaxy, even if we can't really see her there. But... we'll see what happens.

I step forward, and even as I do, I see the wavelength graphic move a little bit.

"_Art_."

Gah! That's one deep-voiced asari there!

"Uh, hi Liara," I say. "The deep voice bit... I think that can go."

I hear some things briefly, and then a beep sounds. "_Sorry,_" says the new Shadow Broker. Ah, that's much better. "_I... I've just been so used to keeping the voice changer activated..._"

I nod. "It's fine," I reply. "They... they arrested Shepard."

"_Yes, Operative Ganserig's report made mention of that,_" replies Liara. "_I'm sorry I wasn't able to inform you earlier. I... Maybe if I had been faster, Shepard would still be there._"

I nod, crossing my arms. "Honestly, I don't think anyone could've expected her to get shot by C-Sec officers." I frown. "Would you mind telling us why you didn't have this information earlier?"

"_I didn't have the relevant information until you had already docked at the Citadel,_" says Liara. "_I noticed it on a set of Udina's files that an operative on the Citadel had leaked. The Broker must have gotten the files just after I had taken over, because there was nothing specific, and the report was received an hour after the yahg had been vaporized. I poured as many resources as I could into that lead, but by the time I had pieced together what the plan entailed it was already partly underway. I did what I could, but even then it wasn't enough._"

I nod, crossing my arms. "Yeah, I know what you mean," I mention. "Besides... I think you're one of the least deserving of our anger. You got almost all of us out of there, so..." I can just see Liara nodding in my mind. "There's another person that deserves yelling at more."

"_Anderson?_" asks Liara. "_He didn't have a choice. Ever since he advocated against your arrest warrant, he has been falling under a lot of scrutiny. He couldn't risk warning you or Shepard about what was going to happen._"

"Still doesn't mean he shouldn't have tried an underhanded way of alerting us to that," I reply, crossing my arms. I shake my head, my arms uncrossing as I hold them out. "I don't even know how he managed to get James Vega onto the Normandy if he was in so much trouble with the Alliance."

"_Ah, see, that's another thing,_" says Liara. "_Anderson pulled some strings, yes, but they were more to find out where he was than anything. Lieutenant Vega _may _not be in good standing with the Alliance right now either._"

Huh? That's... that's new. Anderson didn't mention a thing about that? Not sure why, but... That's kinda telling.

"Why?" I ask, leaning forward.

I hear the Shadow Broker go through some more menus of stuff. "_Technically, Lieutenant Vega is a deserter,_" she replies. "_He used to be a dedicated Alliance marine. But then, something happened on Fehl, and he left the Alliance._"

Wait... "So that means that Anderson..."

"_According to some audio that Operative Ganserig had managed to get his hands on, Anderson had offered to commute Lieutenant Vega's pending desertion sentence to little more than a slap on the wrist if he served on the crew of Commander Shepard,_" says Liara. "_I think that his hope may have been that he would give Shepard one last ally before he would be forced to turn on her by galactic politics. I also think that if Shepard had been with you, Lieutenant Vega could have helped clear her name, and the Alliance would have no choice but to look the other way._"

I blink, turning to Miranda as this is mentioned. "Did you know anything about this, Miranda?"

"I have heard about what happened on Fehl," replies the XO. She then shakes her head. "However, I did not think it involved Lieutenant Vega." She looks to the door where James had exited a few seconds ago. "I think it's best if you let James tell you on his own time. He seems to be the kind of man who is self-conscious about his past."

I nod, looking back at Liara. "I'll keep that in mind, then," I say. "Well... no matter what, I guess Anderson did more to help us than most people would've..."

"_That's not all,_" says Liara. "_Rumor has it that Councillor Anderson may be stepping down from the Council after this._"

I lean forward, my jaw dropping. "W-_what_?" I ask, shocked. "But he's the only sane Councillor there! And Udina is just... Oh, God, I do _not _want Udina to get that seat!"

"_Unfortunately, it's about to happen,_" says Liara. "_The only thing that hasn't happened is for Anderson to sign his resignation letter from the Council. That's literally all that needs to be done. In a few days, Councillor Anderson will be Captain Anderson again._"

I shake my head, my hand clenching into a fist. "That's not right!" I say. "Shepard trusted Anderson when she recommended him for the Council seat! And he was the best man for the job, and here he is, bowing out like a damn coward!"

"_Frankly, Art, he may not have had a choice,_" says Liara. "_His defense of Shepard has got him on really bad footing with the Galaxy. He may be more useful to the Alliance than he would be to the Council until the trial passes._"

I frown, clenching and unclenching my fists as I shake my head. "It's just..." I close my eyes, exhaling sharply through my nose. "I just can't believe that after everything we've done for them, they would just turn their backs to us like that! The Alliance _and _the Council, after one damn report! I mean, it went out to all the major news networks, but still!"

"_We're still trying to find out who leaked your connection with Cerberus to the galactic media,_" says Liara. "_I'll let you know when we get some success with that. This may be a tough case to crack, though; every single lead we've tried leads to failure._"

I nod, looking over at the wavelengths. "Okay," I say. "I just..." I sigh. "I'm not sure what's going to happen now that Shepard is in custody. What's going to happen to her?"

"_I don't know either,_" says Liara. "_At the moment, all you can do is hope that she gets acquitted. It's not likely at this point, but we'll have to see._"

Yeah... this really, really sucks. I shake my head. "Yeah, I guess we will," I say. "EDI says you had wanted to talk to me earlier, and she mentioned it was not about what we just escaped from."

"_Oh, yes!_" I hear a bunch of holographic buttons being pressed on her end, and suddenly, I see some information pop up in different windows. "_Thank you for reminding me. In the aftermath of what happened with Shepard, I almost forgot._" A final information window comes up, and then I walk forward. "_I found another lead towards something. It may not be related to what is happening, but I think you'd be interested._"

I walk forward, my hand touching one of the windows of information that's popped up. Miranda and Garrus both come forward, too, the two of them looking at the information as well.

"What're we looking at?" asks Garrus.

"_These are details for a slave exchange that is going to be happening on Omega,_" says Liara. "_Nothing too out of the ordinary, since we're talking about Omega. Batarian slavers, and everything else. But there's one detail that I figured you'd be interested in._"

Miranda and Garrus look through, and then I look as they both glance at each other. "I think I may know that detail," says Garrus. "One of the slavers is Jorash Veltar."

We both look at the former vigilante as he says this. "I guess you know who he is," says Miranda.

"We were planning on targeting him before everything that happened with Sidonis and the rest of the squad," replies Madison as she comes forward. "He's one of Omega's most powerful slavers, and he's really ambitious. Batarian, so he knows the slaving world like the back of his hand. He's extremely opportunistic, too."

"It's to the point that we think he might be thinking of stealing the throne of Omega out from Aria T'Loak's feet," adds Garrus as he looks through the data. "But that's nothing given one of the slaves being traded."

Miranda moves a list over. "You mean Tidoses Mirani?" she asks. "That's... very strange."

I blink, raising my eyebrow in confusion. "Tidoses Mirani?" I ask. "Who's that?"

"Oh, you mean you don't know?" We all turn to Kasumi as she smirks at all of us. "Tidoses Mirani is one of the few female turians who's had the honor of being part of the Spectres. She's not up to the standing of Saren Arterius amongst them, but she's still a Spectre, and she's still important."

...

_What?_

I... I'm sorry. What? A Spectre just got taken by a slaver?

I... But things like that... That just doesn't _happen_. I mean... Jesus Christ on a pikestaff...

"Wait, you're telling me that some slaver in the Terminus systems somehow got his hands on a _Spectre_?" I ask. "How the fuck does _that_ happen?"

"_I asked myself the same thing,_" mentions Liara over the link. "_However, upon a little deeper inspection, I realized something. I checked the roster of ships that she was on. Art, Tidoses Mirani was one of the two Spectres assigned to watch over the Aurigos when it disappeared. And from eyewitness reports, she was on board before it made its so far final voyage._"

... Oh, dear. That explains... No! I'm still confused! How the hell does shit like that happen?

"So she was probably weak in an escape pod when she was found," says Miranda. "And she was unfortunate enough to be found by a slaver. And now... she's going to be on Omega."

"But then there's the fact that Jorash is involved..." Garrus' gestures seem a little different now, a little more... tense. "If he were to get his hands on a Spectre, that means he'd get the confidence to take on Aria. He could command his new Spectre pet to kill Aria, and if Tidoses is skilled enough she could just kill the queen of Omega. And if that happened, then that would change Omega forever..."

"And then we'd lose a potential ally..." I mutter. "_Shit_..."

"_The exchange is taking place within a few days,_" replies Liara. "_And to the best of my knowledge, Aria doesn't know about the Spectre. She knows about Jorash, but not about Tidoses. You can use that to your advantage._"

I nod. "Okay, we'll see what happens then," I say, looking to the comm link. "Thank you, Liara. I'll let you know when we do something about that."

"_May the Goddess be with you,_" she says.

And with this, the link cuts, though we still see the information windows there. The room lights up again, and then I look around as the table rises up again. I look to everyone as we crowd around the table again, and I look out to everyone.

"Well, I dunno about you, but I'm thinking we should head to Omega first," I mention.

Miranda nods. "Aria is one of the few allies we have left after what happened on the Citadel," she says. "We cannot afford to lose her."

Garrus nods as well, and raps his talons against the table. "I'm not a fan of Aria, but she's reliable when you reveal when someone's been fucking with her," he replies. "Sometimes, we managed to get some of Omega's worst criminals because they broke Omega's only rule. And she wields a lot of power on that rock: rest assured, she'll be a powerful ally."

I nod, smiling as I look to Miranda and Garrus. "Okay, then I guess that settles that," I say, looking ahead of me. "EDI, plot a course for Omega."

EDI's avatar pops up on the table, addressing us. "_Of course, Art_," says the AI.

The others nod at this, even Garrus and Madison. The former journalist taps her fingers briefly against the table as EDI's avatar fades out of sight. "When we get there, let me talk to her," she says. "I've known Aria for a while, and we're reasonably good friends, even if I don't agree with how she runs Omega. She trusts me, and I think she could use the friendly warning."

"I thought Aria didn't make friends," replies Miranda.

At this, Madison simply shrugs. "Well, relatively speaking, anyway," she replies. "She knows I won't lie to her, least of all about something like this."

"What about everything else?" asks Kasumi. "We're not just going there to tell little old her about that, right?"

"I don't think so," says Miranda. "She was on the Aurigos. She may have information about what happened on the ship, and I have a feeling it may relate to the rest of the ship."

I blink, glancing at the XO as I tilt my head. Well... "Hey, I'm not the only one that feels that way!" I say. "That's good to know. She's the only other one in the galaxy who knows what happened on that ship right now... So I guess that means we're breaking Tidoses Mirani out of enslavement." I look to the others. "How do we do that?"

"I don't really know," says Madison. "But I think Aria will. So when we get to Omega, we go to her, and we ask her."

"We'll formulate our plan from there," adds Garrus. "It may involve a pretty large ground team, I'm warning you now. We'll have to be at three places at once we don't get there soon enough."

The turian places his hands behind his back, looking at the rest of us as Miranda nods. "We'll have to see," says Miranda. "I... think it's safe to say we have made up our minds for what we're doing next."

The rest of us nod, and I come up next to Tali. "Then I think this meeting is adjurned, right?"

"I believe so," says Miranda. "Back to your posts. Art, you should check up on the crew."

I nod. Yeah, that's what I was gonna do anyway.

Let's get to it!

* * *

><p>I walk over to the crew deck shortly afterwards, seeing the hustle and bustle of the crew. Off to the side, though, I see numerous people chilling around with mess items, with Gardner and Sturge both standing in the kitchen area. Hm... guys must have their hands full. Well, maybe not. All I see is Gregor, Jenny, and Rael sitting off to the side somewhere. Ken is also here, though why he's here instead of at engineering is something only Tali can answer, and she's taking the elevator back down to engineering, so...<p>

Except that as I walk into the place, the rather somber atmosphere suddenly hits me. Now, it's a little more oppressive than it usually is, and I'm sure it's got a lot to do with what happened with Shepard.

I shake my head, walking over to the counter. Sturge takes notice as I stand in front of it, and then Gardner looks up as he's doing the dishes. He just got to the multiple glass implements from what I can see.

"Oh, hello old timer," says the old man. "I don't know about you, but we sure got off the Citadel fast." He smirks at this, even as I look at him grimly. "I swear, if I could have gotten out of Miami faster I would've done it."

I shake my head. "Shepard got arrested by C-Sec."

At this, I hear Gardner drop whatever he was cleaning, as the sharp sound of shattering glass then interrupts the entire room. Only the sound of the running water is heard, even as I feel every single eye in the place rest on me.

I glance around, seeing all the crew members we have looking at me in disbelief. "What, you mean EDI didn't tell you?" I ask.

"That's the first we've heard of it," replies Gardner. "Shepard got arrested?"

"I thought it was bad enough when the Council issued that arrest warrant, but now you're saying they got _Commander Shepard_?" asks Sturge. "My God, Art, I don't even know how it's possible."

I shake my head, looking as Jenny, Rael, and Gregor all more or less come up. "It was thanks to dirty luck that they got her," I say. "Damn C-Sec officer got an extremely lucky shot. Somehow managed to take both her legs in the space of two shots. I'm still not sure how the hell it happened, but they have her now, and there's not a thing we can do about that..."

"Well, can't we just go back there and get 'er out?" asks Jenny, leaning over.

"Yeah, mate," adds Gregor. "I dinnae think that we'd just leave 'er there!"

I shake my head grimly. "Unfortunately, Gregor, she ordered us to," I say. "It was that, or more people would be captured." I look over to the two colonists. "Actually, speaking of which, weren't you two with the other colonists?"

"Oh, the Alliance officials let us go around the joint to do what we wanted," says Jenny. "We went right back 'ere."

I look over to Rael as he nods. "They wanted to ask me something about the quarian people," adds the elder man. "To think that I'm ultimately the reason they weren't detained on the Citadel."

I hold my hands up. "Hold up there, Rael," I say. "The arrest warrant went out for the crew of the Normandy. Technically, the Horizon colonists were passengers."

Jenny shakes her head. "Wouldn't 'ave mattered, mate," she replies. "I was drivin' your arses all around the galaxy. That makes me part o' your crew."

Hm... She's got a point there. "But it wouldn't have affected Gregor," I mention.

"Eh, you never can tell with some of these things," says Gardner, who's come around. Hm... I see he's just taking some gloves off and disposing of stuff in the nearby trash recepticle. "I thought the Council had its head stuck so far up its ass it couldn't see a thing, but I see _that _assessment didn't really go far enough."

Gregor shakes his head. "Seriously, mate," he says. "I dinnae know 'ow ya even get to _thinkin'_ about arrestin' Commander Shepard." The older colonist shakes his head, crossing his arms as he leans against the counter. "She goes out, saves this 'ere tip from bein' destroyed, _twice_, and then they arrest 'er on some bad charge!" He slams his fist. "I'm tellin' ya, all them Councillors are nothin' but a bunch o' bad eggs!"

I nod, smirking very bitterly. "I won't argue with you there," I mention. "You guys holding up all right after everything?"

"We will live," replies Rael with a short nod of his head. "We may be fugitives in Citadel Space, but if we are careful, we should be all right."

"I hope," I say, looking at the admiral. "I'm sure the Migrant Fleet would take heavy offense in finding out that they've captured an admiral and his daughter, though..."

"Well, again Art, you've just gotta be careful," says Sturge. "Don't slip up, and you won't give the Council anything to go after you with."

"Technically, Miranda's my boss," I mention, gesturing to her office. "Though I think Garrus and I are both getting equal-ish say." I look to the others. "Hopefully, I won't get any of you caught."

"Well, I'll tell ya somethin'," says Gardner almost immediately. "If we do get caught, I'm making sure the Council gets a good shout-down when they drag us all to trial."

I smirk. Somehow, that image of Gardner shouting down the Council is almost too much for me to take. I nod, breathing in just a little easier. "We'll see, Gardner," I mention. "We'll see." I nod, looking to the others. "I just wanted to check in on you guys. I don't expect anyone will take it well that Shepard's been arrested." I glance to the side. "And honestly, who can blame them?"

"Yeah, Shepard was a good woman," adds Rael. "Do you... are you planning on trying to get her back on the ship?"

I look up to the admiral. Oh, Rael... "If we get an opportunity, yes," I say. "We'll see. Stay safe."

With this, I weave out of the small group. Hm... Well... I guess that's some of the crew that I've had to deal with. Ken is still sitting there, but he doesn't look entirely happy about this. I simply give him a grim tilt of my head, which he responds to with a very perturbed expression. I'll bet Tali is having a good time having to explain all that to Gabby. I... Someone's going to have to explain it to Dr. Chakwas, but I imagine Sturge will get to that. I hope.

Hm... I wonder where James has gotten himself settled on this ship. I think I'll go ask EDI-

"Art?"

I feel my hair stand on end as I hear someone ask me this question. I turn around, and then find that Rael'Zorah followed me right out of the mess hall. He looks like he wants to ask me... Or it seems that way, anyhow.

I turn to look at the older quarian. "Rael?" I ask. "Is there something you need?"

The admiral simply acknowledges me before placing his hands behind his back. He begins walking around me shortly afterwards, his eyes never leaving my form. Hm... This is... getting a little creepy, actually, but I don't see the typical signs of... well... bad body language that I would get from anyone who means badly. So... I think he means something serious here.

"I... I have been thinking," he says. "About the quarian people. About our current state."

I raise my eyebrows. "That... seems to work," I say. "What about?"

"I... don't feel comfortable bringing it up," he says. "But... I'd like to ask your opinion on something."

I frown at this. "How am I supposed to give you an opinion if I don't know what you've been thinking about?" I ask.

"It may skew your answer," replies the admiral.

Hm... I'm beginning to suspect something here, Admiral Zorah. "Is it about going to war with the geth?" I ask.

Rael shakes his head. "No," he replies. "But I expected you would say something along those lines... And I can't say I blame you, knowing how I was around Legion when it first came aboard." He then pauses, holding his hands out in front of him. "I have been thinking about a solution to one of our current major predicaments... I fear the solution may not work, but it is something I feel I must try for the sake of my people." He then looks at me. "Lately, I have had so many doubts about it."

I nod. "Is it anything whose backlash can affect other people?"

"No," replies the admiral. "But I am about to make a decision that I will never be able to return from. And depending on the outcome, it can either result in great loss, or great happiness for my people."

Oh, so he's crossing the Rubicon. I... I don't know if I should try to get more information out of him. "And what do you mean by that?" I ask.

But the older admiral shakes his head. "I would color your decision if I told you anything more than that," he says. "I thought I would be able to muster up the conviction to do this, but... Now, I'm not so certain, and I need a second opinion."

"Even if I don't know what it is?" I ask.

"All you need to know is that this is important," he says.

Hm. Well, Rael, I can't say I'm liking where this is going. I mean, this sounds shifty as all hell, and... Well, you said it wasn't about going to war with the geth, but I dunno... I'm not sure I completely trust you with whatever it is you're going to do. But... for now, I'm going to humor you. Under the hope that you really do mean well, that is. And if it turns out that someone gets gravely injured from this, then I am going to bang my head against the wall in dismay for trusting you.

But hey, trusting you is the only thing I can do for my optimism, right?

I nod, bringing a hand up to his arm. "Hey..." I say. "If... if you think it's so important, then... I say, do it. Unless it's war with the geth- and I'm discounting that because you said so- then what's the worst that could happen?" I feel him twitch slightly under my grip.

W... Oh. Is it that serious? Oh dear... What has he got planned? I'm keeping my eye on you, mister! But for now... you look like you need encouragement, so... Yeah, maybe it's nothing. Well, nothing that'll result in anybody's death, anyhow. I can tell it's serious, but then... Well, he felt convinced about the Alarei? What makes this so different? Hm... I'll have to figure that out later. For now, though...

"If you feel it's going to be for the best for your people... then you should do it," I tell him. "And from there, we'll see which way the wind blows."

With this, he nods gravely, and then walks past me towards the elevator.

"Thank you," he says. "I... I think I needed that." He nods, pressing the call button. "I have some people I need to speak with. Good day, Art."

With this, he turns his attention back to the elevator. Hm... I can tell he's got a lot on his mind, but... Damn it, should I have talked him down? I'm not sure... Oh, well. I've set events in motion by that. I mean, not even knowing the context, I can tell just by his posture that this is obviously huge stuff he's thinking about. I hope I haven't signed any death warrants...

Well... We'll just let whatever happens happen. And if it leads to bad stuff... well... I'll figure it out when I get there.

With this, I turn to the platform that projects EDI's little avatar that's close by.

"EDI," I say. "Can you tell me where James Vega settled?"

The avatar comes up again, and I swear it's looking right at me. "_Lieutenant Vega has taken residence in Justicar Samara's old quarters._"

I raise an eyebrow at this, crossing my arms. "Starboard Observation, huh?" I ask. "Interesting. Didn't know he had a thing for the stars."

"_I think you will find that his choice of location is hardly the most surprising thing about Lieutenant Vega_," replies EDI. "_He is inside his quarters at the moment._"

I nod at the avatar, holding my hands together in front of me. "Thank you, EDI."

With this, I walk over to Starboard Observation, feeling a certain feeling of dread take over me. Oh, dear... I can't help but feel bad for James. I mean, here he is, probably being a pretty big fanboy of Shepard, and then the opportunity to work with her is taken away by circumstances beyond his control. I don't know if he's taking it well.

We'll see.

I open the door, and take a couple steps inside... And immediately, I hear a meowing right by my left foot. I look down, and-

...

Uh... what's the cat doing here?

I kneel down, looking at the greyish cat as it gives me a rather pensive look. Hm... Grey with slight streaks of black. That's... Okay, that's one thing I wouldn't have expected to find on this ship. It simply looks up at me as the door closes rather quickly. I raise my eyebrow at this, looking at the animal with... something. I'm not sure.

"So I see you've run into Kate."

I glance up, and then notice James lounging around on one of the nearby couches. He sits up, looking right at me as I turn my attention to him.

Hm... Actually, now that he's not in that big-ass armor, I can get a better look at him like that... Yeah, he's got a neck tattoo, and I can also see a tattoo on his right bicep. I guess. And the musculature is _definitely _saucy. Well... I can see one guy who hasn't got a problem with picking up women in his spare time. Well, if he's into that sort of thing anyway. But I imagine he is, so... Yeah.

"You keep a cat with you?" I ask.

"Yes, sir," replies the marine. "I guess it's a good call, too. I don't really have anyone else who has time to look after her. And after recent events, I don't think we'll be going back to the Citadel anytime soon."

I nod, glancing to the side. I pick up the cat, which mewls in reply as I walk over. "You got that right, James," I say, walking over to where he is. "Still, I wouldn't have taken you for a cat person, least of all one that would take his cats onboard." I look right at him, another thought crossing my mind. "You realize that Sturge used to be a crazy cat man, right?"

"Yes, sir," replies the lieutenant as he sits up. "He was actually really confused that I was dragging cat food into the cafeteria. But once he saw Kate here..." James shrugs as I take a seat in the couch opposite him. "He told me about some of his cats. I didn't think there would be anyone else in this day and age who still kept that many cats!"

Well... That's not _technically _true, but... "Well, some people on this ship can surprise you," I say, smirking. "I know one who already really has." I wink at the marine, even as he sits up, his feet firmly planted on the ground.

He holds his hands together, glancing at the ground for a second before looking right at me. "It's weird, though," he says. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

W... What? I make my confusion known as I look right at James. "Uh... yeah," I mention. "This isn't exactly an Alliance operation, you know." I shake my head. "And for that matter, don't call me 'sir'. Technically, you outrank me, so if anything, I would be calling _you _sir." I shrug. "Well, if this were a standard Alliance operation, anyway. Which it's not."

"Sorry, si- Art, I'll... I'll work on that," replies James. "I have to admit though... It's weird working with so many aliens. And with such a large amount of them too." He then props an elbow against his knee as he gestures with that hand. "I feel a little... out of place, actually."

Hm. Well, that's... honestly not that hard to understand. "You'll get used to it, soldier," I reply, leaning forward. "I remember feeling... kinda similar when I first came to the Normandy _way _back after Saren had attacked Eden Prime, actually." I smile, leaning over and patting his free knee. "I think you'll be fine."

"I guess," admits James, looking right at me. "It can't have been easy being in those circumstances, sir." He blinks, and I can readily see the slight shame written on his face. He doesn't say a thing, though.

I shrug. "You'll get used to that, too," I mention. "Actually... I think there'll be a lot of things we'll have to get used to." I sigh, looking right at the new ground team member. "Must be a bummer to get to work with Shepard, only for her to run into the really awful conundrum of getting herself arrested by back room politics."

James nods, his brows furrowing. "I still think we should try to rescue her," says James. "If you don't mind my saying, anyway, si-." He stops himself, blinking as he realizes that yet again, he's throwing 'sir' into his sentences. "I shouldn't have said that, should I?" The question comes out... almost guiltily? Really, James? Really?

"It's fine," I say, raising my hand. "Let's just say that for the record, you've always got permission to speak freely, and we'll leave it at that." I nod. "And I'll be honest with you, James: the idealist in me says that we'll be able to rescue Shepard, we just have to try. But... the realist in me is telling me that it's just not possible at this time." I shake my head, looking at the wall behind James with a guilty expression on my face. "Trust me, nobody wants to help Shepard any more than I do. I just..." I close my eyes and let out a sigh. "I told her when I let her go that I would take the first opportunity to break her out that presented itself. Hopefully, that'll come sooner than later."

"One can hope, sir," says James. Hm... Still calling me sir... "I think you're making Kate uncomfortable."

I blink, looking down at the furry critter as she meows like crazy. I can see her claws extending slightly, and they dig into whatever purchase they can find. And unfortunately, that just so happens to be my forearms at the moment. Okay, yeah, that kinda stings.

I let the cat go, and at this, it proceeds to jump off my lap, shaking its head a little as it wanders over to James. The cat affectionately rubs the marine's leg, letting out a soft purring noise as the marine bends down and pets the cat's head slightly.

"Seriously, though, James, how are you holding up after that?" I ask.

"Honestly? I feel disappointed," replies the soldier. "Here I am, being called in to take part in a mission Commander Shepard, and then she gets arrested before I can even introduce myself on her own ship. That sucks." He glances at me nervously. "Permission to speak freely includes swearing, right?"

I chuckle, rolling my eyes. "Oh, you," I say, smiling right at him. "I think you'll find that I've got a _much _dirtier mouth. Remind me to tell you of the time I yelled at the Admiralty Board of the quarian people. I think I used the f-word almost... seventeen times or something?" As his expression gives away his shock, I close my eyes and shrug. "You just need to loosen up a bit. This isn't the Alliance, James. Not anymore. And trust me, we're not as strict about things as they are."

"I'll... try to keep that in mind," says the marine. "You know... Anderson wasn't completely honest about me."

I nod, shifting a little in my seat as Cate leapt onto James' lap. "Yeah, a friend may have mentioned that," I reply. "So technically, you're a twice deserter?"

"It's... it's a long story," James replies. "I think you know what happened the second time, but the first time..." He trails off, lost in thought. I can tell by the shift in his posture that it's a very uncomfortable topic of conversation. Hm... I better respect his wishes. I don't think he'll be comfortable talking to me about it until much later.

"Hey, if you need some space, that's fine," I say. "If you're not comfortable talking about it, you don't need to tell me just yet."

As his eyes widen in surprise, the marine looks right up at me as I stand. "I..." He blinks, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, but... I..."

"Is something up?" I ask. Huh, I thought he'd be happier about that.

He blinks, taking in a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he says. "Most of my superior officers just have me say something about what happened on Fehl right away. It's a sensitive subject, but it's not why I eventually left the Alliance, even if it did play a small role in that. I just..." The marine shakes his head, leaning back on the couch as Kate purrs appreciatively. "I've never seen anyone who's told me to talk about it at my own pace."

I shrug, looking out the window into the stars around us. "Sometimes, James, we have things that need to be talked about on our own time," I mention. "Trust me, I'd know all about that." I look outside for a few seconds more before turning my attention back to him. "Well... I guess we don't really have that much else to talk about. You okay?"

"I think I'll be all right," replies the marine with a nod. "Uh, si-" He stops abruptly, glancing away from me nervously as the cat meows. If it's in disapproval, I wouldn't be surprised.

I smile, shaking my head. "Well, you're trying," I say. "That's the important part. I'll go ahead and get going then. You take care of yourself James." I turn as I walk away. "Oh, and welcome to the family."

And with this, I exit the room, feeling pretty good as I do so.

* * *

><p>After making many of my rounds on the Normandy, I've noticed that people seem very cautiously optimistic on this ship. The general vibe is really not that great thanks to Shepard's abduction, but we're holding out hope. A very tiny amount of it.<p>

And now, we're off to the captains' quarters. I tap the display panel as soon as I get close to see Thane Krios standing by the fish tank. He has a brooding expression on his face, and as I enter I feel the room suddenly get quite hot. Hm... He must've turned up the heat a bit within this room. I take in a deep breath, rolling up my sleeves as I approach.

"Hi Thane," I say, looking at the drell as he watches the fish move around.

The drell says nothing, but in the light of the tank I can see that he probably doesn't feel very happy right now. He just stands there resolutely, not saying a word as he watches the fish swim about.

I even swear I can see a tear before his second pair of eyelids nictates, and he breathes out.

"Art," he says. "I..."

He chokes up, unsure of what to say. All the while, he keeps a stoic look on his face, like absolutely nothing is wrong.

I nod grimly, placing a hand on his arm. "Thane, are you all right?" I ask him.

"No." The answer comes immediately, without a change of expression or a gesture to accompany it. "I... I have failed my _siha _again. I was unable to bring her to the Normandy. And now..." He bows his head. "May Arashu protect her dilligently..."

I shake my head, patting his arm. "It wasn't your fault, Thane," I say. "But I can't blame you." I glance to the side, sitting on the bed that Shepard would have slept on if she were still here. "I wish there was more we could've done to save Shepard. If there was..."

Thane nods, turning towards me. "And now, in my final months, I am cut off from Kolyat and Shepard," he says. "I may never get to see them again..."

I blink, shaking my head as Thane sits next to me on the bed. "Thane, don't think like that," I say, looking right at him. "We may be able to get Shepard out of prison before that happens, and... and you should be all right, yes?"

"Dr. Chakwas says I may have almost a year before I am unable to assist you in battle," says the drell carefully.

I shrug, smiling. "Well, that's not so bad," I say. "In that time, we'll probably have broken Shepard out of custody."

"You say 'probably'," replies Thane as his hands settle on his thighs. "'Probably' implies that there is also a chance that it may not happen."

Hm... I nod, pursing my lips together before I reply. "That's a good point," I mention. "But it doesn't mean that we can just go around without hope. Maybe we'll get her back some day. You have to have something to fight for."

The former assassin nods. "I do," he says. "I am at least grateful that I got to say goodbye to Kolyat properly. I still regret not being able to spend more time with him before now, but..." He breathes in, and suddenly he goes stiff. "_A worried glance behind his shoulder. 'They're gaining on us, hurry.' He doesn't hesitate. The smell of sterile steel in the air. He leads us to an escape. Siha goes first. I turn, but he already grips my shoulder. 'Stay safe, dad', he says._" He gets knocked out of the solipsism, looking at me.

I nod, giving him a soft smile. "Well... at least he's not as angry as the last time you left him," I say.

"He said that this time, it was not truly my faut," says Thane. "He could forgive me for this. Rest assured if I am ever reunited with Kolyat I will be spending _much _more time with him."

I nod. "_That's_ the way to think about it," I say, patting his back in a friendly manner. "They'll be fine, Thane. You just gotta hold on to that hope."

The drell nods. "With Shepard... it may be difficult to hold," he says. "I have let the one I love slip away from my grasp again..."

Oh, Jesus... This again? I mean, I- "But... I assume there is no use in thinking about it like this," he says. "I will try. I cannot guarantee that I will be successful, however."

I shrug. "It's more than enough," I say. I look around. "You'll be staying here, I guess?"

"Someone must look after the fish," replies Thane. He looks over at the bed, however, and looks at where Shepard probably would have been laying.

Hm... I nod grimly, standing up. I turn to Thane as soon as I do. "Hey," I say. "If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to tell anyone in the Brotherhood, all right? If you need anything... we'll be here for you, Thane."

The drell simply nods. "I appreciate the gesture," he replies. "But it may be unnecessary."

"We'll see about that," I say. "I'll see you around, Thane. Take care of yourself."

"And you as well."

I nod, turning to head back out of the captain's quarters. As I stand in front of the door, I spare a final glance at Thane. He is sitting on the bed, his eyes closed as he seems to be staring into nothing. Hm... He must be meditating on the day's events. It's been a pretty hectic day, I'm not gonna lie.

But I'll bet it's also got something to do with Shepard. He won't admit it to me, but... I can tell this is tearing a hole in his heart. There he was with a second chance at love and life, and... Well... the Council and the Alliance fucked it all up. Well... they almost didn't, but still, now that they've got Shepard... Well, what the hell can I do? This is... Oh, damn it, I'm not good with this stuff. Well... I guess I'll have to wing it from here. Hopefully, I'll be successful with that.

I nod, pressing the door panel and walking out of the room.

* * *

><p>I find myself sitting at the bed in my quarters again, looking out at the drive core as I rest my arms on my thighs. This ship really did get larger when I was gone. Ever so slightly, but I notice that the drive core didn't receive that much of a modulation. Makes sense: you wouldn't want anyone other than a Cerberus engineer to look at that thing. I mean, we might get some decreased power on that, but hey.<p>

I just wish Shepard were here to see it. Well, she already has, but now that we're on the run...

I hear the door open, and soon after I hear footsteps. A three-fingered hand settles on my shoulder, and I nod grimly.

"Are you all right?" asks Tali.

I inhale, closing my eyes. "Honestly, Tali?" I say. "I'm... I'm just a little bit terrified. We don't have Shepard here, we have to gather allies..." I shake my head. "For the first time in a long while, I feel like I'm in way over my head."

The bed depresses next to me, and I look at Tali as she nods. "I can't say I blame you there," she says. "We're going into the unknown soon enough. And who knows what will happen?"

I nod. "Exactly," I say. "This is stuff I've never had to deal with. With Shepard around, she just pointed and I followed along. Now... Now I need to point at stuff."

"You have Miranda and Garrus," says Tali. "I'm feeling confident enough that they can help you."

I bite my lower lip softly. "That's true, but there's only so much they can do to cover for me," I say. "I've lead combat situations before, but never an operation. This..." I glance down briefly before I look up. "This is new to me."

The quarian nods, taking her hand away from my shoulder. I simply take a deep breath, my attention turning to her. "I need people I can trust here," I continue. "I need my friends more than ever, because I know you guys will help cover whatever weak spots I can't." I then look at her, one of my hands clasping over hers. "I can't do this alone, Tali. I need their support, but... I need to know you'll be behind me the whole way. I can't do this without you, Tali. I just need someone I feel I can be completely honest with, and..."

"You have the Brotherhood," she says. I see her frown slightly as I lean forward. "If you're suggesting keeping secrets from them..."

I shake my head. "No," I say. "That would go against the whole point. But I need someone who knows me best, and you... You've known me for a long time. I need you here, Tali. You... You've been here through... well, _almost _everything..." I glance to the side nervously. "And I just... I need someone who can support me the whole way."

Tali nods, her free hand coming around and taking the hand that isn't occupied. "Then you can come to me," she says. "I... I think..." She seems to blush, her gaze averting. "My, it's hot in here."

I simply smile, resting my head against her helmet. "We've been helping each other throughout the entire time I've been here," I say. "Why stop now?"

"That... is a good point," she says, her hands pulling away from mine as her arms rest on my shoulders. "I'll... I'll stay then."

My smile only intensifies, and I pull Tali closer as I rest my head on her shoulder.

"Glad to hear it."

And we stay like this for a little while longer.


	7. Chapter 6

_A/N: Allrighty, then, that's some development out of the way. Now that Shepard's gone, we get a hightened set of stakes for everyone. But don't worry, it won't be the last we see of Shepard until the group comes in to rescue her ass. Oh, no. That'll happen as MV3's B Story._

_But for now, we have more important things to do. Like, getting Art into a whole mess of craziness. And that craziness will involve one Carrie-Ann Moss and friends, so... let's look out for that, yes?_

_Anyhow... crazy times are had for the crew. And we get not one, not two, but _three _crew members joining us at the end of this chapter. Well, part two of it anyway. Yes, this chapter has enough shit going down that it requires two chapters to tell it all. Keep your eyes peeled, peeps! This is gonna be a major, major doozy._

_Anyhows... One final disclaimer before we go around. So... Carhon Erash doesn't belong to me: he belongs to Ryan PM. Crazy times will be had for everyone._

_So without further ado, here we go!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 6: Alpha and Omega: Part One<p>

I stand in the viewport of the cockpit, wearing my armor as Miranda and Garrus stand to the side. Madison and Tali are behind us, and we all watch as we get closer to Omega.

"Well, this is gonna be fun," says Joker as he manipulates a few panels. "We go in and sweet-talk our way around Aria and hope we don't get skewered alive."

Madison shakes her head. "If Aria skewers anyone, it _won't _be us," says the former journalist. "She doesn't like being fucked with. She _does_, however, like to be told when she's being fucked with. I've known her long enough to know that, at least." She looks at all of us expectantly. "You _do _have the intel the Shadow Broker sent our way about that, right?"

"Got it right here, Maddy," says Garrus as he holds up his omni-tool arm.

She nods. "Good," she says. "Aria might think _we _are the ones fucking with her if we don't have that."

"Honestly, I wouldn't blame her," I mention with a shrug. "It might come across as slightly suspicious if one were to go around with stuff saying 'oh hey this guy is trying to fuck you over' without proof. _That _would be a problem."

"So then we tell Aria that they may be attempting to take her out," says Tali. "What then?"

"We'll figure that out as soon as we get more information from Aria," says Miranda. "We've come early enough that we can probably rescue Tidoses before the trade-off takes place."

"So in that event, we only sneak onto the enemy ship and hope to God that we find info?"

"Pretty much," says Garrus as Joker brings us in closer. "We're almost there. Should we get anyone else to come with us?"

I shake my head. "I don't think so," I say. "At the moment, anyway. If it turns out we need more guys, then we'll phone home."

"Yeah, I'm sure EDI will take care of that," says Joker with a shrug. "Though it'd be nice if she could get formal about it. Maybe drop a 'sir' or 'madam' at the end of everything."

EDI's avatar popped up. _"Formality is not built into my personality protocols, Jeff_," replies the AI. "_I would have to have an appetite for tea and crumpets to attach such formalities to the end of my speech. That is, unless you'd like me to call you Mr. Moreau again?_"

...

What?

"_That is a joke_."

...

"Well, it wasn't really that good," says Madison, shaking her head. Joker brings us into Omega's docking bay. "Well, here we are. Let's go talk to the queen of Omega."

* * *

><p>Well... here we are back on Omega, and it's <em>still <em>the same cesspool of crime and activity that it was the _last _time we were here. So in other words, bugger all has changed. I cross my arms, looking around as walk past the bouncer at Afterlife. As soon as we enter the club, we hear the same exact techno music playing overhead, with mostly the exact same patrons dicking around in the tunnel into the club.

And as soon as we enter, the light show is exactly the same. Well... with a couple minor variations, really. The dancers are still dancing atop the little fixture above the bar, there are people sitting down drinking, and there are still Aria's guards standing over by that booth of hers. Hm...

I cross my arms as Madison walks up to me. "Typical day on Omega," I mention.

"Yeah," agrees the former journalist. "And yet, here we are, trying to stop a slave exchange before a turian Spectre falls into the wrong hands."

I nod, looking over to Miranda. "How do you think they've managed to get a turian Spectre to be so submissive?" I ask her.

"I hear the batarians use cruel methods of conditioning their slaves," says Miranda. "But there may be another factor in that. We will have to see when we find her finally."

I nod, looking over at Madison. "Right," I say. "So... let's go see about Aria, yeah?"

The Journalist nods at this, and soon enough, we're walking right up to the batarian guy. Anto, I think his name was. He looks us over, giving us suspicious eyes until he sets them on Madison. With this, he crosses his arms, looking directly at us.

"Madison," he says gruffly. "About time you came to see Aria again."

The former vigilante gives a clearly displeased look as she crosses her arms. "Hello to you too, Anto," she replies. "Aria is in her usual spot on the throne of Omega, right?"

"Of course," replies the batarian. "Though if you think I'm gonna let you see her _now_..."

Madison shakes her head. "I can always talk to Grizz, you know," she says. "Besides, you know how Aria and I get."

"And trust us, we need to see her," I say. "Let's just say that someone has been fucking with her, and that if she lets _this _slide, she might just lose her hold on Omega."

Anto frowns, looking right at us. "And she wouldn't want that," replies the batarian. He glances up before stepping aside. "Fine, but make it quick. She's a busy woman these days."

Madison nods, and then the five of us parade past him. Hm... Yeah, I think Anto usually was that grumpy. Most batarians were, I think. Well, are, anyway. I wonder if we'll meet a cool batarian sometime soon. Because I imagine that a batarian squadmate would be awesome. Well, once we get further down the road, anyhow. Because that would be great if it happened.

Hey, a guy can dream, right?

So Madison leads the way up to Aria's little throne alcove thing, with Miranda, Garrus, and Tali all following along rather dilligently. I look over as soon as we clear the threshold, and sure enough, there is Aria T'Loak, sitting there with the same aloof expression, same haughty posture, same everything really.

...

Why do I get the feeling all this is going to get trounced in a few minutes?

I see her facial expression shift when she looks at Madison. The former journalist nods, and I see Aria give the faintest hint of a smirk.

"Madison," she says simply, looking right at her. "I didn't think you'd come back."

The former vigilante shrugs. "Well, here I am," she says. "Doing what I do best, I guess. Investigating, helping people solve problems..."

"So I see," Aria replies. She stands up, looking right at us. "I heard about what happened to Commander Shepard. How your Council turned on her and arrested her right as you were escaping from their grasp." She crosses her arms, glancing to the side. "It's why you can't trust them. You do all that shit for them, and they repay you by calling you a traitor."

My shoulders sag as I look at her. "Don't remind us," I reply. "Now we're being forced to wander the galaxy without a clue as to what we're gonna do next."

"And you came to me for help," says Aria, sitting down. "I don't quite have the funds for something like that, nor do I have the will to. My domain is Omega." She looks right up at us. "You're wasting your time if you came here for someone to pay you."

"We won't be needing that, thank you," says Madison, shrugging. "We already have an employer. And we have more than enough to run our operation at the moment."

"Then why are you here?" asks the asari, giving a pointed glance to us.

I nod, giving Garrus a hand signal to come forward. "Because there's some information I think you need to know," I mention. "Specifically about a slave deal going down with one Jorash Veltar soon enough."

"Oh, him?" asks Aria. She scoffs at this. "He may be bold, but he's paid his tributes on time. He's not stupid."

"And therein lies the problem," says Madison as Garrus opens up his omni-tool. "Our employer gave us some information about this exchange with Jorash. Information that means you could be compromised." Aria looks at the former journalist with a confused look on her face. "Trust us, just do the file transfer."

The queen of Omega gives us rather odd looks as Garrus manipulates the omni-tool. "What did this information have?" she asks.

I lick my lips, crossing my arms as I shift my weight onto my right foot. "Exchange lists for the slaves," I mention. "Nothing unusual, except for one minor detail."

"I don't know how it happened, but somehow the guy who Jorash is trading with managed to get his hands on a Spectre," says Madison. "And she-"

With this, I watch as Aria chuckles confidently. "A Spectre being held on a slave ship?" she asks, holding her hands out. "I've never heard of such a thing."

"And yet here we are," says Garrus as he walks over and shows his omni-tool data to Aria. "You see the name 'Tidoses Mirani'? She's our Spectre."

"And that's not even the crazy part," says Madison. "She was supposedly on that turian dreadnaught that disappeared. So I'm thinking maybe the slavers found her when she was weak and starving. And now, they've probably conditioned her to be their little assassin." The former journalist shrugs. "I wouldn't put it past them to try to kill you, Aria."

Aria shakes her head. "I've never seen anything like _that _happen," she says. She shifts where she stands, however, crossing her arms. "But then, we've never seen a slaver manage to subdue someone who has as much combat experience as one of the Council's Spectres. How do I know this information isn't false?"

I lean forward, shrugging. "Because we got it directly from the galaxy's most reliable information network," I say.

The queen of Omega gives us a curious look, which then shifts to first a grimace and then a neutral expression. "Oh," she says. She then looks over at Madison. "So you're on the Shadow Broker's paycheck now, are you?"

"Yes, but let's not lose sight of the fact that his information network is rarely wrong," says Madison. "I'm telling you this, because I think that if you don't do something about this, you could lose your throne. And rest assured, I'm not trying to fuck with you, especially not after everything you did for me. Trust me, Aria."

Aria frowns, and moves to reply when suddenly we hear a large crowd of people screaming on the floor of Afterlife. This effectively halts the conversation, as we then listen to the screams begin to overpower the techno music.

I shake my head, walking to the window. "Okay, what's going o-?"

And as soon as I get to the window and look out, I pause.

Holy shit...

"_What the fuck are those things?_"

For indeed, there's a scene being stirred down below. The patrons and dancers at Afterlife are all sent scrambling for some kind of cover as these... these _creatures _just start pouring into the club. They look... My god, they look kind of like husks! But larger! And just a little creepier! I see them attacking the patrons, jumping on top of them and... Oh God...

I pull out my assault rifle almost immediately as I notice Anto and Grizz immediately get to action. "Jesus Christ, Afterlife is under attack!" I say.

"What...?" Aria seems completely confused now. "But this is..."

"We'll worry about the causes later," says Miranda as she draws her pistol. "At the moment, we have slightly larger priorities."

"Yeah, like making sure that those things don't take over this club," I add, walking away from the window as Tali, Garrus, and Madison all draw their weapons. "Come on, guys, let's get down and dirty!"

With this, I rush over, coming up behind Grizz as he fires into the crowd of creatures. Soon after, I raise my assault rifle, noticing as one of these creatures comes running in. Jesus Christ, they bear a strong resemblance to those things that Sigourney Weaver had to deal with in the _Alien _movies. What were they called...?

I shake my head. Not important. At least, not right now, anyway. They look a lot more like a husk than that, anyways. Like... that blue bulbuous thing on its head. I fire at that point on another creature, watching as suddenly the thing explodes all around. I duck behind cover quickly, feeling myself come up against a large body as I eject a thermal clip.

"Hey, watch it!" I turn quickly, looking to Grizz. It's then that I notice how small the cover we're both behind is. I mean, it's the edge of the stairwell we're hiding behind.

Shit, I bumped into him on my way down, didn't I? "Sorry," I say, slamming a thermal clip into my assault rifle. "You see anything I can use as cover so we can avoid this kind of situation in the near future?"

"Try flipping over one of the tables around here," he says.

I look past the piece of cover we're both sharing. And the first thing that catches my eyes is the scene of absolute carnage. I notice Miranda running in and suddenly lifting a table biotically. As I watch, she hurls it at another one of those monsters, and a satisfying crash is heard as both table and monster fly to the entrance of the club. One of the dancers rushes right past us, screaming as I suddenly nod. Okay... table, table, table... there!

I come out of cover, raising my assault rifle as I watch more of those creatures flood in. I fire a short burst of assault rounds at one of the creatures as they rush in, and I watch as it falls over. A second one immediately comes rushing towards me, and I jump to the side as quickly as I can. However, it's not quick enough, for then the creature manages to tackle me to the ground.

Damn, these things are _fast_! I land on my back as the creature snarls. I close my eyes, expecting to feel some kind of hot breath. Oddly, the blast of cold that greets my face isn't what I'd expect.

I look up in surprise, bringing my leg up and kicking the monster as hard as I can. It lets out this inhuman scream, that seems to be... that seems to be...

It's part electronic...

I frown, taking the momentary distraction to raise my assault rifle, pointing it at the creature.

"Oh, _hell _no," I say. I squeeze the trigger soon after, the bullets tearing through the monster as it lets out some dying squeals. As soon as I pump enough rounds into the thing, I move to the side as it falls over. It nearly falls on top of me, and I frown as I shove the corpse off of me. "You're not assuming direct control of _my_ ass, motherfucker!"

I quickly scramble out from underneath that... _thing_, and quickly stand up just as a couple of pistol shots just to my left stop another one of those monsters from rushing me. I turn quickly and see Madison ejecting a thermal clip from her pistol, rushing up to me. I start to get up right before she lifts me to my feet by my left shoulder and pulls me by the bar.

I watch as she slams a thermal clip into her pistol, firing a shot at another creature. This one is taken down by some assault rifle fire from behind the both of us, and I fire another burst at a monster that's just cleared the doorway into Afterlife before I place a hand against the counter. With a brief count to three, I jump behind the counter, watching as Madison follows suit.

I glance over to the former vigilante as another set of monsters comes rushing in.

"What the hell are these things?" I ask.

Madison fires a shot into another of the creatures. "Beats me," she says as I turn my attention to them. "You think they're the work of the Reapers?"

I raise my assault rifle, shrugging. "Wouldn't be surprised if they were," I mention. I fire a short burst of assault rifle rounds as a monster suddenly flies into our viewpoint, apparently having been tossed biotically by someone.

Madison comes up, fires another few pistol rounds as I duck down behind the bar. I glance off to the side, suddenly noticing a thing of alcohol right next to where I am. I eject a thermal clip, being mindful of the alcohol as...

...

No way.

"They still have Jose Cuervo in the future?"

Madison looks right down at me, a frown settling on her face.

"We've got monsters attacking Afterlife, and you're worried about _Jose Cuervo_?"

I come out of cover, firing at the monsters with a short assault rifle burst as I notice that we're beginning to overpower the monsters.

"Not really," I mention. "I just didn't think Jose Cuervo would survive for so long." I frown, looking at my assault rifle... where's the switch for...

Ah, there we are.

Now I have incendiary rounds on. Okay...

I then reach under the counter, pulling out the first bottle that comes to mind. Okay... Armali Flame. That works, it's got a high concentration of alcohol. Okay, here we go!

"Madison, have you got incendiary rounds on that thing?" I ask.

"No," she says. "Why?"

I smirk, raising the bottle to throw it. "You'll see!"

With this, I toss the bottle of Armali Flame over to the entrance as hard as I can. I lift up my assault rifle. Okay, time to rain fire on these sons of bitches!

I fire at the bottle of Armali Flame as it falls... and miss. I then watch helplessly as the bottle breaks open over the head of one of those monsters, dousing it in alcohol as it gets only slightly dazed.

...

Well, I can still make this work.

I fire an incendiary round at the creature, setting it on fire as... Okay, I just made things worse, didn't I?

I then see it get surrounded in blue light, and before I can say much else, the creature is tossed right outside of the club. I briefly see it land on two more monsters as the whole thing begins to get a little more crowded. I glance to my left to see Miranda looking right at me. She shakes her head disapprovingly, before turning her attention back to the monsters and shooting.

Oh, come on! You have to admit that-

"Art, that was a really _stupid _idea."

...

I shake my head, firing at more monsters as they rush in. "Hush, Madison, it came together much better in my head."

I raise my assault rifle quickly soon after, and the monsters soon enough don't seem to make it past the entrance. I can see Garrus and Tali off to the side firing away at these things, along with Anto and Grizz on the other side. Soon enough, much of Aria's security force is crowding around the door, subduing these things until there's a pretty large pile of them just standing there.

And after a few more minutes, the creatures finally stop coming.

We all stand up soon after this, watching as Aria walks on up to the entrance of Afterlife, looking at all these weird mutant creatures. I then take the moment to look around at the various patrons. Some of them are on the floor, dead, but a few others are cowering or sobbing behind tables. I look above me, seeing some of the dancers hanging on to the supports. I look around, glancing over to everyone else.

And that's when I notice that Afterlife has suddenly gone completely silent.

I shake my head, looking to Aria. She then walks over to one of the monsters, planting her foot in the face of one of them.

"Anybody care to tell me what the hell these things are?" she asks. "And anybody care to tell me why I wasn't told about them until they literally started killing my patrons?"

I look over, frowning as I step closer. Tali moves near one of the more intact monsters, scanning it with her omni-tool.

I blink, looking at them. "Aria, I get the feeling that this threat is actually relatively new..." I mention. "Even if someone had told you about them... I'm not sure it would've made much of a difference."

"Some of these things look... new," says Miranda, frowning as she looks around.

"Which leaves the more important of those two questions..." says Madison as she kneels to look at one of these things. "What _are _these things?"

I suddenly hear a beep from Anto's omni-tool. We all look at the batarian, watching as he works his way through omni-tool menus. I hear him leave some chatter with the thing, though the exact nature is lost since he's pretty quiet about it. He then walks over to Aria, holding his omni-tool out to her.

"It's Omega Control," says Anto. "It's for you."

The queen of Omega nods, walking over to Anto. "What is it?" she asks.

"_Aria T'Loak_?" asks a voice with a heavy Russian accent on the other end of the line. "_I hear you've had an infestation problem._"

Wait, what? I frown, looking at everyone around us as we hear these words get spoken. "You could say that," says the queen. "Who are you, and how do you know about that?"

"_I am General Oleg Petrovsky of the Elbrus,_" he replies. "_I am here on behalf of the Illusive Man._"

"The Illusive Man?" asks Miranda, frowning as she looks at Aria. "So Cerberus is involved in this..."

If Aria hears this, she ignores us. "Okay," she says. "How do you know about our infestatoin problem, and why are you here?"

"_The infestion problem has to do with something that happened in Cerberus,_" replies the general. "_I am here to help get rid of that problem. There are many more transport ships on their way to Omega, and they are filled with these things. We are in the process of destroying most of them._"

I frown, looking over at Miranda. "Hm..." I place a hand on my chin. "You think we should get Joker to assist with that?"

"It wouldn't be a bad idea," says Miranda. "Even the best starships can be overpowered."

"Then what are they?" asks Aria, ignoring most of our side conversation.

"_That is something I think I will have to explain in person_," he says. "_The Illusive Man would prefer not to contact you, but after I destroy a few of these ships, I will be able to explain everything_."

"Good," says Aria. "Get on it, then. I'll need answers eventually."

The line is silent for a few seconds. "_We shall see each other soon_."

And with this, the link is cut, even as Tali stands up from her finished scan.

The quarian nods, looking through the data that she managed to get from the scan quickly. "All right..." she says. "It says here that these things are made from modified Reaper technology. They're actually fairly similar to husks..."

...

Oh, come on, _seriously_?

I facepalm, shaking my head. "God damn it, if this involves yet _another _Cerberus experiment gone wrong, I am marching _straight _up to the Illusive Man when we get off this rock," I say, gritting my teeth.

"We'll see about that," says Aria. "Come on. I'm not going to leave myself out of this loop of knowledge any longer than I need to."

With this, the queen glows blue, and before I can say anything else, half the bodies plugging up the entrance of Afterlife are sent flying away. They land behind us, causing a few patrons to scatter, screaming the whole while. She then walks over to the entrance, Anto and Grizz following behind soon after.

I turn to my companions, shrugging. "Come on," I say. "Let's move."

And with this, we follow Aria T'Loak out to the docking bay of Omega.

* * *

><p>Soon after, we're standing there, right as the Elbrus docks on the asteroid. We stand there briefly, and before we know what happens, we the airlock open. And when we do, we see this middle-aged man with black hair and some epic facial hair walk out in some kind of command uniform that is quite similar to Jocelyn's usual casual outfit that she wore on the Normandy SR-2. I raise my eyebrows, seeing that he's got some scrappy dude behind him and is flanked by two other people in some kind of shock trooper armor that I have <em>never <em>seen a Cerberus agent wear before. He looks over to Aria with a nod, Anto and Grizz both standing behind theri boss firmly. He then turns his attention to us rather snappily.

"Operative Lawson," says the man in the familiar Russian accent we heard over the comm link. "I didn't think we would encounter you again."

Miranda frowns, looking right at General Petrovsky. "Neither did I," she admits. "If this is an offer to go back to Cerberus, I think I will have to refuse it."

"It is not my place to offer," replies the general. "If the Illusive Man wanted you to return, he would have contacted you himself."

I nod, crossing my arms. "Well, that's comforting to know," I say, looking right at him. "Anyway, you were here on business. So I guess you can start by telling the Queen of Omega over there exactly what's been going on."

Aria comes forward as General Petrovsky nods, turning his attention to her. "I believe I can," he replies. "Aria T'Loak. We have much to discuss."

"That we do," says the queen as she crosses her arms. "What the hell were those things, and where did they come from?"

"I'm afraid this is a rather large problem we have on our hands," says General Petrovsky. "Those things you saw are a creature we have never seen before. They were the result of an experiment by Cerberus gone very wrong."

I growl, shaking my head as I facepalm. "Jesus Christ on a pikestaff, I _knew _it," I mutter.

If he has heard me, the Cerberus general doesn't say a thing. "We are calling them Adjutants," he continues. "We were experimenting on Reaper technology in a base within the Terminus systems. However, the base had gone silent a few days ago. When we saw the surveillance footage, we saw that these Adjutants had overpowered the scientists and had somehow boarded numerous vessels." He glances back to the Ebrus as we begin moving towards Afterlife. "Unfortunately, this was only the first of a large wave. There will be more coming."

I blink, looking right over at the general. "Well, that's no good," I supply.

"So we're expecting more of them?" asks Aria.

"That is why I was sent," replies Petrovsky. "I was sent to destroy the coming tide until Cerberus reinforcements could arrive to deal with them." We approach Afterlife soon after, and I see a few bodies outside, some of them looking like they are long dead by this point. "It seems they did a lot of damage to your throne."

"Yeah, you could say that," says Aria, grimacing slightly.

Petrovsky nods. "I would be careful," says Petrovsky. "These Adjutants... they have an odd way of reproduction. They spread by mutating the bodies of anything they manage to kill."

Hm... "So essentially, we have to ensure that anyone infected by the Adjutants stays dead," says Miranda.

Abruptly, I see one of the other bodies suddenly rise up, being affected rather quickly. It's a salarian, and it stands up, the weird little bio-technological things sprouting out of its body.

I let out a loud gasp, but I see that Garrus has already pulled out his assault rifle, as well as the other human dude that is working with us. They both pepper the thing with bullets, but it goes down very fast. It lets out a ragged breath, even as I look on in shock.

We're all silent for a few seconds before Madison nods. "Yep, we're going to have to double tap every one of these things," she says.

Aria looks over at Petrovsky. "I guess you have a plan to deal with these things?" she asks.

"Of course," says the little guy. "Your men follow Cerberus' lead, and live!"

Aria frowns, looking right at Ash. "And why should I do that?"

"Because in this case, we can control the situation, and we can probably control your men better than you can."

...

Oh shit.

Before any of us can figure out what will happen next, Aria glows blue, and suddenly shoves the smaller Cerberus dude away from us. She stalks over to him with rage in her eyes, even as the man looks up.

"How _dare _you try to give orders to my men!" says Aria. "They don't follow _you_, you son of a bitch."

I blink at this sudden display of aggression from Aria. Before she can do much else, I see Petrovsky walk over and hold his hands up. "Colonel Ashe, that was out of line," he says.

"But we still know more about this situation than she does," says the young guy.

Miranda walks forward then, looking right at Ashe. "Except that Aria's men aren't loyal to you," she mentions, crossing her arms. "It's better to leave people in the hands of the ones they already trust."

Aria nods, motioning to Anto and Grizz. "Exactly," adds the asari. "My men do not take orders from you. They take them from me. I will not have you insulting my authority in such a way." She turns to Anto and Grizz as they come up behind her. "Take him away."

The two guards do as she says, lifting the guy to his feet and going off.

...

Uh, Petrovsky, aren't you going to stop this? Hello? One of your men is being taken away from your jurisdiction! And he's your underling! You know, say something? Please?

"I merely wished to tell you that," continues Petrovsky "The new wave of Adjutants will arrive in a few hours. I will be on the _Elbrus_ when it comes."

Okay, I _can't _be the only one who's alarmed by the fact that he just _completely _brushed off that his underling just got detained by someone else. Can I? I turn to the rest of my squadmates, and among them I can see that Madison is frowning at Petrovsky, with Garrus and Tali both giving suspicious expressions. Even Miranda can tell something is off with this, as she crosses her arms.

Yeah, I'm not the only one. It's almost like Petrovsky _planned _this...

I think Aria picks up on this too. "You're not going to say anything to the fact that I just ordered one of your men detained?" asks the queen of Omega.

"He was out of line," replies the general of the _Elbrus_. "I would have detained him myself, but you detained him first."

Uh, yeah, I don't buy that. I mean... that's kind of callous and cold to do to one of your men.

The queen of Omega doesn't look like she wants to dwell on that, though, so she waves her hand. "Whatever," she says. "I will hold a line here. If any Adjutants get over here, then we'll be the first to know."

Petrovsky nods. "Very well," he says. "I must get back to my ship. The _Elbrus_ will be ready to assist in whatever capacity."

With this, Petrovsky and the two Cerberus shock troopers turn back, heading back the way we came from. He does so stonily, leaving us with a lot of questions. I mean, there's this Cerberus dude, he goes off and tells us stuff, but says nothing when his fellow operative gets detained by Aria. It's almost like...

Like he's indoctrinated or something...

Wait... So Cerberus experimented on Reaper tech...

Wait, wouldn't that mean...?

No, no, Art, that's silly. Only those people at that lab would've had exposure to it. Unless... No, that can't happen.

But... No, you could be wrong about that. It's happened to you before. Besides, Petrovsky's been a little suspicious about how he's dealt with some things around here... I mean, he just brushed Ashe off like it was nobody's business.

Okay, so for now, assume that these guys might possibly be indoctrinated or be working for a cell that's been indoctrinated, and we'll keep going from there. Okay...

I walk over to Aria, Miranda walking over as well as the others in our group crowd closer. I glance at Petrovsky, frowning before I turn my attention back to Aria. "I wouldn't trust Petrovsky," I say briefly.

"Yeah, he's acting kind of suspicious," replies Aria. "Though, I'm not sure why _you _are telling me this."

I look to Garrus and Tali right as Tali walks over. "We've dealt with this before," I say. "Let's just say that if he or anybody else had a run-in with Reaper technology, let's say it's safe to say they're not themselves."

"I would say that they're planning something myself," adds Miranda, frowning. "Art, I hope you've got no strong objections to getting some more of the ground team out of the Normandy to assist Aria."

I shake my head. "I was gonna call on some more people, anyway," I mention. "Having these new Adjutant things to deal with is one thing, but given the fact that it's this and possibly Cerberus _in addition _to the slavers that found the turian Spectre?" I shake my head, looking over at Aria. "You've made a _lot _of enemies, Aria."

"Two of them probably aren't even enemies," says the queen of Omega. "But you're right. You never can be too careful."

I nod, looking right at her. "Better paranoid than dead, as I think to myself in situations like this," I reply. With this, I nod to Miranda. "Make the call, Miranda. Get everyone on the ground team out and around. I get the feeling Aria could use a lot of help here."

At this, Anto turns right to me. "We don't need your help," he states, looking right at us. "We've got this."

Aria looks at her guardsman. "We may not need it, but refusing it would be stupid, given that those things could come in even bigger numbers than before," says Aria. "Besides, if they try to fuck with me, I'll kill them all myself."

I tilt my head, my hand moving in more or less the same motion. "You won't have to worry about that," I say, looking to Garrus. "Garrus, I think you should be in charge of everyone who ends up needing to fend off the Adjutant attack with Aria."

"I was about to say the same thing," says the turian with a nod. "We can hold the line if worst comes to worst."

"So I guess you're going after the slavers yourself?" asks Aria.

I shake my head. "I... need to confer that with Miranda, but I think we'll have to do that." I take a deep breath. "The exchange is supposed to be taking place relatively soon. We can't waste time with this Adjutant invasion, only to have someone try to kill you while you're distracted."

"I still don't know if I should trust you with Jorash, but considering the circumstances..." she says, glancing around at all the dead bodies.

I look over to see Miranda walking back to us, nodding. "They should be here in a few minutes," she says. "I hope you're thinking about what you're going to do with the slavers."

I nod, watching as Garrus comes over. "I'm thinking I can take a small group with me into the slaver ship that's owned by the lesser slaver guy."

Miranda looks at me in surprise. "Art, are you sure you should do that?" she asks. "What happens if you get captured?"

I look up at the former Cerberus operative. "Then we wreak as much hell on the slavers as we can," I say. "I'm taking Thane, Kasumi, Madison, and Tali with me. I think, anyhow, and I'm sure none of them will have any objections." I look over to Aria with a concerned expression on my face. "The only thing we need to know is where they're actually docked."

Aria nods, looking off to the side. She then types something on her omni-tool, doing so rather quickly. I hear my own omni-tool beep as soon as she's done with this, and I open it to see some directions. I nod... Okay, that's where the slaver ship is going to be. I smile, looking directly at Aria as she looks at me.

"You better not be wrong about this," she says. "We have bigger issues to deal with than that, and I don't want time to be wasted that we could spend with other things."

I roll my eyes, pursing my lips together. "Don't you know it," I say, looking to Miranda and Garrus. "Trust me, I'll be fine. I need you guys to stay here to hold the line."

"What about the _Normandy_?" asks Miranda. "She may be ready to assist the _Elbrus _in whatever capacity she can."

I nod, rubbing my chin. "Hm, that's a good point," I say. "She can fill in the holes that the _Elbrus _can't..." I nod. "All right, then. Make whatever needs to happen for that happen, Miranda. The more things we can do to make sure that the Adjutants don't take over Omega, the better." I glance back at all the dead things around us. "Seriously, these things were like... really dangerous. And if they can infect other people and spread like a freaking zombie apocalypse, then that's even worse."

"You have no argument there," says Aria as she takes a step back towards Afterlife. "I will be here. Make whatever arrangements you need to with your crew, and when you're done, tell them that if they try to fuck with me, I will take it as a threat."

I nod, even as Aria and her entire entourage turn and walk in. I nod as Grizz and Anto give me a serious look, leaving Garrus, Miranda, Madison, Tali, and myself all standing there, waiting for the rest of the crew to show up.

* * *

><p>A short while later, we've all managed to split off into our groups. Tali, Thane, Madison, and Kasumi are all standing around me now as we watch the others go to other places. Miranda decided that she would head back to the Normandy to overlook Joker helping the Elbrus with keeping the Adjutants from overtaking Omega. And now, Garrus is walking back into Omega with the entire rest of the ground team. James looked eager to be on Omega, as he was quite ready with stuff. I'm not sure why he is that way, but hey. Jarel and Mordin are with them, so... that'll take care of the medicine. Though... No, Legion is staying on board the Normandy, he told us that himself. So apart from them, we also have Al, Jacob, Jack, and Grunt helping around.<p>

And then the five of us are left to infiltrate the slave ship that may have the turian Spectre on it.

Joy.

I nod to the others, biting my lower lip. "Right," I say. "So... we get left to deal with the slave ship."

"It is not going to be easy to get in," says Thane, looking right at me. "They are bound to have numerous security measures inside."

I nod, looking at Thane. "Yeah, you've killed slavers before," I say. "Anything we should watch out for?"

"I remember that most slave ships are supposed to be impenetrable from the outside," he says.

"You don't want your merchandise getting stolen by other people," adds Madison, a distasteful grimace settling on her face. "It's twisted, and it makes it really hard for us to get in."

"Which then leaves this question," says Tali. "How did Thane get the slavers the previous time?"

"Most slave ships will have an entrance near where one of the magnetic clamps for the docking bay will be," says the assassin. "It is handy if a slaver wants to escape the city unnoticed."

I frown, crossing my arms. "Seems a bit much to do that just to get away," I mention.

"Sometimes slavers work in dangerous areas," Thane replies. In a quick getaway, he may want to be able to get into his ship while bypassing authorities. The fastest way to do so is to go in through a place that nobody would expect you to. Enter from the magnetic gangway, and people may suspect that you are there to perform maintenance of some sort."

I raise my eyebrow. "Obviously, I haven't been in enough ports of call within the Terminus systems," I say.

"That you have not," agrees Thane. "If we can scout the ship, I believe we can get in. Since this is Omega, they may have extra measures. The measures I have seen involve putting a password lock on the door."

"Oh, trust me Thane, that won't be a problem," says Kasumi, crossing her arms. "Don't forget that we've got two of the best hackers in the galaxy right here."

I chuckle, looking at Kasumi as she says this. "That we do," I say. "So... I guess we get onto the slave ship and use Thane's expertise on slave ship layouts to our advantage?"

"Every slave ship is fairly different," says Madison. "However, they tend to have the same characteristics. The slaves are always in one of the lower levels, the guards are usually everywhere at once, and the places where you have to find information tend to fall on the bridge, where the ship's captain can get to them really easily."

"So in other words, we saunter off to the bottom of the ship and hope that we find something?" I ask. "Hm, sounds fair enough to me."

"What do we do about the other slaves?" asks Tali. "We can't just leave them there. I've heard about some truly terrible things that happen to slaves taken by batarians."

"Well, we set them free," says Madison. "If they're not rigged up to some explosives, we'll be good to go. They can cause havoc within the ship, and it should create a good enough distraction for the rest of us to do what we need to. Hopefully Tidoses will be one of them. If not, then we'll have to go to the bridge to find out where she is."

I nod, biting my lower lip. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that," I say. "So... let's do some scouting around a slave ship, shall we?" I ask, looking over at Thane.

The drell nods. Okay, we're off to do-

"Uh, excuse me!"

We stop in our tracks soon after, watching as a rather young maiden asari comes rushing up to us. I watch as some turian with an assault rifle stands back as she comes rushing up to us. She looks... well, terrified. I don't see any visible injuries on her, but she does look a little shaken, I guess. She breathes in rather quickly, swallowing as she looks at the rest of us with a question seeming on the tip of her tongue.

I raise my eyebrow. "Can we help you?" I ask.

"I... I'm sorry, this is improper of me," she says. "But... do you know what happened in Afterlife?"

I look to Madison and Tali briefly, watching as they both look at me. I then shrug, crossing my arms as I look the new asari directly in the eye. "Well, Afterlife got attacked by a bunch of creatures."

"Those things?" she asks, looking around. "I didn't think they'd get all the way up here."

"Well, they did," I say. "But if you ask me, I think we did all right, because we managed to beat them back without taking too many casualties ourselves." I look right up at her. "Why?"

"My mother was in Afterlife, and I've been trying to call her on a private comm channel ever since those things appeared," she says. "I only just managed to get here, and only then with the help of one of my mother's friends."

I frown, glancing to the turian. Before I can say anything, though, I hear Madison peep up behind me. "Preitor Gavorn is one of your mother's friends?" she asks.

"Yes," says the asari. "I just need to see if my mother is all right."

I shrug, gesturing to Afterlife. "Well, I think you should be able to do that," I say. "We've managed to beat back the invasion, so at any rate, Afterlife should be safe for the next few hours."

"That's good to know," says the young woman. "Thank you."

With this, she turns, but before I can even ask for her name, she's walking right into Afterlife. Preitor nods to us before following the strange asari into Afterlife.

I look back at the others. "What was _that _about?" I ask.

"Beats me," says Kasumi, shrugging as we turn away from Afterlife. "Anyway, we have a slaver ship to break into. We can always figure it out later."

I notice Madison's expression shift, but she doesn't say anything about it at all as we move on. Hm... if I didn't know better Madison, I'd say you knew something about that. Though... I imagine that the mysterious woman might be better off _staying _mysterious for the time being, so we'll see what happens.

Anyway...

Okay, _now _we're off to find out where that slaver ship is. We can only hope that we get something there. I also hope we're fast.

Because if we're not, Aria is possibly _screwed_.

* * *

><p>Okay... I gingerly pull myself along the docking arm, following Thane's lead as closely as I can. Somehow, it is still possible to breathe air this close to a docked ship. I'm not sure how that happened, but there you go. And now, we're pulling ourselves along to the hidden entrance that's undoubtedly supposed to be on the slaver ship. Well, after Thane checked to make sure nobody was looking, of course. It would be pretty damn bad to get to a slaver ship and then get seen trying to infiltrate the main entrance.<p>

Though honestly, I'm not sure that's my biggest fear going into this. It's probably... well... the fact that if I lose my grip here, I'm gonna fall either several hundred stories to my death, or I'll just fall right into space. Neither outcome is really all that pleasant, and my breath hitches when I look down. The fact that we're hanging by our hands on the magnetic docking clamp doesn't really do anybody favors, either.

I mean... this is just... gah!

"Art, don't look down," says Tali reassuringly as we all sidle along after the assassin.

I breathe in, forcing myself to look back up as I continue moving. "Sorry," I say weakly. "Force of habit."

"Fear of heights?" asks Kasumi as we move along.

I nod nervously, squeezing them shut. Just put one hand in front of the other... one hand in front of the other. "Yeah," I say. "The thought of plummeting to my death isn't exactly pleasant, especially not hanging from something like this."

I sidle forward, feeling my left hand's grip slip. Panicking briefly, I swing my legs around, taking my left hand away and regripping the clamp. I pause, breathing in and out frantically as my grip reasserts itself. Oh God...

"This was a bad idea," I say.

"It is also the only one we have," Thane replies. "Would you rather we walked through the airlock and risk exposing ourselves early?"

... Yeah...

"Point taken." I move forward a little bit, my breathing returning to normal. "Are... are you guys sure this passage won't lead directly to the bridge?"

"It shouldn't," I hear Madison say from behind Kasumi. "Most slavers wouldn't put it close to where a stranger can hijack the ship immediately."

I stiffen my neck, forcing myself not to look down as I sidle ever closer. My gaze turns to the ship... Okay, good, it's closer than I thought it was. Good, that's good. I don't want to have to be hanging here any longer than I have to.

"So I see," I say, edging closer. Thane moves a little more quickly, and then deftly manages to jump right onto the ship itself. "Where do you think we'll end up?"

"Possibly the back of the ship on the top deck," says Thane as I move closer. "We will have to see."

I nod as I approach the ship. Okay... almost at the point where I'm gonna have something solid under my feet, and man am I looking forward to that. I shuffle rather slowly towards the ship, my breath quickening as I move across. I gingerly move over. Okay... one, two, three.

I pull with my arms, launching myself towards the ship that Thane is currently standing on. I hold my breath, but only a few seconds passes before I find myself suddenly gripping the edge of the ship. It's slanted, though, so Thane simply takes my hand and pulls me up to where he is.

Phew. For a second there... I turn my head back to see Tali edge ever closer to the ship. She jumps, and manages to get onto the ship just fine. Okay...

I look to Thane as Kasumi edges closer. "All right," I say, crossing my arms. "Now... where's this trap door gonna be?"

Thane simply taps an area of ship with his foot. I raise my eyebrows, nodding soon after. "I see," I mention, crossing my arms. "That makes sense, I suppose. So we just need to hack it open and presto, we're in?"

Kasumi lands on the ship soon after, and she nods to the rest of us as she moves past Thane. I back up a little bit to give us some more room to maneuver, even as the thief kneels next to the door. "Yep," says Kasumi as she opens her omni-tool.

I hear another dull thud, and then I turn to see Madison get pulled up by Tali. The former vigilante nods to the rest of us, smiling as our attention turns back to Kasumi.

"Okay," says the thief. "This looks easy." She manipulates her omni-tool, and then a red panel appears over the door. "Let me just do this... and then work around it with that..."

And soon after the panel turns green.

"Voilá," she says, touching the panel and opening the door. "Batarian slavers need to get better tech. That was hardly a challenge."

Madison shakes her head, walking towards the panel. "Honestly, if they did have better tech, freeing them would be impossible," said Madison. "And that would be really bad for the people trapped in the slaving world."

"True," replies Kasumi, shaking her head. "You guys should go in first."

"Yeah, I was about to say," says Madison as she lowers herself into the trapdoor. "We don't want to risk this thing closing on the rest of us without being able to hack it open again."

"I could always do it," offers Tali.

"True," I say, shrugging. "Still... we'll see..."

With this, Madison disappears into the ship. I see Thane quickly follow soon after, with Kasumi preparing her omni-tool in case she has to hack it open again.

"Art, are you sure we'll find Tidoses in there?" asks Tali.

I shrug. "Even if we don't, we may be able to get more information on where she will be when the exchange goes down," I mention. "So even in that case, this little excursion won't be for nothing."

Thane disappears down the shaft. Okay... I guess it's my turn. I walk towards the door, putting my legs inside and beginning to climb down. "I hope Garrus and Miranda can hold the Adjutants off." I say this at barely a whisper. Wouldn't want the people below to hear us...

"Don't worry about them," replies Kasumi. "I'm sure they've got it all under control."

I smile. "Yep, though I do worry about what'll happen when they notice that Garrus and Archangel are a little too similar."

"They'll probably be too busy shooting monsters to care," says Kasumi.

I nod. "Maybe. We'll see."

With this, I descend into the ship, looking below me to make sure that Thane and Madison aren't blocking my way in case some random batarian dude happened to be walking by. When I don't see them, I nod, descending the rest of the way. I climb down a ladder, and continue climbing down it until my feet touch a floor a couple seconds later. I then step down, and quickly scan to see Madison and Thane gesturing to me. I quickly move over, drawing my pistol as I join the two of them in the shadows.

It's then that I get a clear look of where we are. Okay, so we're in a hallway of some sort. If I look to my left, I can see a door there... Okay, that's probably the way to the bridge or something. I look to the right to see more hallway. Okay... this is turning out to be pretty heavy already.

I look back to the ladder to see Tali touch down. She joins us quickly, hiding in the shadows silently.

"So... which way do we go?" I ask.

"Well... whether or not Tidoses is there, we want to free the slaves," says Madison. "Art, you've got a picture of her, right?"

I nod, opening up my omni-tool. "Liara sent it as part of the data package surrounding the slave exchange," I mention. "She's supposed to have green face paint of some sort."

"Green," said Thane. "That is... an unusual color for a turian to paint her face.

I shrug. "Well, there you have it," I say. "So we wait for Kasumi to get down here so we can run over to the lower levels, right?"

"Pretty much," says the former journalist. "There's a control we can activate to release the slaves now, but that won't exactly work for us given that we need to actually _see _some of these slaves first."

I nod, smiling. "Works for me," I say, checking my ammo. "Now... where's Kasumi?"

"Right here."

I jolt right as Kasumi materializes just between where Madison and Tali are standing. I look at Kasumi wildly, quickly covering my own mouth so I don't cry out in surprise to alert the batarians.

I breathe in and out, and then take my mouth away. "Wow, Kasumi, you nearly gave me a heart attack there," I say. "I thought you were-"

"A slaver?" she asks. "Don't be ridiculous." She then smirks, even as Thane peers around the corner to check for guards.

"We should move," he says, walking out of the shadows and gesturing for us to come along.

I nod, following the drell soon after. "Right behind ya, Thane."

And with this, the five of us begin moving throughout the slaver ship.

* * *

><p>It is after this that we find ourselves weaving throughout the slave ship. It's been a dark, dark run so far, but... that's been helping us a lot more. Most of the hallway running is just guesswork, but Madison is really good with guessing where everything is. Yeah, there were one or two times where the way down was actually on the opposite end of the ship entirely, but hey, every slave ship is different. But it's dark enough where we can't see the guards...<p>

We just know they're there, really, and the few times we've been able to see a guard were all the close calls when we ran into locations that we couldn't see coming. And that was when we were more concentrated on getting the hell out of dodge. That proved to be a little difficult sometimes, but we somehow managed to get out of it. I still don't know how on one of the _really _close calls.

Well, either way, here we are, one level above where the slaves are supposed to be. Now we're just trying to find how to get down there without having to use the elevator. Once we get down there, we check for Tidoses, we free the slaves, and we call it a day and help Aria out with her little Adjutant problem.

As I round a corner, I check my pistol. Force of habit, I guess: we haven't actually shot anyone yet, as we've managed to outsmart pretty much every guy here. I peer around the corner as Thane moves silently ahead of us. I peer ahead, seeing a couple batarian guards around the corner as Thane approaches them. With a few deft steps, he runs up to one of the batarians. With a quick motion of his arms, he's snapped the guy's neck, and the dead batarian falls to the ground. The other guard notices this, but before he can do anything else Thane backhands him hard in the throat. This stops him from yelling out, but Thane follows up with a hard blow to the head that sends him sprawling.

When he does this, he nods, peering around the corner and giving us the okay to proceed.

All I'll say about this is, thank God we've got Thane here. He's making our lives a _lot _easier at the moment, and the easier it can be for the rest of us, the better.

Though... there is something a little odd about what we've noticed.

I look at the two guards... Hm... I open my omni-tool, opening the little flashlight thing on them.

This gets the attention of Madison. She then turns to me, and I feel her hand grip my arm. "Art, what are you _doing_?" she asks me in a whisper.

I shine my light on the guards...

...

Well, that's interesting.

These guys aren't wearing the same armor that the other guys are wearing. Most of the slavers we've found when we looked at them were guys in black armor. Black armor, and they all looked more or less the same from where we were standing.

But these guys? They both have two very different color armors, first off... and second off, I don't think these guys look like your average slavers. They don't have helmets on, they clearly aren't as well equipped...

What the hell is wrong with this situation.

Madison frowns at this, kneeling near the downed guards. "Well... that's odd," she said. "Why'd you check this, Art?"

I shrug. "Nagging feeling," I reply. "Pretty small detail at this point, really. "Are these...?"

"Freelancers?" asks Madison. "It definitely looks like it, I can tell you that much." She indicates their weapons. "See their equipment? They're not as well-equipped as your average slaver."

"That's certainly interesting," I say. "Why are they hiring freelancers?"

"Well... this definitely isn't the smallest of slaver ships," Madison said looking around. "And they do have a turian Spectre on board, so... maybe they hired the freelancers just in case." She shrugs. "Slavers always tend to prepare for the worst."

"Yeah, that would make sense," I say. "You never can be too careful around a Spectre, I guess."

"But what does it mean?" asks Tali. "It could mean any number of things for us."

Kasumi shrugs, and I can see her smile. "Well, that's the fun part!" says the thief. "We get to find that out soon..."

"Provided we can find a ladder down to the slaver area," says Madison. "We've scrounged around a huge part of the floor... I'm beginning to think we might have to break our silence to get down there. It's a common trait of slave ships to put the access ladder to the level that the slaves are on in a more public place. That way, they can catch any slaves that try to escape almost immediately."

I shake my head. "Wow, these guys are _thorough_," I mention. "They think about everything, don't they?"

"They have to," says Madison. "There are very few times where I've ever heard of slavers getting caught off guard."

Thane nods. "This does nothing to further our mission," he reminds us. "We should-"

And then, I hear an ear-splitting noise. I let out a shout, covering my ears as everybody else around me reacts to the sudden outburst of loud noise. I hold my hands up to my ears for a few seconds, squeezing my eyes shut.

Jesus Christ, what the fuck was that?

I open my eyes, taking my hands off my ears...

...

Shit, it's a warning klaxon.

I turn to the former journalist. "What the fuck set that thing off?"

"I... I don't know!" said Madison, standing up and drawing her pistol. "That just..."

"Well, one thing's clear," said Kasumi. "We're not going to get anywhere trying to stay stealthy anymore."

"Yeah, we're not," I say as Tali draws her shotgun. "I guess we just barge in and find the next ladder to go down, yeah?"

"Yeah, we're gonna have to," says Madison, drawing her submachine gun. "Come on, let's go!"

And with this, Madison leads the way. We follow rather quickly, right before Madison makes a turn into a nearby room. Her hand slams on the panel, and then she brings her gun forward as she aims inside. I raise my pistol, looking inside the room to see a lone batarian just getting his assault rifle. However, before he can do much else, Madison's already pulling on the trigger. He flies to the back of the room, dead before his body can even slide down the rest of the floor. I rush in, holding my pistol up to find that he was the only occupant of the room. Hm... looks like a supply closet.

Madison peers inside before shaking her head. "We're not gonna find it in here," she says. "Come on."

With this, she leaves, and then the five of us break out into a run. Madison raises her submachine gun quickly, and as a batarian or two turns down the hallway, I raise my pistol and fire a few shots. This takes down the shields of one of the batarians, and before long I see the guy fly back from a shotgun round. The other guard just stands there before he's suddenly downed by combined fire from Thane and Kasumi.

Madison shakes her head. "Wait... they were heading..." With this, she suddenly turns around, the group of us following. "Wait... why are they heading there?"

I frown, looking at Madison. "What's so-?"

"_THE SLAVES HAVE REVOLTED! I REPEAT, THE SLAVES HAVE REVOLTED!_"

This gets repeated twice more, and suddenly, I hear a loud rumble coming from underneath us. It only lasts a few seconds, but still...

Oh, _fuck_...

I glance to Madison. "Holy shit!" I say. "What... who...?"

"Fuck!" The former journalist looks ahead of her. "Damn it, this isn't going to work."

"You didn't tell us that slave revolts were easy on these kinds of ships!" I shout.

Thane steps forward, looking above. "They are not," he replies. "This is the work of someone else."

"The work of someone else?" I ask. "Who the fuck else would be interested in this ship?"

"We don't know, but it doesn't matter!" says Tali.

Kasumi looks up, a light smirk dancing on her face. "Well, this just got interesting," she says. "Fight our way through a slave revolt, _and _find Tidoses Mirani while trying to figure out how it happened."

"That throws everything off, though!" I say.

Madison shakes her head, raising her pistol as she begins moving. "That it is," she said. "We're going to have to go to the bridge now." We begin to follow her. "The slaves are almost always fitted with a tracker. The slavers can instantly tell if there's an escaped slave by checking a little something on the bridge. And if the captain walked off the ship with one of the slaves..."

"Then that means that they're off to an exchange..." I finish, following behind as she rushes over to the elevator.

Madison shakes her head, pressing the call button of the elevator. "Well, no use being subtle now," she said. "We're going to have to go in with our guns blazing. There'll be a few people watching the bridge, but with the freelancers, expect anything."

I nod, looking as the elevator opens. We all raise our guns and find... absolutely nothing inside. Except...

"What the fuck?"

I rear back, looking in shock. For some reason, there seems to be a collage of body parts strewn about inside the elevator. There's a severed arm, I see a severed head... and the amount of blood I see there is _insane_.

"Jesus Christ on a pikestaff..." I mutter, raising my hand.

Madison just looks on in shock. "My God..." she says.

"This is most unusual," says Thane. "But we cannot waste time."

He then simply enters the elevator, taking care to avoid stepping on the body parts that are strewn about the room.

Kasumi moves in after him, shaking her head and holding her nose at the smell. "I want to know what caused that," she says. "I don't even want to think of what it can do to everything else."

Nobody replies to this sentiment as Tali, Madison, and I then file into the elevator. At this, Tali shakes her head.

"Sometimes I am glad I can turn off my suit's olfactory sensors," she says.

I sniff, but all I can sense is blood. "It's not that decayed yet, apparently," I say. "That's new."

Madison hits a button to take us up to the level that the bridge is on. "I'll bet it has something to do with the slave revolt that is happening down there." She checks her ammo, slamming the gun after looking at it and pulling out a fresh thermal clip. "Be careful. Once we get up there, they won't stop unless we're dead."

I nod, checking my own ammo. Okay... Okay, I'm good...

"Gotcha," I say, nodding my head and looking at the door. "Well... I guess we'll figure out what's happened soon enough."

And with this, we ride the elevator up to the level that the bridge is on.

* * *

><p>As soon as the elevator opens, we raise our guns. And not a moment too soon, for we already see a pair of actual slavers with their weapons out. They fire off a few volleys of rounds that end up bouncing off our kinetic barriers. Before they can do much, though, Tali gets a shot in with her shotgun, and one of the slavers is sent flying back. I see the other one get pushed back by dark energy, and then his head breaks open over the wall on the opposite side of the elevator.<p>

I take this as my cue to peer over cover at exactly the same time Madison does. We both see some batarians there who had their weapons raised, but before they can get a shot off I'm already firing my pistol at the two guys on my end. I manage to take one of them down right before my shields fail on me. I quickly retreat into cover, my hand resting on one of the elevator doors to keep the thing open. Soon after, though, Kasumi takes over and fires her submachine gun, and I hear a loud grunt as someone bites the dust. I see Thane step out, finishing the last of the guys on Madison's side before nodding.

We take this as our cue to move on, and so we step out of the elevator as quickly as we can. I check my pistol... Hm... I unload a spent thermal clip, grabbing a still-cool clip and slamming it into my gun. Okay... I don't think I'll get by with a pistol anymore, so... I stow my pistol away, taking out my assault rifle as we move rather quickly.

"Okay, where's the bridge?" I ask.

"It's going to be this way," says Madison, who takes the lead.

We all follow her without asking a thing. We just move forward, keeping our weapons up.

And then I'm left to wonder what he hell happened downstairs that caused the slaves to revolt. So far, we haven't heard the klaxons let up, which means that they haven't quite neutralized the threat yet. I wonder who else got trapped in there... It'd be interesting to see what happened down there, but then, with the dismembered limbs we ran into in the elevator, I'm not so sure I want to find out, frankly.

I shake my head, raising my assault rifle as Madison runs right up to a door. "Okay, I think this is it," she says. "Be prepared for anything. With the slave revolt downstairs, they might have more than a few people here."

I nod, checking my ammo count on my assault rifle. "Let's do this."

Madison nods, and slams her hand against the door panel. We then raise our weapons, looking inside.

We see about five batarians turn around in surprise, with another two who are very close to where we are already cocking their weapons. Before they can start firing, though, Tali rushes in, shooting one of the batarians immediately in front of us with her shotgun as Thane sends the other one flying back with his biotics. I don't keep my eyes on him long enough to see what happens, as I rush into the room, literally diving behind a terminal as I open fire. Some of my shots miss, but I manage to get one of the workers in the spinal chord. I then shift behind cover as the other batarians return fire, pulling my legs in right before they can get a bullet embedded in them.

Okay, Art, breathe in, breathe out... I hear more gun shots ring out around me, with a few guys yelling out as they get shot out. I blink, and suddenly it occurs to me where I am at this moment in time. I... Wow...

I never thought I'd be freeing slaves at any time in my life, but... here we are...

I shake my head. No, damn it Art, focus, this is the battlefield.

I turn out of cover, seeing one final batarian still standing. Hm... my friends took care of the others pretty quickly. The final one is hunched behind a terminal, a pistol in hand as a stalemate goes out. Hm... I can see him clearly from where I am, and I have a clear shot, so...

I raise my assault rifle, and end it with a short burst that gets the worker in the sides. He falls to the side, attempting to clutch his wounds but not succeeding as he falls over. Okay...

I stand up, looking to the others. Okay... Hm, I didn't really get to look around at the bridge, but... well, there's the pilot seat over there. It's empty, of course, but that's a good thing for us. Right... Around us are various terminals... Hm...

"Okay, so we're here," I say. "Now, where do we start looking...?"

Tali has already opened her omni-tool, though, and is standing in front of one of the nearby terminals. "Let me see something..." She stands at a terminal just by where the ship's galaxy map is erected. "Maybe there is something..." She trails off, concentrating on hacking into the mainframe. A second or so later, we hear a ping from her omni-tool.

"_There _we go," she says, scrolling through her omni-tool. "We are looking for tracker information, right?"

"Yeah," says Madison, walking over to the quarian. "They should..." She walks over, looking over the list. "Okay. This is the right information." Madison scrolls through the menu on Tali's omni-tool. "How'd you manage to find this on the first terminal you hacked, anyway?"

Tali shrugs as Madison moves the tracker down. "Luck, I guess," replies the quarian. "We would've found it eventually."

Kasumi shakes her head. "Time isn't exactly on our side here," she comments.

"That it is not," Thane agrees, holding his hands behind his back as soon as he stows his submachine gun at his hip. I nod, looking over to Tali. Hm... Madison sure is-

"_Damn _it!"

I raise my eyebrows as Madison exclaims this, shaking her head in defeat. Oh, shit, that doesn't sound good.

"What's up?" I ask, walking over to where the former vigilante is standing.

"I just found Tidoses' tracker information," she says.

"She's not on the ship."

...

Oh, _fuck_.

"Damn it, we _missed _her!" I say, snapping my fingers and shaking my head. "Fuck... So either she escaped in that ruckus, or the slave trade is already going on. Either way, we don't really know where she is." I shake my head. "Which means we've probably lost our lead."

"_Probably_?" asked Kasumi. "It sounds like you're not quite finished with that thought yet."

I shrug, walking over. "Slaver ships have a VI, right?" I ask.

"They should," Madison replies, looking around. "Now where..."

Our eyes fall on a VI terminal at exactly the same time.

...

Well.

"Okay," I say, walking over to the VI terminal. "Hopefully the VI will tell us where the captain is." I then walk over to the terminal, activating the VI interface.

"VI, is the captain of this ship on board?"

The VI takes a couple seconds to process my question. "_No_," replies a deep, gruff voice. "_The captain has left the ship with several of his men to oversee the sale of Tidoses Mirani to Jorash Veltar._"

Yeesh. I shudder at how _casually _the VI is talking about the sale of another human being. I mean... It's just so _cold_... I close my eyes and shake my head, my upper teeth grazing over my lower lip as I open my eyes.

"That'll be all, thank you," I say, closing the interface as I turn to the others.

"Well, the exchange is still going on," said Kasumi. "I'm surprised the recent attack on Omega by those monsters didn't stall their plans."

"Yeah, that would be an issue, wouldn't it?" I ask, rubbing my chin in thought. "Why would they continue with the exchange anyway?"

"Slavers are a very odd bunch," says Thane. "They tend to stay close to their schedules. Perhaps they did not cancel this because of Jorash Veltar's opportunism?"

I shrug. "It's as good an explanation as any," I mention. "Besides, for someone as valuable as a Spectre..."

Madison shakes her head. "That's all fine and good, but we don't even know where the exchange is taking place," she says. "And unless we know where that is, then we are going to have absolutely no luck finding Tidoses until she's possibly already on her way to assassinating Aria. And by then..."

She doesn't finish the sentence, but she won't need to. "At least we left Garrus on Afterlife with a huge amount of guys," I mention with a shrug. "They can help take on Tidoses if stuff goes down with that, and Aria doesn't _really _have as high a chance of dying with them there."

"But with these things coming in attacking the entire station?" asks Tali. "That would be an effort that would tax even our crew members."

I shrug. "Probably," I mention. "But don't forget that we have the _Elbrus _and the _Normandy _trying to take care of those things before they even get onto the station, so if everything goes well with that..."

"One can only hope," says Madison. "Well, we know Tidoses isn't on the ship. So now... we need to figure out where the exchange is."

"And that's something we-"

We're suddenly interrupted by the door to the bridge opening behind us. I jolt, turning and suddenly seeing two batarian men enter with their guns drawn. As if by instinct, we all draw our weapons, getting down into cover as the first shots are fired.

Gah, Jesus Christ, even here we can't be safe from being ambushed! Damn it, I though the slave revolt was-

"Guys, guys, hold your fire! _Hold your fire_!"

I then turn to Madison as she shouts this, waving her arms wildly around as the gunshots suddenly stop. She's wide out in cover, but her eyes are rather wide. What...?

I stand up, still holding on to my gun as the former vigilante looks directly in front of her at the two batarians. The one is unarmed, but now that I can actually see the other one... he's in a navy blue armor, not a black armor. He also has a helmet that covers his head, but... well...

...

Hey, who's the third guy that I didn't notice until just now?

And why is his armor so odd? Like, I've never seen _anything _like that in my time here. The pointed little chest apparatus, the weird helmet with the slits that have blue backlighting... and that gun of his... If I didn't know better, I would _swear _that it looks like a plasma cutter from _Dead Space_. That is _so _weird I honestly don't think I want to know about what happened with that. That's just... weird, though I wish he'd stop pointing that thing at me.

Madison approaches the armed batarian as he stands up. The batarian looks at Madison for a second before nodding, holstering his gun.

"You..." says Madison. "Carhon?"

The armed batarian nods, his hands reaching up to his helmet. With a couple of unclaspings of his helmet, he removes it, and reveals a batarian with a light brown skin color. He walks to the side, setting his helmet down on a terminal as he looks at Madison with beady black eyes.

"Journalist," says the batarian simply. "Fancy running into you here."

"Yeah, really," agrees Madison. She then turns to us. "Guys, it's all right, he's a friend."

With this, I finally place my gun back where I had gotten it from, the rest of us following suit as the mysterious man and the unarmed batarian both stand up nervously. I see Kasumi gallivanting straight over to where Madison and this new batarian guy are standing.

"Ooh, a batarian and a human being friends?" asks Kasumi. "_That's _something you don't see every day."

"Tell me about it," says Madison. "Guys, this is Carhon Erash: he and I used to be on Archangel's squad together."

I blink, looking at the new batarian. "So you used to work with Garrus around these parts?" I ask.

"Yes," replies the batarian simply. "And then it all fell apart." With this, he begins walking over to the unarmed batarian. "What are you doing here, Journalist? I thought we were never supposed to come back to Omega."

Madison chuckles. "Yet here you are," she comments.

Carhon nods, though I can detect a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Good point," he replies gruffly. "You still haven't answered the question."

"It's fairly complicated, and I'm afraid we're short on time," says Madison. "What are _you _doing here?"

The non-slaver batarian gives Madison a rather harsh look, and then simply shakes his head as the unarmed batarian and the strange man come up behind him. "It's also a long story," counters Carhon. "And we're also short on time."

I roll my eyes, smirking. "Lovely, we both seem to be at an impasse, then," I reply. I look over to Madison, and then to Carhon. "Well... we have to stay on Omega, so... Why don't you start?" I gesture to the batarian in front of us.

Carhon nods without even acknowledging anything verbally. He looks over to Madison, crossing his arms.

"When Archangel's squad disbanded, I... didn't think I could sit and watch things happen to people," says the former squad mate of archangel. "When I went to Khar'shan as per Sidonis' instructions..." He shakes his head. "You wouldn't believe what I saw there." He crosses his arms, facing away from us as he begins pacing around the room. "It was horrible. The caste system..."

He turns back to look at us. "It's destroying Khar'shan," he says.

"It always was," adds the weakened batarian. All our eyes are drawn to him. "The caste system is steeped in tradition... we have held on to it for so long... and in the end, it will drag us down with it when the blood of the masses spills over the streets of Khar'shan."

I blink, looking at the unarmed batarian. Hm... he looks kind of old. "Only a matter of time," I mention, looking back at Carhon.

"It wasn't any better than Omega, was it?" asks Madison.

"No," says Carhon as he comes towards us. "I couldn't sit back and watch this. I... I joined a resistance group soon after."

I raise my eyebrows. "And your resistance work brought you all the way to Omega?" I ask.

"Yes." Carhon uncrosses his arms, looking at us plainly. "I've been travelling throughout the Terminus systems, attempting to find disgraced politicians that the Hegemony had given to the slave traders." The batarian then spits in disgust.

Oh, dear. "Lemme guess," I say. "You're looking for the dissenters."

The armed batarian blinks in surprise, looking right at me. "That is... right," he says simply. "I wouldn't think humans other than Madison and Butler understood that."

I shake my head. "Trust me, I would know _all about _that kind of thing," I say. "It's a long story, and not relevant to the point, though, so..." I then look to the older batarian as he leans against one of the terminals. "I guess you found who you were looking for?"

Carhon nods, walking over to the old man. "Yes," says the batarian. "I found him."

The older batarian bows politely, looking right at us. "Dsrondo Ba'tal," he replies.

I nod, stepping forward. "Art*** *********," I reply. "I guess you were important at one time in batarian politics?"

"Yes," replies Dsrondo with a certain sense of regret. "I was close to the previous leader of the Hegemony." He shakes his head, glancing to the side. "I was disillusioned, however, and I attempted to do something for the good of my people. It is... a long story, and one that is perhaps better divulged elsewhere."

I blink. Well, that's certainly interesting how he got disillusioned. I cross my arms. "And you would help Carhon out... how, exactly?" I ask.

"Most resistance groups have a... history of forgetting something," says Dsrondo, raising a finger up. "They forget that once the reigning government falls, they will be in need of setting up a new government. Otherwise, there is unbridled chaos."

"And that's exactly why we're here," says Carhon. "Dsrondo and others that we rescue will know how the government of Khar'shan will go."

Madison crosses her arms. "So in other words, they'll essentially be planning the transition to some other form of government."

"Yes," replies Dsrondo simply.

I nod, shrugging. "So I see," I mention. "Well..." I glance over to the mystery man near the back of the room. "And who's the third guy?"

"Oh, me?" The man steps forward, coming up next to Carhon. "I... was found here, actually."

"Yeah," says Carhon. "He was one of the people I found in the holding cells where they keep the slaves. He hadn't been fitted with any of the usual things you'd see with slavers like this yet, and he was also somehow able to get out and arm himself with..." Carhon looks back at the man. "Plasma?"

...

Plasma?

Wait... Those weapons of his that are hanging all around his body... Wait... does it...

"Yeah," replies the man. He then presses something, and then his helmet peels away in this strange, mechanical function.

...

What the fuck?

We see a middle-aged human man with short, grayish hair standing there, looking at us with a blank expression. His eyes, though... they look absolutely haunted, and now that the helmet isn't there, it's easy to see that he's been through a lot.

...

Wait, I recognize that face. Kind of. He looks just a little older, but...

I'm snapped out of my train of thought as the human continues. "I was only recently captured," he says. "I... I don't know what happened, or even how, but... I wound up here. It's been..." He twitches, his glance turning to Carhon briefly before going to the rest of us. "It's been horrible."

"You have been the luckiest slave I have ever met," says Dsrondo. "And you say it has been horrible."

"With all the things I've seen?" he asks. "You'd be inclined to agree with me if you knew half the shit I went through to get to this point."

I raise my eyebrow, right as he waves his arms around. "It doesn't matter," he says. "I need to find my friend... And I don't know where I'm supposed to start." He shakes his head.

A friend? I raise my eyebrows. "Was this friend of yours a fellow slave?" I ask. "We can probably find her with the... the transaction history here." I cringe slightly at saying this. Seriously, I'm referring to the sale of a human being as if... blech... "Right?"

"Yeah, it's possible," adds Madison.

The man shakes his head, sadly. "I don't even think they sold her," he says. "I... I told her to run. And she did, and never looked back, but I still don't know what happened." He shakes his head. "I don't know if she was recaptured, but I don't think she was."

Madison shakes her head, gesturing for Kasumi to come forward as she walks to one of the terminals. "It doesn't hurt to double-check," she replies. "Kasumi, help me out here. We need to break into the transaction history."

"You got it." The thief then opens her omni-tool, manipulating various interfaces on it as Madison Paige looks over to the mysterious man. Well, this might-

"We haven't got time for this," says Carhon. "We need to get off the ship soon."

"Carhon, trust me," says Madison. "This shouldn't take too long. Now... what's your friend's name?"

The mysterious human nods, glancing away before looking back to the former vigilante.

"Her name is Ellie Langford," he says. "But I don't think slaves would want to know that."

"Trust me, they would," replies Madison as she turns her attention to a list that Kasumi brings up. "It makes organization a lot easier for them." She cringes, shaking her head. She then looks through the list, blinking within a few seconds of scrolling down.

"You said her name was Ellie Langford, right?" asks Madison.

"I did," says the mysterious man. "Why?"

The former Journalist breathes in deeply, looking right at the mysterious man. "There's an Ellie Langford who was sold to someone on the batarian homeworld," she replies.

Carhon and Dsrondo both blink rather violently at this. "Oh, shit..." I hear Carhon mutter inaudibly as the mysterious man steps back in shock.

"W... what?" he asks. "N... No... That's..." The man places a hand on his face, shaking his head as he moves and leans against the wall. "Damn it." He shakes his head, looking absolutely appalled at this. "Damn it, I failed someone again." He breathes in and out again, and then looks right at Carhon.

... Again? What does _that_ have to do with anything? Failing someone again? Hm... I sense that this one's got a doozy of a past behind him. And I'm beginning to think that something doesn't quite add up here...

But before I can say anything, he shakes his head. "I... No, there's still something I can do about this," he says. "I need to get her out of there."

"Good luck with that," says Madison. "From what Carhon told me when we were with Archangel, Khar'shan is a really well-defended home world."

"I have to do something," replies the man. "At least here I can do something about it."

"But you're not doing it without help," I say. "We-"

Carhon shakes his head. "No, we're wasting enough time as it is," he says. "We can discuss this later. My contact should be here." He then checks his omni-tool. "We were supposed to get Dsrondo out of here, and..." The batarian then frowns, looking at his omni-tool, shakes his head. He scrolls up and down on his omni-tool, frowning as he closes it.

"That's not right," he says, checking other interfaces. "My contact was supposed to have given me the dock where we were to be extracted by now."

I blink. Oh, shit... "Wait, when was he supposed to come in?"

"He was supposed to come to Omega within the last half hour," he says.

...

Well, shit.

I shake my head, glancing to Madison before I look back to Carhon. "Well... then it's entirely possible that your contact may not be able to help you right now," I say.

"And why not, human?" asks Carhon as he comes closer.

Madison looks at the batarian. "You mean you don't know?" she asks.

"I infiltrated this ship by posing as a freelancer in its last port of call," the batarian resistance member replies. "I've been on the ship the entire time."

I nod grimly. "Then that might explain why you don't know that Omega was attacked by these... things recently," I supply.

"What?" asks Carhon, looking at us with a confused expression. "Omega was attacked... and it was enough to disable the spaceport?"

"I imagine so," I say. "So... it looks like you're grounded here for a little longer than you thought."

Carhon shakes his head. "And how do I know you're not lying?" he asks.

"You'll see the damage _immediately_ once you try to leave, trust me," says Madison. "It's a long story, but now it looks as if you'll be unable to get to your contact."

The batarian shakes his head. "I'm not going to pass any judgment until I see the damage outside," he says. "But... since my contact hasn't called yet, I don't really have anywhere else to go, or any other explanation.

"So here we are." I look over to Madison, and then back to Carhon. Wait a minute... "Actually, since you're here," I mention, rubbing my chin. "Carhon, you and Madison worked together, right?"

"Yes," says the batarian. "Why?"

I smirk, shrugging. "Well," I say, crossing my arms. "How would you like to help the five of us find the captain of this ship?"

At this, the other three in the party look right at us in shock. They hold this for a few seconds, and they honestly look like they just saw one of us get shot in the face by a sniper.

The mysterious human is the first to step forward. "Are you crazy?" he asks. "Have you _met _this guy? He's..." The man shakes his head.

"We've got our reasons," I say. "Mostly pertaining to the fact that somehow, he managed to find and enslave a _Spectre_."

At this, the two batarians look right at us. I swear, Carhon is doing a double take, and Dsrondo just looks at us as if we have committed murder. "A Spectre as a slave?" asks Dsrondo. "Though... Ah, that would explain the unusual armor she was wearing... But... That should be impossible."

"There was a turian Spectre on board?" asks Carhon.

"It's why we're here," says Madison. "I'm working with a group of people that are fighting against something. There's a turian Spectre being held by this captain who might get traded off soon if we don't move fast. And we need to move even faster: if this slave trade goes through, then it could spell the death of Aria."

"Do you mean... She's being sold to Jorash?" asks Carhon.

"Yeah," I mention.

The resistance fighter nods. "That would explain why they were hiring freelancers, then," mentions Carhon. "We thought it was odd that-"

"What the hell is a Spectre?"

All eyes fall on the mysterious human in the room as he looks around with a perplexed look on his face.

...

"Seriously?" I ask. "You live in this galaxy and you don't know what a Spectre is?"

The man looks around suspiciously, but then shakes his head. "I... I don't get around much," he replies.

I blink. Great, space man here has been living under a rock. Or... or has he? Now that I think about it, he may not be as insane as we'd think. "We'll worry about that later," I say. "For now, all of you can help us out with the captain."

"I cannot fight," replies Dsrondo.

I nod. "Okay, then in that case..." I look over to Kasumi. "I think you can escort him to Afterlife, right?"

"Yeah, it's possible," says Kasumi. "So I escort Dsrondo to Afterlife, and let Carhon and the new guy help you out with the Spectre."

"Except that Afterlife probably isn't going to be safe enough," says Madison.

I shake my head. "By the time we're ready to get moving, the Normandy will probably have already taken off," I say. "Afterlife is his best bet, as we have a lot of people there and if anything were to happen he'd be in good hands."

"That's true," says Madison. "Right then... we should get going."

I nod, looking over to the mysterious human. "That we should," I say. "By the way... I'm probably a horrible person for asking you this now, but... who are you?"

Carhon nods. "I've been wondering that myself," he agrees. "You never told me your name."

The human sighs, looking right at me as he nods. "Fair enough," he says. He clears his throat, walking right up to me.

"I'm Isaac. Isaac Clarke."

...

What... who...

No way. No. There's... No, you can't... No, I...

What the fuck? No... There's no way he can...

Wait. It could explain a lot of things, though... Damn it... I'll have to think about this a little further. Damn it, why isn't now a good time to wonder what the fuck is up with this?

I nod, smiling softly. "Good to have you with us, Isaac," I mention. I then look to Carhon. "We'll explain the details on the way. We should get going. By now, the slave trade-off will probably still be going on, so... if we hurry and figure out when this is, we might be able to do something good here."

"Let's figure out where it's happening, first," says Kasumi, looking through her omni-tool and nodding. "Let's see..." I see her hack into the interface. "Okay, it's taking place..." She frowned. "I'm not sure where this is in relation to where we are."

Madison looks over Kasumi's shoulder briefly. She then nods, looking right her. "I know where that is," she says. "If we hurry, the exchange should still be going on when we crash it." She nods, and before we can say anything else she's already heading towards the door out of the bridge. "Come on!"

With this, the rest of us follow. I spare a glance at Isaac Clarke as he moves along... Seriously, now _Isaac Clarke _is in on the action. This... is gonna get heavy soon enough.

Right, we have a slave exchange to stop.

I follow Madison through the door to the bridge, hearing the various cheers of freed slaves as make our way to the ship's airlock. We continue on, knowing that the clock is ticking against us for trying to save Tidoses Mirani.


	8. Chapter 7

_A/N: Okay, so that was part 1 of the Omega chapters. Now, we have some incredibly crazy stuff going down._

_Oh, but let me assure you, that was all only the beginning of the craziness. This chapter? Well, look out below, because now shit will be flying everywhere. Hang on to your hats, guys, this is gonna be one heck of a ride!_

_Oh... oh, yeah, that's right. I should probably disclaim some of the stuff that went down in the previous chapter. So here we are:_

_Isaac Clarke, and anything relating to Dead Space, is copyright Visceral Games and EA. I don't own them, so... there you go. Fun times are had for everyone._

_Oh, and before we get going... *ahem* I'd like to call your attention to a new fic here that is awesome and needs some attention. So when you have a chance, you should all go take a look at_ Kids From Yesterday _by SparkeyScene. It's very interesting: it's not an SI, but it's quite an engaging fic, and even has Ian Shaw of Masses to Masses as a major character. Oh, and it's a lot of fun. That too. So go check it out._

_So... here we go with the next part of the Omega chapter!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 7: Alpha and Omega: Part Two<p>

***Garrus Vakarian POV***

I stand with Aria, watching as her men take stock of the damage that has been caused to Afterlife. They all carry guns, just in case those things get onto the station and attack us again. I glance around, seeing some of the crew members helping out with this. They look rather bored at the moment. Honestly, I can't blame them: it's getting a little quiet here.

Too quiet...

Well, one thing's for sure; these guys sure will have a hard time cleaning up after this mess.

"Something on your mind?"

I turn my attention to Aria soon after. "It usually is," I reply. I set my assault rifle against the couch of Aria's booth, walking over to the window as I cross my arms. "I'm just thinking about Cerberus in all of this."

"Of course," says Aria as she sits down. "You know, I was just thinking about them too."

Well, in that case... "Then I think we're both thinking about how strange their whole presence here is," I mention.

"That we are," replies the queen of Omega as she sits back. "Something about this whole thing isn't right. Their subjects break loose, and then they come here."

"Yeah," I say, turning my gaze out to Afterlife. "Except that according to the intel we have, these things came on civillian transports. But nothing I've seen yet seems to point to that. All we've picked up is that they are Reaper technology. Otherwise, they look like mindless husks." I turn to Aria, noting that she's got a puzzled expression on her face. "Those don't look like the kinds of things that could hijack a transport and get it over here."

"I thought that detail was a little off," adds Aria, rubbing her chin as her legs shift. "But I'm not sure what else would explain it..."

"Apart from that Colonel Ashe?" I ask, crossing my arms.

She nods. "I thought it was more than a little strange how Petrovsky just let us take him," she said.

I thought so. You didn't become the queen of Omega for nothing. "Well, it's a good thing I sent some of my ground team to help your men with guarding him," I say. "I've got a feeling he's going to try something now."

Aria stands up, looking right at me. "We'll be prepared for it when he does," she says pointedly. "If this is leading up to what I think it is..."

I nod. It's honestly the last thing she needs. She has enough with Jorash Veltar possibly recruiting a Spectre to dethrone Aria, but now with these creatures, it's only gotten worse. I just hope Art and Miranda are doing all right with their parts. Art will be critical to keeping Aria alive, and Miranda... we need her to keep the chaos on Omega to a minimum from where she'll be next to Joker.

I nod, leaning over and picking up my assault rifle. I check the ammo again, before looking out to Afterlife. However, soon after I hear footsteps rushing up to Aria's loft.

Hm. I wonder what happened now...?

I turn, and then I see Albert Shepard running over, seeming out of breath as he looks at the two of us. I hear Aria stand up as she looks right at Al.

"Al?" I ask.

The N7 marine looks right at us. "It's Colonel Ashe," he says. "He just tried killing most of the guards. Jack and Grunt have him subdued but..." He looks to Aria. "I think that if what he said when he attacked is true, then I don't think Cerberus is here for the reasons they say they are."

Aria frowns, and looks over to me. "Looks like we're right," says the queen of Omega. "I'm coming with you."

I shake my head. "I wasn't going to argue."

And with this, the two of us follow Albert quickly as we rush over to where Colonel Ashe was being detained.

* * *

><p><strong>*Miranda Lawson POV*<strong>

"And with that, all systems are a go. Are you sure you think we should do this, Miranda?"

"The _Elbrus _looks like a capable ship, but it could use the help."

"Uh-huh. You keep telling yourself that."

I shake my head, looking out the viewport as Joker takes us away from Omega so that we are circling the station. I can see the Elbrus a rather long distance away, placing my hands on my hips as we get ever closer to the _Elbrus_. I look over, seeing Legion shift where he stands next to me. I am certain leaving the geth on the Normandy was a good idea, if only because it will give Aria's men less reason to be alarmed. Art agreed that this was a good justification, but to be honest, he may be most helpful on the Normandy if he needs to assist Ken and Gabby.

"Well... to be perfectly honest, I'm suspicious of Petrovsky's motivations," I reply.

"Yeah, no kidding," says Joker as he looks outside of the window. "His timing was _way _too perfect for those things having just hijacked a bunch of transports like that. I mean, they just come riding in, and then a couple hours later..." He looks behind to the two of us. "Unless there's something we don't know about?"

"No," I say. "Petrovsky said that they overran the laboratory over the course of a few days. But they didn't specify how many transports there were." I walk forward, standing next to the pilot's seat. "However, they mentioned too that there was a second wave of transports coming."

Joker nods, seeming to understand. "Yeah, having a second wave of transports does sound suspicious," says Joker. "I'd worry about that too."

Soon after he says this, EDI's avatar materializes next to where Joker is typing away. "_Statistical probability suggests that the extra transports may have been fire teams sent to return order to the labs,_" says the AI.

"Negative." All attention turns to Legion as he steps forward. "Our statistical data says that there is only a 35.13% chance that Cerberus would allow so many transports to go to their facility to tame these 'Adjutants'."

"That's exactly it," I say, looking up. "The Illusive Man isn't stupid. If we did lose so many fire teams, then I am sure he would have ordered the base destroyed by now. Sending that many transports there isn't like him." I shake my head, looking back to Joker. "I don't doubt that this problem is serious, but this casts a troubling light on Cerberus' competence."

It also casts a troubling light on their motivations. And honestly, I am not sure what to think about this. One the one hand, I can see why the Illusive Man ordered the experiments on Reaper technology. If we can study any technology made by the Reapers, it will give the galaxy an edge. But from there, this case is rather troubling.

"Or its motivations," mentions Joker. "I doubt those things want to go to Omega for vacation."

That is also a good point. "I doubt it too," I reply, stepping forward. "Of all the places for the Adjutants to go, why Omega? And how did Petrovsky know that they were headed to Omega so quickly? I know that Cerberus had begun setting up a few outposts on Omega, but they were very small, and I doubt there were enough to suggest a probability of one of them contacting another Cerberus cell for help."

"_It would also depend on who gave them their orders_," EDI contributes. "_I think we should wait for a more defined answer to come to light._"

I nod. "Perhaps Art and Garrus will be able to find out something about that," I say, crossing my arms. "In any event, if we see anything funny happen out here, I'm reporting it to Art and Garrus without hesitation."

"Works for me," says Joker. "You keep your eyes open, and I'll make sure we don't get shot down."

"Indeed," I reply, looking back to Legion. "Legion, you should go to Engineering right now. I am sure the engineers could use your help."

"Affirmative."

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

I check my pistol as we move out of the airlock quickly. We follow Madison, who is at the front of the formation. As soon as we get out of the ship, Kasumi turns, guiding Dsrondo with her free hand.

"Okay, Kasumi, you be careful with Dsrondo," I say. "I don't want to get yelled at by anybody here, so..."

"You got it," says the thief as she moves along with the former politician. "Okay Dsrondo, follow me, and stay close."

With this, Kasumi leads Dsrondo to Afterlife. They take a completely different direction from us after we hit an intersection, and then the rest of us are following Madison rather quickly, with myself and Tali near the front, Thane and Carhon in the middle, and Isaac bringing up the rear.

Seriously, we have Isaac freakin' Clarke here! I _still _don't know what's going to happen with that, nor do I actually know why he's here. But at the moment... we've got bigger things to worry about.

For now... I'll have to call a Brotherhood meeting sometime in the near future to discuss this. Now we have Isaac Clarke, but I'm not sure where that's going to go.

"Okay." Ah! I flinch, but then notice that Madison has opened her omni-tool. Oh, okay, that was her. Phew. "Our destination is some point beyond the markets. If we hurry, the deal should still be going on."

I nod, following Madison as she moves rather quickly into the marketplace. "So it seems," I mention. "I hope you're right, Madison."

"We'll see in a bit," commented the former vigilante. "Come on!"

With this, we all move through the marketplace, noticing that there are a lot of bodies that are just lying there. Wow... A lot of shit went down here. There are quite a few dead bodies everywhere, and I see a blood trail where some of them must have become one of those Adjutant things slowly. That's... kind of disturbing. It's not a slow process either, and even if people have to be dead to undergo that process it's still really, really bad. It must be so painful...

I glance over to the rest of the group, who...

...

What's Isaac doing?

I slow down slightly, coming to pace with the engineer as he seems to be bringing a hand to his head. He seems to be slowing down slightly.

"Hey, you all right?" I ask, looking right at him.

"There's..." The man shakes his head. "There's something very wrong with this place... I can just feel it."

Well, normally... Normally this is dismissable, but this is Isaac Clarke! I mean, this guy was seeing apparitions of his dead girlfriend thanks to the influence of the Marker, so... maybe I should take him a little more seriously than usual. I mean, if he's saying that something is very wrong and that he can just feel it, then he's probably right. I mean, forget what Kendra says: Isaac can't be all that insane if his apparitions can manipulate the physical environment.

I'll trust him for now.

"Well, there is normally, but this is _not_ one of those normal situations," I mention. "Just keep me posted if it gets worse, okay?"

Isaac nods at this. "I'll do my best," he says.

And with this, he gets back into file. Okay, well, at least I did... well... that, I guess. Even if it's not really all that much at the end of the day, it's honestly better than nothing, really.

We continue through the markets, with Madison taking point.

* * *

><p><strong>*Garrus Vakarian POV*<strong>

"What the fuck were you trying to do?"

Sure enough, as Al mentioned, Grunt has Colonel Ashe restrained against him. The Cerberus operative is struggling in vain against the krogan's grip, though I guess it doesn't help that Jack is standing off to the side. Al, Aria, and I all stand around the man as he fights against the krogan.

"Why the fuck should I answer to you?" asks Colonel Ashe.

"Because you're not really in the position to do otherwise, are you?" asks Aria as she places a hand on her hips. "First you give orders to _my _men as if they're your own damn property. Then, you nearly escape captivity." The Queen walks over, frowning. "You're up to something, and I want to know what."

"Screw you," says the Cerberus operative.

I shake my head. Do people on this rock ever learn?

"I think you forgot the only rule of Omega," I say, stepping forward while tapping my fingers against my assault rifle.

"I also think he forgot that he just broke it," says Aria.

Jack cracks her knuckles. "If you want me to let this fucker have it, I'm game," she says.

With this, Aria chuckles. "I appreciate the offer, but this is something I have to do myself," says the asari as she steps right up to Colonel Ashe. "What were you doing?"

"I'm not telling you, bitch."

...

_Spirits_, that was a bad move.

Before any of us can say anything, Aria's fist glows blue as it strikes Ashe across the face. The Cerberus agent lets out a groan as his head flops to the side. For a moment, he stops struggling against the grip of the krogan who is holding him. As his head bobs to the side, Aria prepares another biotically enhanced punch, but holds her fist at her side.

"You'll have a lot more of that coming," says the queen of Omega. "And after this, I'm not holding back."

... This doesn't seem right.

"Aria, are you sure you know what you're doing?" I ask.

The asari simply looks at me. "This man broke Omega's only rule," she said. "Even if he didn't have information, I'd be obbligated to kill him." She then smirks.

"Besides, I won't take it too rough."

With this, she turns her attention back to the Cerberus operative. "I'll ask again: what were you doing?"

Ashe squirms a little in Grunt's grip. "I'm not telling _you_."

Aria shakes her head. "You just don't learn, do you?" she asks.

Before the Cerberus officer can reply, she rears her hand back, and delivers as harsh biotically-enhanced punch to the man's skull again. This time, I hear the man physically groan, but it's nothing before I see her use an enhanced punch on the man's stomach.

As she rears her hand back, I stand there, watching as another punch to the man's gut is delivered. I stand back, watching her go to town on the man soon after. Punch after punch is delivered, and it's such that I see the man's struggles weaken. The fists move rather slowly at first, but as time goes on...

I always thought Aria was brutal, but this? I imagine he's barely going to be alive by the time she's done with him.

I notice Al giving me a pleading look. I'm surprised he doesn't say anything to Aria herself, but... This is getting a little too brutal.

I need to stop this.

I step forward, gripping Aria's arm in one talon as the queen of Omega then gives me a derisive look.

"Aria, that's enough," I say. "We're not going to get anything out of him if he's dead. I think he's got the point, anyhow."

The asari simply scowls as I hold her hand in place. A few seconds pass, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if she decked me right now.

After a little bit, however, the glow of her biotics dies down, and then she looks right at Colonel Ashe.

"You're right," she says. "He won't be of any use when he's dead." She then looks at Ashe. "So... I'll ask you this once: what's the only rule of Omega?"

Our attention turns to Ashe, whose head is sagging as he looks at the rest of us. I see a burning hatred in his eyes, and it's a hatred I'm sure is directed at all of us by this point. His bloodied, battered form makes it seem more pathetic than anything else, though.

After a few seconds, he finally opens his mouth, his throat muscles seeming to work as hard as they can.

"Don't... fuck... with... Aria..." He says weekly.

At this, Aria smiles, crossing her arms in front of her. "Good boy," she says. "Now, you're going to tell me _everything _about what you know. And you are going to tell me now. Is that clear?"

"Y... yes..." replies Ashe.

"Good, we're finally gettin' somewhere," says Jack as she cracks her knuckles. "'Bout fuckin' time if you ask me."

"But did you really have to beat the shit out of him first?" asks Al, gesturing as he looks to the others in the room.

"The whelp deserved it," says Grunt, looking right at Shepard's younger sibling.

I step forward, holding my hands in front of myself. "This really isn't the time to talk about that," I say. I then turn to Al. "Al, I know you have a problem with what just happened, but... Well..."

Damn it all. "We'll talk about it later," I continue. "For now, we have more important things to worry about. Like what Colonel Ashe was doing."

"Exactly," says Aria. "Now... what were you trying to do here?"

Ashe simply looks up at Aria. His expression is blank. Well, that's a good thing, I guess. It means he hopefully won't try anything, right?

"Why... don't you ask... my reinforcements?"

* * *

><p><strong>*Miranda Lawson POV*<strong>

After a minute or so, we suddenly see a flurry of ships appear from the mass relay close to Omega. They all look like armed transports, and they are all obviously Cerberus ships.

Yes, I think this is the next wave.

Joker senses it too, and his hands return to their positions around the holographic interface in front of him.

"Okay, here they come!" says Joker. "Let's give it to 'em fast!"

He maneuvers the Normandy to an optimal firing position close to where the Elbrus is. We pass under the other Cerberus vessel quickly, coming across our first transport. EDI is fast on the draw, and I hear a slight hum as the Thanix Cannon is fired at a coming transport. The opposing ship comes apart almost instantly, even as Joker turns to our right.

Upon coming to bear on the scene again, we see the Elbrus fire its cannons into the group of transports. It is then that I get a better look at the ships in question.

Hm... Yes, these look like standard transports that are capable of relay travel. The design is long, sleek... and at the end of the ship they have guns...

"Hm those guys look armed," Joker mentions.

EDI's avatar appears again. "_S__tatistical probability suggests that these creatures that are supposedly overtaking these transports may not yet know how to use the cannons,_" she says.

I nod, stepping forward. "That's good," I say. "We may be able to finish most of these transports before they learn how to operate the guns." I lean forward. "Joker, take us in fast. We need to press our advantage now."

"You got it," he says. "Let's give 'em hell, girl!"

With this, he dives right back into the action. "Fire the main torpedos!"

I watch as the Normandy begins moving in on the Cerberus transports. Below, I see the torpedoes get fired, striking another transport. After three torpedoes strike the shields, I see the transport explode as we move on. We see the Elbrus take out another transport, as I look up.

"EDI, how much more time will we need until the Thanix Cannon is fully operational again?"

"_My current estimates place the current wait time at one minute,_" replies the AI.

I nod. "Good," I say. Yes, I can see that this should not be terribly difficult. I hope not, anyhow.

Joker veers around again, launching a volley of torpedoes at a transport that has evaded our notice rather well. The torpedoes all strike true, even as Joker brings the ship around so that we are facing the _Elbrus_. I see its cannons launch another volley of rounds at another transport. I think this was a good call, letting us collaborate with the-

...

What is that?

I lean forward, noticing something small coming out of the Elbrus as it leaves the ship. It looks like... a shuttle?

I frown. "That's odd," I mention.

"What, the shuttle?" asks the Normandy's pilot. "Yeah, it looks a little odd to me too. A shuttle deploying to Omega in the middle of a fire-fight?"

I nod. "I would understand in a firefight on the ground, but in space..." I shake my head. "That is extremely dangerous. And in this instance, it is a little suspect."

"Well, either Cerberus is out to get the crew while we're out, or someone had a _brutal _break-up recently."

"_Jeff, it is very unlikely that someone would break a romantic involvement with someone else in the middle of a battle,_" replies EDI.

The pilot shakes his head, rolling his eyes as he manipulates the ship's controls. "Jeez, take the piss out of my jokes, why don't you?" he asks as he rolls his eyes. He then looks up. "Well... it's definitely suspicious, but I don't think we're in a position to handle it," says the pilot. "If it's heading to Omega, Art and Garrus will have to deal with it."

"I believe so," I say glancing to the airlock nervously. "I am certain they can handle it, but with everything they have to do already..." I turn my attention back to the battle occurring around the Normandy. "We'll have to make this quick."

Joker simply nods. "Got it," he says. "Make it quick. Here's hoping..."

I nod, looking as Joker brings the ship so it lines up with several transports in the line of fire.

"Is the Thanix Cannon back online?" I ask.

"_Yes_," replies EDI.

I nod, standing upright as I look to Joker.

"Fire the main cannon."

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

"Well, here we are."

I sidle up to a rather large crate as Madison and everybody else slides into cover very quickly. I peer up, and sure enough, there we go with a slave trade situation. It certainly looks like one, anyway. I mean, there's a group of three batarians there, and...

Yes, this looks like the one.

"Yeah," I whisper, checking my ammo count on my pistol. "This looks like the one. So we made it in time."

One of the batarians is holding a female turian with a cloth tied over her eyes and her hands bound behind her back. I can see a couple little things installed within the turian's neck, but I can recognize a shade of green on the turian's face. There's a perpetual scowl on her face as the captain stands next to her, but she doesn't try to struggle at all. Hm, she must've tried that once already.

As I silently take out my pistol, I look to the rest of the exchange. There are crates here, and they're far enough from the exchange itself that we have quite a bit of distance between them and us. And from here, I can see that the people standing next to the female turian are a trio of darker batarians who seem to be wearing black armor. Hm... Those must be the ones who found Tidoses there. But...

"Hm, looks like Jorash is late," whispers Carhon where he moves next to the Journalist.

"Certainly seems like it, yeah," I mention, peering over the edge of the crate. "Could it be the Adjutants slowed him down?"

"Could be," agreed Madison. "I don't know, but it's as good an explanation as any."

I nod, looking over to Thane as he pulls out his sniper rifle close to where we are standing. He peers through the scope, training it on the three batarians and the turian standing off in the near-ish distance. I nod, turning my attention back to Madison.

"So... how do we want to do this?" I ask.

Madison looks up. "Go in with guns blazing?" she asks, still maintaining a whisper. "Jorash isn't there yet, and we do have the advantage of numbers at the moment."

I nod, checking my pistol again. "True," I say. "We can probably-"

"I do not advise it," says Thane, frowning. "I see something _very _out of place."

With this, he hands his sniper rifle off to me. I take it gingerly as he subtly points in a direction. I nod, bringing the scope and-

...

"What?" I take my eye away from the scope blinking before leaning back in to make sure I'm not seeing things. "What the hell?"

"Art?" asks Madison.

I shake my head, handing the sniper rifle to Carhon first. The resistance member peers through the scope, and then peels away in disbelief. "That... that doesn't make any sense," he says.

"What is it?" asks Madison.

"Apparently, Cerberus decided to watch over this slave thing," I mention. "Take the scope."

"_What_?" With this, Madison takes the sniper rifle from Carhon, and then peers through it quickly. I briefly glance over to Tali and Isaac as they kneel a short distance away, looking at me with what looks like confusion on their faces. She then peers through the scope, and suddenly jolts.

"This doesn't make sense!" says Madison, taking the sniper rifle away. "What does Cerberus want with this trade?"

"More importantly, why are they supervising it when their commanding officer is fighting a battle in the expanse of space?" asks Thane. "There is much about their presence here that does not fit what we understand."

I shake my head. "Well, we don't know exactly why they're here yet," I mention. "So that's something. Maybe they'll fire on our side."

Madison shakes here head. "They're scanning the perimiter," she says. "I don't think-"

We suddenly hear a rather loud noise. A few seconds later, a noise that sounds exactly the same follows, and then we hear these noises continue in a semi-regular fashion. I raise my eyebrows, looking up as I hear what sounds like a metallic clanking noise coming in from the distance. Okay, what's that?

We suddenly see a figure come in from the shadows, and _that's _when I figure out what it is.

There we see this absolutely _massive _batarian walk into the scene, a smug look on his face as he enters. He's a very light-skinned batarian, with an eyepatch over his upper-left eye and a _ton _of scars on his face. I recoil slightly, noticing the man's jet black armor that honestly seems darker than everything else on the station. And he comes forward, stopping in front of the other batarians and the female turian as he crosses his arms.

I hold my breath, feeling my throat constrict slightly upon seeing this _man _there. I feel my arms shake slightly as I see him there, and... No, Art, get it together! I take a deep breath to calm my nerves as this new batarian walks in, sizing up the turian Spectre with that look that just _screams _'you can't trust me, but I'm charismatic and charming anyway, bitch'.

I slowly hide behind the crate, looking to Madison as she sees this. She retreats behind cover as well, giving me a look of shock.

Carhon shakes his head, glancing right at me.

"It's him. It's Jorash Veltar."

I shudder slightly, holding my pistol closer to my person as I watch the senior slaver nod to the one who has Tidoses Mirani.

* * *

><p><strong>*Garrus Vakarian POV*<strong>

:Sorry, but I don't think you remembered something. When I say "don't fuck with Aria", I _mean_ "don't fuck with Aria". I think you just need a refresher course."

With this, Aria punches Ashe so hard that we hear a loud snap. I flinch slightly, looking at the Cerberus operative as he falls on the ground. He remains unmoving, even as Grunt rubs his hands together.

"Well, that was fun," says the krogan.

I wince, looking at the body briefly before shaking my head. "Still, that changes a lot of things," he says. "I'm... I'm going to have to get back up there. Grunt, get Ashe out of here. I'm not going to tell you how to deal with him."

The krogan smiles rather gleefully, picking up the man's body like it's a ragdoll. "Heh, a turian knowing how to interrogate something," he says. "That's something you don't see a lot."

With this, he walks off, taking the body with him as I look to the others in the group. I nod, watching as Aria walks towards the entrance of the room.

"Well, I think we're done here," says the queen of Omega. "Let's get back up, yes?"

"Yes, yes," I reply. "We'll need to update everyone there." I turn to Al soon after. "Al, I'm leaving it up to you to brief everyone around the other entrances to Afterlife about our situation."

"Of course, Garrus," says the Alliance marine. "Let's get back upstairs."

With this, we all stand up, walking out of the room where we interrogated Colonel Ashe. Within a few minutes of silence between the group of us that were interrogating Ashe for information, we manage to get up to the main level of Afterlife again.

And in that time, I think about all that Ashe told us. If what he said is true... Cerberus' motivations are not as lofty as Petrovsky is framing it. And this could spell a lot of problems for us in the very near future. I don't think we'll be looking at Cerberus in quite the same way after this, and I'm sure Miranda will not be happy to hear her former organization is willingly engaging in some of the things Ashe told us about.

We come out to the main floor of Afterlife as my train of thought here ends. I look around, and see James Vega approaching us. He gives a curt nod, looking right at me as he shifts there. I swear, his armor is _way _too big for comfort, but it's not my place to tell him that. I nod back, looking at the... deserter, I think. Humans have such strange ways of saying things.

"Is everything in order up here?" I ask.

"Yes, sir," says James with a nod of his head. "We've got everything under control." He then looks behind him. "We even had someone come around while you were down there."

I look to the Alliance deserter. "Really?" I ask. "Art's back already?"

"Oh, no sir," replies James. "Kasumi came back with someone they rescued from the slaver ship."

Aria steps forward. "So now we're holding refugees from slaver ships," she says as she walks forward.

I then glance to the side, seeing Kasumi walk forward with a rather battle-worn batarian who has a slight limp on one of his legs. "Not this one, I'm afraid," says the thief as she moves forward. "This one has a higher priority, it seems."

Hm? I look over to the batarian. Hm... he seems older than one would expect. And... What are those facial tattoos I see on the side of his cheek? I haven't seen that on any batarians I ever knew. I look back at the older batarian as he moves forward, his movements slightly stilted as he limps on his left leg.

"And who exactly are you?" I ask.

"Dsrondo Ba'tal, sir," says the batarian. "Art says we should be safe here."

I blink, suddenly remembering what I was here for. I click my mandibles against the side of my mouth, checking my ammo for my assault rifle. "Well, if what we found out is right, that's not going to be true for much longer," I say, looking at Kasumi. "You know that Colonel Ashe that we detained?"

Kasumi looks up, perking slightly at the information. "What about him?" she asks.

"We found out a lot of things from him," I reply as Aria moves forward. "And from now on, we're assuming that all Cerberus personnel are hostile."

The thief tilts her head at this even as we all move around Afterlife. "Seriously?" asks Kasumi. "It's gotten that bad, huh?"

Aria simply shakes her head. "You wouldn't _believe _some of the stuff we heard from Ashe," she says. "Cerberus wants me off my damn throne? Well, they're gonna have to fight me for it first!"

I see Kasumi jolt at this as I look around the club. I catch sight of Jacob, who nods clearly as he begins to move around. We've set up a perimiter around all the possible entrances into Afterlife, using overturned tables as cover. I'm sure the patrons don't mind, as most of them are all sitting in other places in the club. I look around...

...and then I look to the asari who entered earlier behind Preitor Gavorn as she stands up, looking to Aria. The two of them exchange a look, and I nod as we walk past the asari in question. She looks like she wants to move forward, but she stays back, simply looking at us with a blank expression. I simply see Aria nod back, and the other asari sits down again in the booth, looking over to Grizz as he chills in the booth.

I move forward, looking at the main entrance of Afterlife. "Jack, get Grunt back up here. Tell him we might be seeing some action soon."

"You got it," says Jack, turning on her heel and walking back from where we came.

I look as Kasumi escorts Dsrondo into a nearby booth, sitting him down next to the asari as the thief says something to him. I turn my attention to Aria, watching as she moves closer.

"They're going after you, you know," I supply. "You should get back somewhere."

"And let my men take all the fire for me?" she asks. "That's not my style. If these guys want my throne, then I'm going to fight for it. People don't push me around, and if they think the threat of stealing my throne out from under me is going to get me to back out, they've got a whole other thing coming." She then gives a sadistic smile. "Besides, I think they could use a refresher course in what happens when you fuck with Aria."

I blink, looking at her. Well, she was always pretty headstrong. I've known that since the day I first came to Omega. You fuck with Aria, you are almost always in big trouble is how I've seen it. And she intends on making that known in person.

Well... it's not my place to tell her otherwise, so...

"Suit yourself."

I bring up my assault rifle, walking over to cover near the main entrance of Afterlife. Aria walks behind me, and we watch the entrance.

"Well... we'll be ready when they show up," says Aria. "I can't wait to make them beg for mercy..."

I simply nod grimly, knowing it would be a really bad idea to tell her that it probably wouldn't be a good idea to get haughty like that. just before an operation such as this.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

"So, _this _is the turian Spectre you found."

I look right at Jorash as he says this, walking right up to the turian Spectre and cupping her chin in his hand. He seems to inspect her, even as I hear a very soft growl from Tidoses. The turian doesn't resist, but I can definitely tell she doesn't like it.

Jesus, what have these slavers done to her?

"Yes it is, Jorash," says the captain of the ship we just infiltrated. "She was starving and thirsty when we found her in the shuttle that had no fuel and that dead turian that was with her. She didn't have any chance of escape, she was so weak." The lesser slaver spat on the ground near the Spectre. "She didn't even put up a great fight. Pathetic, if you ask me."

Jorash simply chuckles. "Indeed," he replies, releasing the Spectre. "I rather like the way she looks. Perhaps when I am done with her, I will keep her as a personal pet."

... Oh, the _nerve _of that son of a bitch!

I breathe in, my rage clearly showing as I look out to Jorash. Damn you Jorash! If I wasn't-

I feel Madison's hand place itself on my arm. I blink, and it's only then that I notice that I raised the arm that was holding my pistol. I look as she shakes her head, mouthing 'not yet' to me. I glance out to Jorash, and then back to Madison. Jesus, did I almost just...?

Yes, yes I did.

I lower my arm, looking back to the exchange as it's going on down there. I nod, gesturing with my head as I turn my attention back to the conversation.

And I notice the other slaver is gesturing as he holds out the control rod to Jorash. "Don't you think that trying to take Omega with a weakened Spectre is going to end rather horribly for you?" asks the other slaver.

Upon hearing this, I jolt. Wait... he just said...

"You _have _fed her and kept her under constant conditioning, right?" asks Jorash.

"Of course," says the other slaver. "I'd be stupid if I just let her starve to death before she could find you. I'm telling you, it was _really _hard finding enough dextro food to keep her alive. And of course we conditioned her."

"Then she will be good enough to steal Aria's throne out from under her," says Jorash.

Aha! I _knew _it! Well, _we _knew it, but still!

I watch as Jorash gestured to him. "May I see Tidoses' control rod?"

The other slaver nods, handing it off to Jorash without any kind of hesitation. Jorash looks at it for a second or two, and nods, taking the rod in his hand as he flexes his hand around the button. Before he does anything else, he approaches the turian Spectre, and with a rough gesture he yanks the blindfold off of Tidoses. The turian growls, looking at Jorash with what I can only assume is a hateful glare as he stands back, holding the little control apparatus in his hand.

"Very well then, Tidoses Mirani," says Jorash as he looks at the turian Spectre. "You are going to nod if you understand." The slaver pulls out a knife, walking over to behind Tidoses. "You are not going to run. You are not going to try to kill us. You will do _everything _I tell you to. And you will do it with speed and precision, like a Spectre always does. Are we clear?"

The turian nods, albeit slowly, and with rage barely contained. I can't see what's going on with Tidoses' facial expressions there, but it's probably not pleasant... Damn it, what's going to happen now...?

I see Jorash walk behind Tidoses, and I hear a soft sound as suddenly, I see Tidoses' hands come in front of her, free of whatever bounds they were in previously. She glares at Jorash, but any will to fight is non-existent.

Jesus, what did these guys _do _to her? I mean, there she is, standing there without any real will to get the hell out of there! Come on, you've still got a chance... I glance to Madison, shaking my head.

"You know, we could _really _intervene at some point," I whisper to her. "Any time now would be absolutely wonderful."

Without waiting for her to reply, I turn back...

...just in time to see Jorash place an assault rifle in Tidoses' hands.

... What?

...

Oh shit, he knows we're here, doesn't he?

"Now, my dear, I think you will find that we've had eyes on us the entire time." I tense, looking right at Jorash as he points... _behind _him? "There are snipers there. You will kill them from here. Now."

Tidoses bares her teeth for a few seconds, and then points the rifle behind where Jorash is standing.

...

Wait, that's where the Cerberus snipers are!

Before I can say anything else, Tidoses fires. I blink, watching as she then begins to sweep around the area behind her with rather fast speed. I turn to Thane, watching as he keeps an eye on the Cerberus snipers with his own sniper rifle. I wince at each sound of gunfire, and a few times I even see that the Cerberus snipers are returning fire. I watch with baited breath as she moves precisely, the gunfire filling the space we occupy. I notice the two underlings of the lesser slaver get nervous, the two of them scrambling to pull out their weapons, even as the sniper rounds impact against their shields. Finally, they just duck down, a few final sniper rounds barely missing them as the other slaver also ducks down. Jorash, however, just stands there, smirking at the Cerberus snipers as Tidoses fires in their direction.

And after a few seconds, it's over. There is a dead silence that permeates the air, and my hand unconsciously feels my torso as I look to see that the two batarian slavers and the captive turian are still standing there, albeit with a few bullet holes surrounding them. I breathe in, looking to Thane as he pulls away from the sniper scope. He nods, looking right at me as he gestures that yes, all the Cerberus snipers are dead.

I shake my head, looking to Jorash. Holy shit, she killed all the Cerberus snipers... I mean, wow. I'm not sure how you can do that when you're probably not at your best. I mean, there are the slavers there, and...

And...

Wait a minute.

The Cerberus snipers are gone. And now there's only Jorash, Tidoses, the other guy, and the batarians who haven't said a word are the only guys there, and at the moment three of the batarians are just standing there saying to themselves "what the fuck".

This is our chance!

I nod to the others, lifting my pistol and tapping it twice. They seem to get the message, and they draw their weapons as quietly as they can. I turn my attention back to Jorash as Thane trains his sniper rifle on one of the other slavers that is there. I look, seeing Jorash give his fellow slaver captain a smug little smirk.

"So you see, my friend," says Jorash. "You underestimated her. Spectres are much more resilient than you give them credit for."

The other slaver blinks, even as I peer above cover, my pistol hand coming up slowly. "I... I didn't expect that, I guess," says the lesser slaver.

Jorash shakes his head. "Can't say I blame you," he says. "When I was your age, I was able to run around Citadel Space without getting in trouble. I was no slaver then, but I was still considering it. It's those damn humans that ruined everything." Okay, so he _definitely _wasn't in league with Cerberus. Well, consciously, anyway. "But you give the Council Spectres less credit than they deserve."

"So I see," says the lesser slaver, looking right at Tidoses as she glares wildly at Jorash. "So... I assume I'll get my payment first?"

I see Jorash smirk. Oh, boy, he was planning on betrayal, wasn't he?

Well... I glance to the others on my side briefly, noticing that they have their weapons out. Okay... Well, here we go.

"Actually, I-"

I shrug. Ah, what the hell?

"Hey, hey slavers!" I shout. "Crackdown!"

With this, I come out of cover, firing my pistol at one of the two batarian men who were just standing there as guard. He goes down quickly, even as the others in the group rise out of cover and concentrate their fire on everyone else. I look right at Tidoses, looking as Jorash's eyes widen quickly.

"Kill them a-!" The batarian is suddenly silenced by the loud report of a sniper rifle from Thane. He stumbles back, the round having penetrated his torso before he stumbles back, letting go of Tidoses' control rod. As I see the lesser slavers all get shot down by the combined efforts of Madison, Tali, and Carhon, I look right to Tidoses as she runs straight at us. She turns to us, assault rifle raised as she gains on us-

-and then, the strangest thing happens. Suddenly, Tidoses' entire body is covered in a blue field, and it's not a biotic field. I blink, watching as suddenly, her motions all slow down. Wait...

I turn to look at Isaac, who has his plasma cutter in his left hand and has his right hand outstretched, pointing it at Tidoses. He turns to us quickly afterwards, looking right at us.

"Quick!" he shouts. "Incapacitate her!"

...

Stasis! Of _course_! Thank you Isaac Clarke for having a stasis module!

With this, I jolt, turning to my pistol with shaky hands. Okay, where... Yes, concussive rounds, there we go! I turn on the concussive rounds, and watch right as a few assault rifle rounds are fired from her gun. They move quite slowly, however, as they're also surrounded by the blue field. I duck down below them, aiming my pistol at the turian Spectre and quickly firing a concussive round at her head. The round hits her in the head as the blue field begins to die away. And as soon as the field dies completely a few seconds later, the Spectre falls over, having been knocked unconscious by my well-placed concussive round.

With this, I leap over cover, looking to the others. "Someone, get that control thingie!" I rush right to Tidoses, kneeling by the Spectre's side as I see Carhon rush over to get the control rod from where it landed a short distance away from Jorash. Okay, how do I perform-

I see Madison rush right up to the turian Spectre and place her hands on her neck, just below where the plating for her face is. I look over to Madison with a... Oh, wait, she's in love with a turian, she _would _know how to check a turian's pusle. Yeah, my bad. I nod, looking at Tidoses as Madison pulls her hand away.

"She'll live," says Madison, looking over at Isaac as Carhon comes around. "What the hell was that?"

I bite my lower lip. No... I'll tell the Brotherhood _after _this. We've got enough concerns on our hands with all that's going on now. Dropping the revelation that I know more about Isaac Clarke than meets the eye is _not _going to sit well in a situation like this.

The engineer looks at all of us. "That... you don't have stasis modules?" he asks.

"Stasis modules?" asks Tali. "No, we've never heard of them. I... I assume that was what that thing that slowed Tidoses down was?"

"Yeah, you saw it in action," says Isaac, looking at Tidoses. "It slows everything down. People, objects, doors... _everything_." Oh, trust me Isaac, I _know_: those stasis-related puzzles were pretty crazy in the game. Combine them with your kinesis module, and everybody is quite happy. It's too bad kinesis proved no use as a necromorph killing tactic: stasis was still pretty nice, though, _especially _against that motherfucker with the regenerating limbs that had to be burned to death for it to finally _stay _dead. "But that's not important."

Thane nods, looking at the engineer. "You are quite the puzzling figure," says the drell.

Isaac shakes his head, looking grim as he sets his eyes on Tidoses.

"I've been getting that a lot," he replies. "Well?"

I nod, looking to the others. "Carhon, you got the-"

"-control rod?" asks the batarian, holding it up for all of us to see. "Yes, I have it."

I smile then, looking at everyone. "Then that means we've got our Spectre!" I say, clapping my hands. "Well... now Aria has less of a chance of dying or getting her throne stolen from under her, though I don't think it's the last we've heard of people trying to do that today..."

Madison nods. "I don't think so either, if those Adjutants say anything," says the Journalist. "Come on, let's get back to Afterlife."

Thane nods, bending down near Tidoses. "Carhon, if you would be so kind...?"

The batarian nods, kneeling beside Tidoses and looking at Thane. "Of course."

And with this, drell and batarian lift the unconscious body of Tidoses Mirani. Okay... So we've got our Spectre. So that at least has gone smoothly. I hope Garrus and Miranda are having as much luck getting through their tasks as I just did.

Hm... speaking of Garrus, I should probably radio in to let him know we've got Tidoses. I'll get to that right now...

* * *

><p><strong>*Miranda Lawson POV*<strong>

The Normandy sails over the destroyed form of the last transporter, and I look out to the field of debris that has accumulated over the course of our battle with the Adjutant-controlled ships. I will not lie, the Adjutants began firing sooner than we expected, but even then it was only a minor setback. Engineer Tali trule had given the shields an extra boost before we travelled through the Omega 4 relay, and right now it was a saving grace.

It is at times like these that I realize just how good a crew we have on this ship.

Joker turns, a broad grin on his face. "Well, that's all of 'em," he says, shrugging. "I think we've got it good."

I nod, looking out of the viewport to look at the _Elbrus_. "I think so as well," I say. "Now that we have taken care of the transports there... We need to take stock of what is happening." I turn to EDI as she appears there. "EDI, how are our shields?"

"_Shields are stable at 43%_," replies the AI. "_We did take some minor damage, but it should not impair major functions._"

I nod, standing up. "Well, that is quite good," I say. "EDI, hail the Elbrus. I think we need to touch base after that battle."

"About that and a couple other things," added Joker as he shakes his head. "I don't know, I'm still suspicious of that shuttle."

"As am I," I admit, crossing my arms as EDI's avatar disappears for a brief amount of time. "Perhaps we can take an answer from them now."

EDI's avatar appears again as soon as I finish saying this. "_It would seem an ideal time to ask about that, Jeff,_" says the AI. "_You never know if it's a misunderstanding._"

I look over to the AI before turning my attention back to Joker. "I wouldn't know, EDI," I reply. "I still think it's suspicious that we see a shuttle deploy in a situation in which there is ever-present danger all around. Even assuming that there is nothing sinister behind the deployment, it is still a little suspicious..."

"Yeah, really," Joker agrees. "You don't see people deploy shuttles mid-battle. That's just stupid, unless they're a boarding party. And given that we didn't see it board anything..."

I shake my head, noticing as EDI's avatar disappears from view. Indeed, this is a rather troubling development that the shuttle deployed in the middle of the fight. One would think that it is probably nothing, but I have a horrible feeling that it may be worse than what we may expect.

After a minute or so, EDI's avatar appears again. "_It appears we have a communication issue_," says the AI. "_The _Elbrus _is not responding to my attempts to hail it. A preliminary scan suggests, however, that the _Elbrus _has fully functional comm systems. Indeed, there have been a few exchanges between the _Elbrus _and the shuttle that went to Omega_."

Joker frowns, his hands going to the controls. "Well, that's not suspicious at all!" says the former Alliance pilot. "No, to get _really _suspicious, he'd have to plant a moustache on his ship!" I shakes his head, his hands already flying around the controls. "I think-"

"_There is also a troubling development_," adds EDI soon afterwards. "_From what I can tell... the Elbrus' cannons are aiming straight at the Normandy_."

...

"What?"

I ask this in shock, looking at the AI. I then look out to the viewport, to see that indeed, the Elbrus is beginning to turn towards us, so that its cannons are facing us. I blink, looking at the Cerberus vessel as it turns to us.

Before I can give the order, however, Joker is already moving the ship around. "Everyone, brace for evasive maneuvers!"

And then the Normandy moves very quickly, just as a torpedo is fired by the _Elbrus_. I don't see the torpedo for very long, however, as suddenly, Joker is flying under the ship in question. Joker frantically turns the Normandy around, looking at the side of the larger Cerberus ship as it turns it cannons on the opposite side towards us.

"Shit, I knew something was up!" said Joker.

"But this?" I ask, gripping the wall. "This doesn't make any sense!" I shake my head. "EDI, open an unsecure channel to the _Elbrus_."

"_That may not be possible,_" says EDI. "_I will try, but I doubt the Elbrus-_"

"Then open the channel directly to General Petrovsky!" I shout as another torpedo is fired. "And let's hope we can hold out until we can get some answers."

EDI's avatar blinks out, but right as she does, Joker turns, his hands still on the panels. "Miranda, are you crazy?" he asks. "These guys are trying to kill us!"

I shake my head. "Nothing about this makes any sense!" I reply. "Why would the _Elbrus _turn on us in such a manner? This ship was built by the Illusive Man, with Cerberus funding. I do not see why he would issue an order to attack us in such a manner!" I look up at the ship that is attacking us. "And if it is not to destroy us, then none of the motivations I can think of make any sense. I need answers."

"Yeah, but asking the guys trying to destroy my baby?" asks the pilot. "You might as well open a comm channel to a Reaper."

I shake my head. "They'll listen to me," I say. "I hope they will, anyhow."

I see EDI appear again. I look over to the AI, right before I see a second window pop up close to where she is.

"_This is Oleg Petrovsky_." Good, they responded to a direct communication. There may be hope for us yet. "_Why are you trying to talk to us now?_"

I nod. "I think you know why," I reply, looking at the _Elbrus _as it fires another torpedo. "Why are you firing your weapons at the Normandy?"

There is a brief pause after I ask this question. I... He has to be hiding something. "_I cannot answer that here,_" he says. "_Dent, you are in charge of the bridge until I return_."

I hear a faint 'yessir' on the other side of the line. What... he cannot answer that in a particular location...?

This is beginning to get very confusing. I... I am not sure what is happening. I... I glance over to Joker, who seems just as thoroughly confused as I am. There are too many questions surrounding this incident, and nothing I can think of will make sense... Just... what is happening?

I get my answer when I hear Petrovsky's footsteps cease as another torpedo is fired at us. We dodge this one, and then Petrovsky clears his throat.

"_I do not have much time, Miranda_," replies the captain of the Elbrus. "_I find myself in a very inconvenient position. The Illusive Man himself has eyes all over this ship, and I cannot let him see me telling you the things I am about to say to you._"

"What is happening?" I ask, looking right at the window where Petrovsky's conversation is occuring.

"_Cerberus... there is much that has changed since you left,_" says Petrovsky from the other line. "_I'll spare you the details. I have to tell you our orders. That is importatn now. The rest will be revealed in time, I know it._"

"The rest?" I ask. "What are you talking about, Petrovsky?"

"_It is a long story,_" says the general. Why is he being so vague? "_Our orders were to get Aria T'Loak off of her throne, and to eliminate anyone who would have gotten in the way. This, unfortunately, included you when you came to Aria's aid._"

I blink. "So that shuttle..."

"_We were hoping Aria would come onto the _Elbrus _with us,_" he says.

I shake my head, crossing my arms. "That's an utterly ridiculous hope," I point out. "You had to know she would stay on her throne." I shake my head. "I guess that's why you sent the shuttle."

"_Yes,_" says Petrovsky. "_You saw that, then. I... cannot tell you more. I only hope your crew can handle the Cerberus troopers there._"

I shake my head. "But why do you need Aria off of Omega?"

"_I would not know,_" replies Petrovsky. "_But I suspect that it may be because of Omega's standing in the Terminus Systems. If we have control of Omega..._" I hear him pause for a few seconds before he takes a deep breath in. "_There is something else that you must know._"

I frown. "What is it?" I ask.

"_The Illusive Man... Something has changed about him,_" says the general. "_I dare not say more while surrounded by people loyal to him, but... there is something different about him. You may not be able to trust him from this point forward. I cannot say more than that._" He then pauses. "_You must destroy the Elbrus_."

I blink, looking right at the ship. I can almost imagine Petrovsky standing in a private place somewhere where the connection cannot be cut in any way, looking over his shoulder. It is a rather... frightening image, I must admit, but...

"Petrovsky?" I ask. "Why... why are you telling us to destroy your ship?"

"_I cannot disobey my orders,_" he says. "_Your guns are more advanced than ours, and they may be able to destroy us. You must do this._"

"Whoah, hold up there," says Joker. "You mean you want us to blow you up?"

"_I do not agree with these orders,_" says Petrovsky. "_I am not in a position to disobey them, but the fact remains that I do not see why the Illusive Man would take over Omega for something as simple as having control over supplies. The way the Illusive Man worded it... I think he has something far more sinister in mind._"

"So I see..." I reply, looking at the general. "So you are asking us to destroy your ship, even with you still on it?"

"_I will do what little I can from this end,_" he says. "_There is much that must be done. I am not in a position to stop Aria from leaving Omega, but you? You are in a perfect position to stop that. And that is why you must destroy us._"

I shake my head. Damn it... This is too much to think about. Why... This is far too confusing. Why...?

I cannot think about this now. I am in command here, and I cannot falter.

"You do realize that this will mean that Cerberus will turn on my crew, right?" asks Miranda.

"_They may turn on you eventually anyway,_" says Petrovsky. "_I have heard many whispers from others at Cerberus, Miranda. They are not so favorable to the Normandy..._"

I nod. "I'll do what I can," I say. "Good luck."

"_May God watch over you._"

And with this, the transmission is cut. I look outside of the viewport, seeing the _Elbrus _as it moves along.

"Wow, that's pretty heavy stuff," says Joker. "Who wants to bet Cerberus will defy its mission soon enough?"

"I would," I say. "This is so confusing... I will have to speak to Art and Garrus about this. They may be able to help me make sense of this. This is far too confusing for all of us." I step forward. "In the meantime... prepare the cannons."

"Not arguing with you there," says Joker. He then turns to me, a serious look on his face. "Should we try to get Petrovsky outa there? He seems like a pretty chill dude."

"No, that will be..." I shake my head, looking over at the _Elbrus_. "We'll have to see. For now, I hope he has the common sense to go to an escape pod when he gets out. He may be able to explain more. Prepare the cannons, and fire at will."

"You got it, ma'am."

With this, the pilot's hands type some more things on his interfaces, and I watch as a torpedo impacts against our shields.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

We get over to Afterlife as quickly as we can. Carhon and Thane carry Tidoses behind Madison, Tali, Isaac, and myself, and we all move as quickly as we can towards the nightclub.

Thankfully, it's not terribly far, and before long we're up to the club. Hm... I bring up my omni-tool... Okay, where... And... further down... and... All right, there we are. I select Garrus from my list of contacts, and put him on the line.

"Garrus, we're here," I say. "We're going in through the main entrance."

There's a brief silence as Thane and Carhon catch up. "_Got it,_" says the turian as we approach the main entrance. "_I'll tell my guys to hold their fire_."

"Awesome," I reply back, opening the door into the club. The others follow behind, and before long, we're back in the main club. We've got several guys with guns pointed at us, but they don't fire, and I recognize some face from the Normandy among them.

Hm, they're working together. That's always a good sign. I nod, looking to Garrus as he gives the order to hold fire. The guys draw their guns back, and then I make my way over, with everyone following behind. Madison edges a little firther ahead, nodding to Garrus and offering him a small smile as she touched their hands together briefly. I walk through the barricade soon after, and then nod to Garrus as the other guys go through. Everyone's attention is on Tidoses as the weapons go back down, and then I look to Aria as she comes up to us.

I gesture to Tidoses. "See?" I ask. "There you are."

The queen of Omega nods. "Indeed," she replies, crossing her arms. "That armor is _not _something you'd find on a freelancer."

"It's not," replies Carhon. "But we still have a minor issue we need to take care of. And to do that, we need to set her in a laying position."

I then see someone stand up from one of the booths... wait, wasn't that the asari I ran into earlier? I nod, walking over as Thane and Carhon brought her over to the booth. Garrus came along too, and then the turian helped place Tidoses on the table. Carhon nods, looking at the unconscious form of the turian Spectre.

"What do we need?" I ask.

"Most slavers place a shock collar on a slave's neck," he says. "That's one way slavers control their slaves: the slaves get shocked if they don't do what's asked." The batarian shakes his head. "I've seen more than one slave die that way."

I nod, breathing in. "I'll bet that's not the only thing," I say.

"Slavers are known for their cruelty," says Garrus as Madison comes over. "I've seen them use some other methods to keep their slaves in line. Some of them..." He shakes his head, and I notice his hand forming a fist.

Carhon nods. "Indeed, Garrus," he says. "If Madison was here, I figured you'd be here too."

"I was about to ask what you were doing here," replies the turian as Carhon finally finds what he's looking for. "I see Omega called you back."

The batarian shakes his head, his fingers pulling a small, black collar from the Spectre's neck. "I would've been gone already if not for... whatever happened outside," he says. He holds his hand out, obviously beckoning for something. "Art and Madison told me about the Adjutant attack. It's so hard to believe that Omega could be toppled so easily by a zombie apocalypse."

"I know what you mean," says Garrus, chuckling as he looked over to Tali. "Tali, you mind if we borrow that combat knife of yours?"

The quarian nods, bending down and pulling the knife from its sheath next to her ankle. "Here you go," she says, handing it to me. I nod, handing the knife to Carhon, who nods appreciatively and takes it.

Garrus nods. "You still haven't answered the question," he says.

Carhon shrugs, and it's then that I notice that Dsrondo is sitting across the booth from him. "Why didn't you ask Dsrondo?" asks the resistance fighter. "He could've told you."

Garrus blinks, looking right at the older batarian. "You mean... you knew?"

Dsrondo nods, even as Carhon carefully works the knife underneath the black collar he's gripping. "He debriefed me when he first found me," says the former politician. Politician? Do they even call them that on Khar'shan? "He is part of a resistance group on Khar'shan."

"My work took me to Omega," adds Carhon. "My contact was supposed to be here, but... then the Adjutant attack happened." The batarian shakes his head, pulling the control necklace as he then began sawing the knife through it. "And now... I'm stuck here. It's just my luck."

I wince as then the control necklace suddenly snaps, the thing becoming a band as Carhon lifts it away from Tidoses. He nods, placing the shock collar on the seat next to him. "That's all we can do for her for now," says the batarian. "There are some other things we need to remove, but we need a doctor to take care of them, and I don't think the control rod will active them without the shock collar, so for now we're in the clear."

I nod, letting out a sigh of relief I didn't know I was preparing. "Good," I say. "So we can expect her to recuperate?"

"Yes," says Carhon.

Aria nods, smirking. "Well, that's one threat out of the way," she says. "Now we've got the other to deal with."

I blink, frowning shortly after. "Oh, crap, did Cerberus turn on you?" I ask.

Garrus shrugs. "In a way? Yes, yes they did," he replies.

I groan, shaking my head in a rather unamused manner. "Damn it, I _knew _that would happen," I say. "Has Miranda reported back in?"

"No," replies Garrus.

... Damn it. I shake my head, looking briefly at the door to Afterlife before taking in a deep breath. "Damn it..." I say. "Gah, I wish there was something we could do to help out with that..."

"Well, unless you feel like spacing yourself, there's nothing we can do," says Garrus with a shrug.

I shake my head, looking out to the doors of the nightclub. "So now, all we can do is wait, right?"

We suddenly hear one of the doors open on the far side of Afterlife. I don't get to say another word before suddenly we hear the sound of gunfire from one of the other entrances. I then hear shouts, and then look around the bar. I quickly run over, seeing that Cerberus henchmen have begun getting gunned down at the other end.

I blink, shaking my head as suddenly the doors of the main entrance open up. I look at it briefly before shrugging, pulling out my assault rifle as everybody else draws their weapons.

"Well, that didn't take long," comments Madison as she draws her submachine gun.

Garrus is already focused, however. "Guard the perimeter!" he shouts above the gunfire, even as he draws his own assault rifle. He then turns to Thane with a nod. "Thane, take a perch close to where we are, and watch over both entrances!"

The drell runs off, but I'm already firing my assault rifle at the Cerberus goons that suddenly come spilling out into Afterlife. I manage to get a few in there, though... They're all in the armor I haven't seen before. Okay...

I end up hiding behind the booth, looking as Dsrondo and the asari from earlier crowd into the far end of it, making sure they're avoiding the fire. I kneel on the chair, peering out and squinting as I look at the incoming Cerberus troopers. I fire off a few rounds, watching as some more men get shot down at the blockade. Okay... there's Anto, and I assume Grizz is on the other side. Right... I shake my head, watching as more Cerberus troopers flood in through the doors.

I blink after a little bit, firing another few rounds and then hearing a click as I run out of ammo. Right. I hide behind cover, ejecting the spent thermal clip and looking right at the two occupants sitting in the chair behind me.

"Are you two all right?" I ask.

"We're fine," says the asari. "Just be careful."

I jam a thermal clip into my assault rifle. "I'll do my best," I say. I then come out, watching as the Cerberus bodies begin to pile up at the door. I shake my head, watching as Aria watches from a distance.

Suddenly, I hear a rather loud explosion behind us, and my head quickly swerves around to see that someone's blown a hole in the wall.

...

"Shit!" I shout. "Garrus, we need some support over here!"

The turian turns, just as a few Cerberus commandos come running in. However, before they can even begin firing, I suddenly notice out of the corner of my eye that Aria turns blue with the light of biotics. Before I can say much else, she tosses a singularity at all of them. I watch as then the commandos all seem to run right into the center of gravity there, then suddenly getting swept up by the pull of Aria's biotic attack.

I nod. Thank you for making my life easier! I pepper the thing with assault rifle rounds, and then briefly I see Jack and Al run over to help shoot what commandos I can't get from where I'm standing. Rounds whizz past my person from behind me, though, so I make it a point to get behind the bar and fire away at the occupied commandos as quickly as possible.

I can see from my perch, however, that there are more Cerberus dudes coming in... Damn it. I turn to my assault rifle... Okay, where... Ah, there are the poison rounds. I quickly turn the rounds on, aiming my assault rifle back as the singularity dies away, leaving several Cerberus bodies laying there. I see quite a few more operatives where they came from, however, so we need to take care of them. I suddenly jump onto the bar, aiming my rifle and squeezing the trigger. As Aria offers a biotic attack against the intruding men, I take the opportunity to lower my rifle and get behind the bar as quickly as I can, my shields taking a lot of hits. They go out just as I pass under the bar.

After a few seconds, I see Al join me, ejecting a thermal clip from his submachine gun as he nods in my direction. I check the stasis rounds... yes, they should still be effective here. I eject a half-spent thermal clip and quickly slam a new one in, taking a deep breath as I wait for my shields to regenerate. Okay... only a few more seconds... done.

I come out again, seeing that Isaac has joined the fray. He raises... Hm, he must have gotten a pistol from someone, because he's not wielding his plasma cutter or anything. He leaps over the counter, coming up next to me as I fire some stasis rounds into the crowd. Thankfully, they manage to halt the progress of many of the Cerberus operatives, which proves valuable for Aria and Jack as they pummel the group with biotics. I nod, finding myself running out of ammo as Isaac comes up and shoots his pistol at the coming enemies. I can tell he's having a slightly difficult time of it, because his aim isn't exactly that great. I seem to find... Hm, I think he finds the gun too light.

Whatever. We both run out of ammo at around the same time, and then duck under the bar as the sound of gunfire is heard all around us. I turn to Isaac, ejecting a thermal clip away from him.

"Joining the fray?" I ask.

"I don't exactly have anything else to do," replies Isaac.

I nod. "True, true," I say. "I take it you're not used to using an average pistol!"

I come up, firing at more Cerberus troopers as Isaac peeks out of cover. "I've been using my weapons for so long that seeing something like this..." He shakes his head as he fires blindly at the crowd. "I don't..."

"Confused?" I ask, firing some rounds into the crowd.

"I think that's understating it," says the survivor as he ducks down, looking at his pistol. "How do I reload this thing?"

I duck behind cover, kneeling next to him and pointing to a little something on the pistol. He nods then, slamming his hand against it. The thermal clip ejects, and I nod. "Don't worry about that," I say. "We'll try to bring you up to speed on that."

Isaac simply nods. "I hope so," he says.

And with this, we continue firing at the massive force that is making its way into the club.

Honestly, I'm surprised there are this many troopers here. You'd think that they'd run out at some point. I mean, it's not like they have spawn points where they can just reappear. No, they have to stop at some point, right?

And indeed, as we go on, I see that I have to gun down less and less troops. Yeah, some of them freeze right up, but then there isn't really that much there. I mean... This is suspicious that there are so many troops.

After a while, we see that Afterlife is getting quieter and quieter. And then, within a minute or so, the gunfire dies down completely.

But instead of the relief that we're all expecting, we feel a tension in the air. Somehow, we know the worst has yet to arrive. I don't know how I know this, but... something about this just doesn't seem right. I mean... we've killed all the mooks, and... No, something isn't right about this.

And suddenly, I hear Isaac shift his foot. In the quiet of Afterlife, everyone else can hear it too.

"N... Nicole...?"

I frown, looking at Isaac. Wait... Nicole is his girlfriend, who was revealed to be dead at the end of the game... So... Wait, why's he saying that?

And more importantly, why is he...? Why...? In that... direction...?

...

What the _fuck _is that?

* * *

><p><strong>*Miranda Lawson POV*<strong>

The ship rocks slightly, feeling as some more torpedoes impact against our shields.

"Shields are down to fifteen percent!"

"Damn it!"

I shake my head. "This isn't working," I say. "The _Elbrus _has too many torpedoes!"

"Yeah, it's like they have a factory in there!" says Joker.

"_Jeff, I hardly think this is the time for jokes_," replied EDI.

The pilot shakes his head. "That's what you say," says Joker. "I'm going to try confusing their cannons again. I think we'll have a shot if we get behind them, but we can't do that with our asses hanging wide open here!"

"Do what you need to!" I say.

We cut under the Elbrus again, flying to evade another round of torpedoes that are being launched in our direction. I will give the _Elbrus_ this; it has been a very resilient ship. We have fired the Thanix cannon at least once, but the damage was not enough to take the ship down. And now, our shields are being slowly depleted. If we still have one advantage, however, it has been our mobility as we twist and dive around the _Elbrus_.

It is certainly not our only advantage, but it is an advantage that has served us well, considering that the torpedoes of the Elbrus have managed to do some major damage to the Normandy's shields. It briefly crosses my mind that we should upgrade the shields before the Elbrus fires a round of torpedoes at us.

Joker's fingers are flying across the displays, even as he glances up every so often. "Come on, girl, don't fail me now..."

The _Normandy _ducks under the torpedoes in question just in time, right as our guns launch some torpedoes at the _Elbrus_. It is only an instance of cover fire, but it works as some of the torpedoes headed towards us are destroyed by our own weapons. As Joker performs a loop over the Elbrus, I begin to wonder what must be happening inside. The torpedoes have not been fired as frequently over the last two minutes as they have been over the course of the battle. That said, though, it is still putting up a rather good fight.

But hopefully, we will be able to take it out soon.

"Aim for the engines," I say. "If you angle it near where-!"

"Yeah, I got it!" says Joker, turning the ship towards the engines as much as he can. "Aim for the engines! I know where they're going to be! I'll end this quickly!"

He maneuvers around the larger ship again, cutting above it with a form of Immelmann as some more torpedoes are fired. He abruptly turns, dodging them as quickly as we can. I grip the seat, watching as Joker then turns so that we can cut behind the Elbrus.

We fly a little further away from the Elbrus, hoping to gain some distance so we can fire our Thanix cannon a second time. We dodge some more torpedoes, even as Joker brings the ship around again. Suddenly, we are facing the Cerberus vessel, watching as it prepares its torpedoes.

Right... Here, it is all or nothing.

"Fire the main cannon!"

With this, I hear a light hum. Joker dips slightly as the torpedoes of the _Elbrus_ come to life. The dip is quick, however, and some of the torpedoes manage to miss us by a few yards. If it had been any closer...

Joker rights the Normandy just in time, however, for then the Thanix cannon fires a second later. I watch then as it strikes the ship, around where the engines would be. As soon as the first explosion is seen, I can trace a path of secondary explosions that occur throughout the ship itself, and before long, these secondary explosions tear the ship apart. I watch with baited breath as the ship seems suspended.

And then, after a few seconds, the _Elbrus_ is torn apart by a series of further explosions, such that only the bridge remains when the explosions finally end.

I blink, looking at the Cerberus vessel as Joker lets out a sigh of relief. "Well, there we go," says the pilot. "We've narrowly escaped death, and we've taken down a Cerberus fleet."

"_Indeed, Jeff,_" EDI replies. "_I am certain Cerberus will take this as an act of war._"

"Well, we'll be ready for them, right?" asks Joker.

... Well... we are prepared for an act of war as perpetrated by Cerberus, but... But there is something else...

What... what happens when they find out I was involved in this? What will they do...?

What... What will happen to Oriana?

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

Through the hole that was blasted in the wall of Afterlife, everyone can see that there's something walking through. It looks like a human, but with the way it glows in the dust, I don't even think that's the case. He steps through, and then, when he's revealed to the rest of us... We see a man, all right, but the rest of him looks like anything but. He stands there, a half-deranged grin on his face as we see that while his face looks normal, the rest of his body is outfitted with these blue cybernetics that are shining a menacing light on the area immediately around him. He holds no weapons, but from the way he glances at us, I get the feeling he wouldn't be needing them anyway.

I take a deep breath. Jesus Christ on a pikestaff... I don't... Has he been augmented with Reaper technology? Because I'm really getting the feeling that that's what's going down here.

I watch as the super-man's gaze turns to Aria in the most threatening manner I can imagine. My breath catches, and then he takes a step forward.

"Aria T'Loak," says the man. "You are not off of this rock yet."

The queen of Omega simply smirks. "You're crazy if you think I'm gonna flee at the first sign of danger," she says. "I'm made of stronger stuff than that."

... If you're staring down something like _this_, I don't doubt that, Aria. "You think so," says the Reaper dude. "And yet, soon enough you will all squirm underneath our grasp like the worms that you are."

I groan. _Really_? You have any number of badass bad guy speeches to deliver, and you go with the fucking worms?

Fuckin' weak, dude.

"I think the only worm you'll find here is you," says Aria as she begins to glow blue. She steps forward, a cocky grin on her face as the Reaper man stands absolutely stock-still.

And with this, she sends a biotic warp forward. It sends the Reaper man crashing against the wall where he made his entrance, and she stands there as he growls defiantly.

I prep my assault rifle. Right, this is gonna-

"Stay out of this."

I blink, looking to Aria with a look of shock on my face. "W... Aria! What the fuck are you doing?" I ask. "You're gonna-"

"Stay out of this," she repeats. "If Cerberus is going to fuck with me, then they'll deal with me personally."

W... No! "Aria, you don't understand!" I shout. "This isn't-"

But she effectively cuts off my reply with a biotic pull that sends the man flying clear across Afterlife, and right into one of the screens just by where one of the platforms for the "dancers" is. A shower of sparks rain down on Isaac and myself as we both step back, watching as Aria then leaps up to that level with a biotically-enhanced jump. Most of the action afterwards is obscured by the fact that I'm under the bar, but I do see the occasional spark shower fall down around the bar. I look up, breathing in and out, and glancing at the others every so often.

I hear the sounds of fighting occur, and after about a minute of not being able to see the fight, I see the Reaper man get launched away from the place. The windows to Aria's private little observation spot shatter with a suddenness we're not quite prepared for as the Reaper man flies through the window, followed shortly by Aria. Almost immediately, he's out of that spot again, where he hits the ground close to where I'm standing and rolls to a stop. He doesn't move, and I slowly get out from behind the bar, my assault rifle still raised.

Aria leaps confidently out, that brazen smile still on her face as she walks up to the Reaper man.

...

God damn it, he's going to be alive, isn't he?

Aria smirks simply, turning to everyone around her. "And that, is why this is _my _domain," says the queen of Omega. "This bastard put up a good fight." Oh, this isn't gonna be good. Aria, please do yourself a favor and shut up now. "If I see _any _Cerberus activity on my station again, then I will personally kill every last one of them. And I will enjoy it, much more than you would hope for. So if I catch _any _of you working with them, that extends to you too!"

She stands there, crossing her arms. "No one _fucks _with Aria!"

I grit my teeth, shaking my head. "Aria, you realize he's not quite dead yet, right?" I say.

"He looks pretty dead to me," he says.

I shake my head. "Aria, you haven't _fought _things augmented by Reaper tech before," I say. "Trust me, it's not dead yet!"

"We'll see about that," says the queen as she approaches the Reaper augmented man.

As she does, however, her eyes suddenly widen. I jolt slightly right as I see this.

And then, Aria is blown back onto the wall, as suddenly the augmented man is floating up. He looks at Aria with a predatory gaze, right as Aria looks at him. At once, her shocked expression turns into a hateful one, and she launches herself off the wall and charges right at him.

However, the Reaper man seems to expect this, and as such, he grabs Aria by the fist, and then before we know it she's charged into the bar. Nervous bystanders move a little bit as we see alcohol and pieces of metal and glass shards and... is that blood? Yes, it's blood. Anyway, all that pools around Aria, who then turns at the Reaper man, even with numerous cuts to her face and body.

Instead of backing off, however, she simply scowls, and tosses a warp at the augmented man's direction. The warp strikes true, disorienting him for a second before Aria comes rushing in with several biotically-charged punches. However, she's suddenly sent hurtling in the air again after a palm strike from the augmented... thing. I'm not calling it human anymore, because the way it then tackles Aria into the wall is just not natural.

Most people would've been incapacitated by that, but not Aria. A blue burst of biotics explodes from the queen of Omega as the Reaper man is sent flying back. Aria collapses on top of a booth table, breathing heavily as she glares at the Reaper man. I take a step or two back, watching as the air between Aria and the augmented man stills with the tension.

I... Jesus Christ, Aria, just let us intervene! Your pride isn't going to be injured! I mean, jeez!

I think this right as the asari launches herself at the Reaper man. She tackles him to the ground, and they briefly scuffle on the floor for a few seconds. As I watch, however, the Reaper man's feet plant themselves on Aria's ribcage, and with a powerful kick she's forced off of the augmented man. She lands a few feet away, and it's definitely a few feet more than usual. Behind the action, I can see Anto and Grizz looking on with concerned expressions on their faces.

Aria groans, but before anybody can say anything, she stands up on her own, glaring at the man hatefully. She launches a warp at the man, even as he approaches, but her aim is slightly off. By the time he's close enough, she just moves in for a biotic punch. The augmented man catches it easily, and then simply pushes Aria to the ground.

I take a sharp breath in, even as that thing kneels next to her. "You are powerless against us," says the man. "Our numbers will darken the sky of every world, and you will cry out for non-existant hope. And in your futile attempt to resist, you will find yourself with the eyes of every being beholding your shame." He kneels forward, looking down at Aria.

Before he can say much else, however, Aria gathers something in her mouth. She then promptly spits on the augmented man's face, and even if he doesn't twitch, the shock is apparent in the way his posture slightly shifts.

"Go fuck yourself," says Aria defiantly.

The Reaper-augmented thing kneels there. "And even in your death throes you continue to resist the inevitable," says the thing creepily.

"You can take me down, but you _better _expect a damn good fight," she says. "I'm not giving my throne up so easily."

"It is always inevitable," replies the Reaper as he raises a fist. "If only you could see that."

Oh, fuck... I squeeze my eyes shut, my entire body tensing. And I wait for the inevitable sound, which is-

I instead hear the sound of a biotic throw being tossed. Holy... I open my eyes, to see that the Reaper man has been knocked off of Aria, who hikes up on her forearms without any form of decorum. I look at the Reaper-augmented fellow as he looks wildly.

And then, the asari I saw earlier steps in front of Aria, her fists balled up as she walks up. The Reaper dude slowly stands up, and I can see a wicked grin come to his face.

"Ah, so we have another with a spirit of defiance," he says. "I was not-"

He's then interrupted by the same asari tossing a warp at him. This one connects, and manages to shut him up as the asari steps forward. I see her bare her teeth, looking right at the Reaper man as she then speaks.

"Not my mother, you son of a bitch!"

...

Bajigawaga-whaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

"_Mother_?"

I ask this right before this asari brings her fist forward, and she rushes towards the augmented being. Before long, she sends the Reaper man flying back. He manages to brace himself on the wall, but then is unprepared for when this asari uses a pull towards them.

...

"Right, I guess we're opening up the field," I say, picking up my assault rifle. "Fire at will!"

The other asari has no objections to this, and then we all pick up our weapons and aim them at the Reaper dude. He leaps above us before we can get our sights properly set, but from where he hangs on the ceiling, I don't think getting him will be that much of a problem. I mean... look at how many guns are now being primed.

He then leaps down, bouncing off the wall before tackling some of Aria's guard to the ground. However, this gives Garrus, Madison, and several others an advantage, as they then begin to pepper the dude with gunfire. He quickly leaps out of the way, bounding across the room to where Aria's... daughter, apprently, and us are situated. He leaps right over us, and then I see him suddenly go a shade of blue.

Right as I turn my attention to Isaac, he brings up what I assume... Holy shit, he's gonna use his plasma cutter!

"Get down!" shouts the engineer as he holds up the cutter.

Without any further ceremony, he aims at the thing's leg, firing a couple of shots. The energy beams strike true, with the first one having no visible effect. The second one, however, sends the Reaper man's leg falling right off, much to the shock of almost everyone in the room. He quickly puts the cutter away, pulling his pistol back out as the target then stumbles over, the loss of his appendage only then registering. It looks at Isaac in shock, the first _real _expression of shock I have seen the thing give.

However, we are not intent on letting this thing have its way for long. The asari... God, what was her name? She then hoists the man over with a pull, and I train my assault rifle and open fire. Several other people then release a hail of mass accellerator rounds as he gets pulled towards the center of the room. After a few seconds, he falls over, but from the way he moves, this isn't over yet. He then leaps to the ceiling, looking around at all of us as he begins to charge something with a red light around it. Shit, it's the Sovereign missile attack!

But before he can do anything else, we suddenly see the asari glow blue, and from a few other places I can see other people glowing blue. I... It's almost like...

No way. They're combining their biotics!

The combined effort then sends the augmented man crashing to the floor, enough that he actually ends up stunned. Isaac takes this as his cue, and with a second launch of his stasis round, we have the augmented man right where we want him.

"Open fire!"

Afterlife is then filled with the sounds of people firing every single weapon they've got at this thing. As it stays still for us thanks to Isaac's stasis, we fire every round into it. I even hear Anto let out an angry scream as he unloads God knows how many rounds into that thing. I grin in satisfaction, firing everything we've got into the Reaper thing. I don't stop even as the blue of Isaac's stasis feild wears off, and really, nobody does. All we want is for a shit ton of rounds to be embedded in that augmented son of a bitch.

And after about fifteen seconds, it lets out an inhuman wail. I grit my teeth, and then watch as the augmented man then disintegrates in front of us. He desintegrates almost exactly the way Saren did over two years earlier. I frown, looking at the remains as they literally become dust.

And then, all is quiet in Afterlife. I then see the asari rush over and kneel by Aria, some medigel in hand.

"Hang in there, you're going to be-"

"Oh, quiet Liselle," says Aria as she brushes her hand aside. "I told you never to reveal that!"

I shake my head, walking up to the queen of Omega. "You okay?"

"Fuck you," she says. "Now I look-"

"Weak?" I ask, sitting back. I shake my head. "What you look like you are right now is blinded by pride. And just a little stupid."

Aria frowns at this, glowing blue. "Why, you little-!"

"Mother." The asari pushes Aria's arm down. "He was trying to help you."

I nod. "The last person who had those augmentations was Saren Arterius himself," I say, looking right at Aria. "That 'geth ship' that caused havoc all over the Citadel? It wasn't actually a geth ship, and there are a _lot _more than one of them. And they can turn your people on each other. And if you augment yourself with their technology, they become the servants of the Reapers, and none of them will stop until every last man, woman, and child of every species in this galaxy is dead."

"And why the fuck are you telling me this?" asks Aria.

"Because contrary to what you believe, this isn't a fight that you can fight alone." I watch as Garrus comes forward, kneeling next to me. "You nearly got killed by that thing. You put up a good fight, but you nearly got yourself killed." I then gesture to where the bullet-riddled corpse once was before it dissolved into dust. "But together, we took it down. This is not a fight we're going to win alone. We need all the help we can get." I cross my arms as I then sit down on the ground. "Having allies to help you isn't a sign of weakness. Your allies will make you stronger. This is something you must understand, Aria."

Aria simply scowls, but she doesn't glow blue. I guess that's a good sign. She glares at us, but doesn't say another word as... Liselle, was it? Yeah. Liselle applies some medigel to Aria's wounds.

Finally, her unamused expression becomes calm, and she looks right at us.

"Reapers?" she asks, curious voice tinged with an edge of disdain. "What, exactly are these things, and what proof do you have that they exist?"

I nod, sitting back as Aria sits upright.

"Glad you asked," I say.

With this, I open some files on my omni-tool. Some of the more curious members of Aria's security force move closer, listening and watching the evidence we found on the Collector Base as I explain about the Reapers, and what their plans are.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, things have become quiet in Afterlife again. The techno beat is still missing, but now the security forces have more or less dispersed, and people have started cleaning up the nightclub after everything that went down. And now, there is a low hum of people discussing what I just revealed about the Reapers.<p>

Well... one thing's for sure. As I look at Aria from where she stands crowded around the booth I'm seated at, I nod with the knowledge that we've got her as an ally now. Now that we've shown her what the Reapers are and what they plan on doing... Well, she wasn't gonna let any Reapers destroy her domain, so she told us she'd gather allies. Al's actually off contacting Zaeed to get stuff prepared for that, actually. Hopefully, Aria will be able to convince them. She should, anyway: I passed the evidence on to her, so she should get right on to convincing those people... ehm... _convincingly_.

God, that was bad.

And now... all that's left now is for Tidoses to wake up. She's been out for a little bit, though I suspect there's more to it than the head injury Isaac and I gave her. Actually, speaking of which... I look at the engineer as he sits on the other side of the booth. Clearly, he's a little touchy, and I think he got more so with the people asking him what the hell that weird 'blue thing that slowed him down' was, and that they wanted that. I almost feel bad for the poor guy, really. We need to see about getting him more ammunition for his guns, and for making sure he's got enough of that stasis to last him a while in a pinch.

Because seriously, kinesis is going to be a useless power here. I mean, it's not like it could be used to launch spikes at enemies. Well, it could, but from what I remember of the game that wasn't quite the case, so... Whatever.

I briefly glance over to Madison, where she's explaining their mission to Carhon. I think Madison's going to try to get him onto the Normandy now that he knows about this. From the way their gestures are, I imagine it's not going too badly. That's always good.

It does make me think about Isaac, though. I talked to him earlier, and he seemed like he really wanted to go rescue this Ellie chick that he is such good friends with. However, I did eventually convince him that going in as a lone gone wasn't going to make anything better for her. So finally, he agreed to join the crew of the Normandy, on the condition that once we hit up Khar'shan, we would help him find and rescue Ellie. Which is kind of odd, because I don't remember _anyone _named Ellie being a friend of Isaac's from the game.

I need to call a Brotherhood meeting about him soon.

Oh, and speaking of which... I glance at Miranda. Apparently, she came back, but she's had some disturbing news about the _Elbrus_. Well... looks like their plan to remove Aria from Omega failed, because here we all are, with the queen of Omega safe and sound. I nod, turning my attention back to Tidoses.

It's then that I notice that she's begun moving. I blink, leaning back against the seat I'm sitting in as she stirs.

And then, she opens her eyes, and I'm looking at green eyes.

"W... where...?"

She moves to sit up, but I come forward and gently guide her down again. "Shh," I say soothingly. "Calm down. You shouldn't be exherting yourself."

The turian Spectre looks right at me, a bleary expression on her face. "Who... who are you?" she asks, hoarsely.

I nod, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulders. "I'm Art*** ********* of the Normandy," I say. "We've got the crew of the Normandy surrounding you. You're in good hands."

Tidoses nods. "The crew of the Normandy, huh?" she asks. "I guess my Council hasn't given up on me quite yet. Where's Shepard?"

I blink. I then glance to Garrus, who's sitting right next to me. The former C-Sec officer leans forward, looking at the female turian as she stirs.

"They did give up on you," he says uncertainly. "And Shepard... The Council turned on her too. She's being held prisoner, on charges of conspiracy to commit treason."

"The fact that we were briefly allied with Cerberus didn't help," I say. "Even though technically, we were doing the work that the _Council_ was supposed to be doing and saving the galaxy a second time, so..."

We watch the female Spectre as she takes in everything we've said. I glance over to Jarel over near the booth, who looks at her with a concerned expression. He doesn't say anything, but really, I don't think he needs to. She processes this new information, her mandibles slackening and stiffening alternately.

And then, she scoffs. "Figures," she says. "They honey you up with words, and then they turn on you at the first sign of danger."

I blink. Wha...? Of all the reactions I was expecting from her, I was not expecting _that _one at all. That's kind of... bitter, really.

I raise my eyebrow, leaning closer. Before I can say anything more, though, she raises a talon. "I don't want to talk about it," she says. "I was assigned to guard the turian Councillor with my life. I end up abandoning ship right before the _Aurigos _disappears, and I attempted so many times to send out a distress signal to the Council. And they did _nothing _to get me out of there."

I breathe in. Before I can speak, however, she holds up her hand. "_Don't_ ask me about the _Aurigos_," she says coldly. "I never want to relive the pain of what I went through there. Besides, you'd lock me up in the madhouse if I ever told you what I saw."

Pfft. Well, lady, that depends on who you're talking to, and I'm the _last _person who would send you to the madhouse. Well, you know, given my origin story and all that. I look to the others before nodding.

"All right, then," I say. Well, she at least remembers what happened. "We'll wait to ask you about that."

"I'd rather you not ask at all," says Tidoses. "I..." She glances to the side guiltily. "I lost a lot of good friends that day. I still haven't properly grieved for them. Just... don't ask. Ever."

...

Jeez, why do I get the feeling that we're going to ask right when it's least convenient for us?

I simply let out a small breath of air, looking at the Spectre and nodding. "Fine," I say. "We freed you from the slaver stuff, by the way. Just... thought you should know that."

Tidoses nods. "I noticed," she says. "Thanks." She then looks at me, shifting on the table as she slowly sits up. "What... what happens now?"

I shrug. "Well, any number of things can happen," I say. "But the possibility I'm suggesting is that you join us. We're fugitives from Council space at the moment, but..."

The turian Spectre shakes her head. "If I ever went back in there, I suspect they'd brand me a fugitive too just on principle," she replies. "And really, I haven't got anywhere else to go." She then looks right at me, eyes looking me over. "I will join you, if you will keep quiet about the _Aurigos_."

... Jesus, she's really adamant about not saying a word, isn't she? Well... if we want her to not fall in the wrong hands...

I nod reluctantly. "Deal," I say. "Now... we've got a medical bay on the ship. We'll have the doctor on our vessel look over you when we get back, okeeday?"

She nods, and then leans forward. Without me having to say anything, Miranda and Garrus help the Spectre to her feet. She plants them on the ground, and then I see Carhon and Madison walk on over to me. I watch as most of the crew of the Normandy follows Garrus, Miranda, and Tidoses out to the ship. Only Tali and Thane remain, with Madison standing beside Carhon as the batarian walks over. I see Dsrondo trailing behind.

"Madison tells me you have connections to the Shadow Broker's network," says Carhon.

I nod. "Straight to the very top of the food chain," I say. "I can get you whatever information you need."

The resistance fighter nods. "Good," he says. "I'll join you, if you give me the information I need so I can pass it on to the people at the resistance group."

I simply smile, and gesture openly with my arms. "Ask, and you shall receive," I say warmly.

"Then that settles it," says the former vigilante as he stands broadly.

I smile, holding my hand out to him. "Welcome aboard, Carhon," I say. "We'll get stuff sorted out when we get back to the ship."

Carhon looks at my hand briefly, and then he reluctantly takes it. He then gives it a tentative shake, and releases it, nodding to Madison. Hm... Looks like he's familiar with the gesture, but... Hm, we need to get him acclimated to being around humans all the time.

I suppose it's a good thing that he's had a head-start with Garrus' squad and everything. I nod to Aria, watching as she and Liselle stand. "Well... our business here is done for now," I say. "But when we mobilize, I'll be back."

"And I'll be ready then," says the queen of Omega resolutely. "Actually... so that we've got some insurance..."

I raise my eyebrows as suddenly, Liselle comes forward. And then, I'm floored by the fact that she's not in that dancer outfit that she was wearing earlier. Rather, she's in some combat jumpsuit not unlike the one Liara wore while we were dealing with Tela Vasir. It's a dark burgundy color to be sure, but it's very different from what I saw earlier. She's got a pistol holstered there, and... well...

I raise my eyebrow. "So you want me to take Liselle with us," I say. "Can she use a gun?"

"I've had some practice," says Liselle. "Being the daughter of the queen of Omega isn't always easy, and you never can tell who can find out."

"It's hard to keep a throne when you have something to lose," says Aria. "Today was the first day most of my men found out that she was my daughter." She then looks right at me. "You've seen what she can do with biotics, and you'll see what she can do with a gun. Now, you are going to make sure she doesn't die, or I will hunt you down and gut you while you're still conscious. Is that clear?"

I blink, looking at Aria and nodding. "Crystal," I reply, feeling goosebumps race up my arms.

"Good," she says. "Be careful, Liselle."

The younger asari only gives a nod, and then Aria simply walks away, without a word of goodbye for me.

"I take it she's not the world's greatest people person," says Madison.

We turn within ourselves, looking at each other as Liselle nods. "We always keep at a distance," she says. "It's better that way. I may want her to talk to me more, but I'm not stupid. I know she can't talk to me as much as she or I would like. Allies are something she doesn't feel she can afford."

I cross my arms. "I get the feeling her near-death experience just now will change that," I say. "I hope."

"We'll see in due time," says Liselle. "Come on."

I nod. "Yeah, I've had enough of stuff going down here to last a life time." I then look to Tali, taking her hand with a subtle motion as I nod to the others. "Right, let's get back to the Normandy."

And without another word, the group of us turn towards Afterlife's entrance, and leave the nightclub for the first time in what feels like forever.


	9. Chapter 8

_A/N: Okay, and we are out of Omega!_

_Okay, so the crazy times have rolled out with that particular bus. And now, we have a lot of things we need to figure out with the characters. But what exactly is going down? You'll find out soon enough, my pretties._

_Anyhows... Well, that's another chapter out of the way. So this chapter is your typical character interaction chapter... But the chapter after this. Well, let's say I change up the standard MV formula up a bit._

_In the meantime, remember that I love meself some feedback. Good, bad, I love it all! So please do leave a comment!_

_Oh, before I go in, one more thing I need to say. Well... I've got more recommendations to make for the lot of you. So, when you get a chance, check out_ The Glass Coffin _by Boreal Peat. It's this really interesting AU of what could've happened had Garrus found Shepard after an attempt to give her to the Shadow Broker goes awry. It's really awesome, and stuff._

_Anyway, here we go. Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: Planning Time<p>

"So, where exactly are we going to stay?"

I look over to EDI's floating avatar thing as the rest of us stand in the briefing room. Well, debriefing went rather quickly today. I think we all got on the same page relatively fast. So now we have four crew members, which includes two Spectres and a bunch of other people. Oh, and Isaac Clarke is here. That too.

That said, though, that does leave all of our newcomers a little befogged as to where they're gonna be.

I nod, looking over as the AI runs some estimates. "_Zaeed's old quarters are still open,_" she says. "_There are no other openings at the moment, but the repairs made on Illium should give more room for us to place our new crew members_."

I nod. "So I guess this is the point where we start doubling up," I say.

Jarel shakes his head. "Technically, we're already doubling up on living space," says the salarian.

Miranda nods, looking to the others. "All right," she says. "Isaac, you will be taking up Zaeed's old quarters. You'll find it in Starboard Cargo."

The displaced engineer nods. "Starboard Cargo," he says. "Got it. When do you want me to see Jacob, Tali, and Mordin about my ammunition?"

"As soon as possible would be convenient," says Mordin. "Still, would need to get materials together."

"Yeah, it might take a bit," says Jacob as he leans against the table. "I say we let the doctor get some of his items together first, and then we try and figure out how to reverse engineer your ammo."

"Will let EDI know when ready," says the scientist further. "Must say, this will be fascinating." Oh, Mordin... You are always so awesome like that. "Will try not to take to long."

I nod, looking to Tidoses, Carhon, and Liselle. "And as for you three..." I glance over to Legion briefly. "Before we figure out what to do... I... apologize for not warning you about the geth." I turn to them, giving a nervous expression.

"Well, it hasn't shot us yet," says Liselle as she crosses her arms.

"It could eventually," says Tidoses, eyeing the geth platform suspiciously. "You haven't seen these things the way we have, Liselle. I _will_ shoot it if it turns on us."

Carhon shakes his head. "I won't waste my time with that," he says. "I'm sure everyone has said that at some point."

"We dictate that an exchange of data is in order," says Legion. "We look forward to such an interaction."

Tidoses frowns almost instantly. "Exchange of data?" she asks. "Is that a euphemism for something?"

"It's his way of saying 'we're having a discussion now'," replies Garrus. "He's done it to a lot of people."

I nod. "Right," I say. "Anyway, we're getting off track here. You'll figure that out when you get there. Now..." I glance to the three of them. "Since we need to double you guys up with someone... what kinds of preferences do you have?"

Carhon speaks first. "Stars," he says. "It reminds me of home sometimes."

EDI seems to acknowledge this very quickly. "_There should be room in Starboard Observation to hold one more person,_" she says. "_Batarian-human relations have not always been so good, but perhaps we can work something out._"

"Uh..." I look over to James as he blinks. "Well, sir, I wouldn't mind, if that's what... it is implying. I... I'd be open to it, sir."

Carhon nods. "I guess I've gotten so used to being around other species I can't help it," he supplies.

I smile, clapping my hands together. "Then that settles it!" I say. "Carhon, you'll be in Starboard Observation with James."

The batarian simply nods, even as Tidoses and Liselle hang back. "Well, I've had more unusual arrangements," says Carhon. "Hopefully, I'll be able to contact my resistance group without interference..."

"Oh, if you need to, you can just ask me to stay out for a little," says James.

I nod, looking over to Tidoses and Liselle. "And what about you two?"

"I don't really know yet," says Tidoses. "I need some space to myself."

I shake my head. "Well, we don't really have that," I mention. "Unfortunately. So... what else are you up for?"

"Well..." she crosses her arms. "I haven't modded my weapons in a really long time. And I'd feel really uncomfortable if I didn't get my hands on some mods soon."

I nod, looking at Jacob. "Then I don't think our armory officer will object if he gets an assistant, will he?" I ask.

"No," says the the former Corsair, pushing off. "Actually, it'd be helpful to have someone to help me out, given how many ground team members we've got right now."

"Just be careful, Jacob," says Garrus. "Turian firearms modification can get out of hand for some humans very quickly."

Tidoses shakes her head, rolling her eyes. I sense a bitterness to her gesture, though, even as she looks right at the armory officer. "I'll try not to get too far ahead of you."

I nod. "Which then leaves Liselle," I say, looking at the asari as she looks at everybody.

"Well," says Aria's daughter. "I... I prefer someplace that has quite a bit of people in it..."

EDI chimes in. "_There are sleeper pods that line up the area near the mess hall,_" she says. "_I can open a space up for one of those sleeper pods for your use._"

Liselle nods, looking at the rest of us. "Yes, that would be good," she says. "Thank you."

I nod, then clapping my hands together. "All righty then," I say. "I think that'll be all for now. Right Miranda?"

"Right," says the former Cerberus operative. "This meeting is adjourned. Art, Garrus, I would like to talk to you here. The rest of you are dismissed."

I nod, watching as the others start filing out. Hm... "Oh, and good job today, everyone," I add.

Various mutterings of thanks are heard from the group as eventually, everyone except Garrus, Miranda, and myself leave. I nod to Tali as she leaves, and... I assume she's headed down to Engineering again to take care of her little issues. I nod, smiling as the door closes and EDI's avatar remains.

"_Should I contact the Shadow Broker_?" asks the AI.

"Please do," says Miranda. "We need to speak with the Broker about a few more things."

With this, EDI's avatar disappears. After around ten seconds or so, we hear a slight click as that table lowers. We then see the communications window open, and Miranda, Garrus, and I step forward.

"_Art_."

... I swear, the deep voice thing is a little creepy.

"Hello, Liara," I say, crossing my arms. "You can drop the deep voice act now."

I hear some clicks on the other line, and then cross my arms as soon as Liara's voice is heard. "_Hello, Art_," says the asari. "_How did your time on Omega go?_"

"It went rather well," I say. "We got our Spectre, we got an ally in Aria, and we managed to find out that Cerberus isn't on our side anymore..." I glance to the side. "Well, really, that last thing isn't really a good thing."

I can just see Liara nodding in my mind's eye. "_Indeed_," she says. "_So Cerberus turned on you, if what some of my operatives on Omega say is true. Honestly, I was suspecting it recently_."

"Really?" asks Garrus as he steps forward. "Why?"

"_My moles within Cerberus have been reporting some very strange activity recently_," says the Shadow Broker. "_There have been rumors swirling within the organization that the Illusive Man is beginning to change his motivations, but if there is any resistance to his ideas, it is getting crushed very fast_."

"That doesn't make any sense," says Miranda as she walks forward. "The Illusive Man wouldn't do something that would threaten humanity's place in the galaxy, and I know he wouldn't turn on someone who doesn't agree with everything he does." She glanced to where the armory is. "Jacob didn't always agree with everything he did, but..."

"_That's the other thing_," says Liara. "_Some of the rumors that are swirling around... they say that someone else may have taken the title of Illusive Man from the real Illusive Man._" I hear her footsteps. "_I can't confirm it for certain from where I am since it is just a rumor, but it's one of the more popular ones within Cerberus at the moment._"

Miranda nods. "And now... Oriana isn't safe," she says. "I think they're going to try to use her as bait for me to come back."

"_I wouldn't worry about that, Ms. Lawson_," says the asari on the other end of the line. "_I've gone through the trouble of reassigning operatives Alan Day and Brendan Ganserig to watch over Oriana for you, and they have authorization to use my army if Cerberus manages to abduct her. Unless something happens that nobody can foresee, I think she'll be safe._"

The former Cerberus operative blinks in surprise. "You already...?" I see the relief relax her body immediately afterwards. "Oh, thank you. I was going to ask you to help, but..." She takes a deep breath, placing a hand on her breast. "Thank you."

"_All in the day of the Shadow Broker,_" she says. "_I found a new lead for you_,"

"Oh?" I ask, crossing my arms. "What's up?"

"_Some of our operatives on Sur'Kesh have managed to locate something strange_." Liara replies

I frown. "Sur'Kesh?" I ask. "That's... that's right in the middle of Citadel Space!"

"Going there would be suicide!" states Miranda.

"_That's what I thought you might say,_" Liara replies. "_I would too in your position. But this is vital. Is it true that you're trying to cure the genophage?_"

I blink. "Yeah…" I say. "That's right."

"What does that have to do with the situation?" Miranda asked.

"_S__ome of our operatives cracked some information within STG networks,_" Liara said. "_When we analyzed the results, we found some data about a krogan princess that is being held captive on Sur'Kesh_."

Miranda steps forward, looking intrigued by this development. "Oh?" she asks. "I guess that would help us quite a bit. What is so special about her?"

"_According to STG reports, she's immune to the genophage_," says Liara. "_This would be unremarkable in and of itself, but further analysis of the data shows that this princess is also immune to the modified genophage as well._"

"Let me guess," says Garrus. "They then abducted her and took her to Sur'Kesh."

"_Yes, essentially,_" replied Liara. "_We believe they brought her to Sur'Kesh to perform further tests on her, see if they can re-introduce the genophage into her._" She paused, and I hear some clicking on the other side of the line._ "So far, they haven't been successful. Everything they've tried only works temporarily. Every time, it seems she's able to overcome the genophage, since she becomes properly fertile._"

I frown. "Wait," I say. "If we can figure out how her body manages to override the continuously modified genophage..."

I look to Miranda, my expression brightening up. "Then we have the easiest path to our genophage cure," she finishes. "And given that Jarel should still have Maelon's data..."

"Are you sure about this?" asks Garrus. "If the Council catches wind of the fact that we're curing the genophage, they might bear down on the krogan again. Aside from that issue... what if they rebel again?"

I shrug. "You never know, Garrus," I say. "It could be that the genophage cure will give them hope, especially given that at the end of the day a couple of salarians will have created the cure. And besides, with guys like Wrex at the helm..."

"True," says Garrus. "I just worry that it could backfire on us."

"We'll make sure it doesn't," says Miranda, crossing her arms.

"Good to know," says the turian. "So... are we going straight there?"

"I think so," I say, crossing my arms. "Miranda?"

"This is too good an opportunity to pass up," says the Cerberus operative. "But we are breaking into an STG base, right?"

"_Yes,_" says Liara. "_I wouldn't worry too much, though. My operatives were able to get a floor plan of the base where your krogan princess is being held. I will forward those to you as soon as this call disconnects._"

"Very well," says Miranda. "This will be a very risky mission, but the benefit..."

"They outweight the risks, provided the mission goes well," I say. "Okay, thanks Liara." I look to the others. "So... we're set on heading to Sur'Kesh?"

"I think so," says Miranda. "Garrus?"

"I'm not sure it'll turn out that good, but we'll see," says the turian.

I nod, crossing my arms and smiling. "Then it's a deal," I say. "EDI, set a course for Sur'Kesh."

"_I would suggest against that course of action immediately,_" replies the AI. "_We recommend we take the shuttle onto into the system first_."

I nod. "Yeah, that's a good point," I say. "Take the Normandy in, and it sets off alarms immediately. But move the shuttle in first..."

"We will take that advice to heart," says Miranda. "Anything else?"

"_That... should be it,_" she says. She then pauses, and I can hear her feet shift at the other end of the call. "_Uh... Miranda and Garrus know about... _it_, right_?"

I blink, looking at the two behind them. What... What's she talking about with it?

"You mean the cuneiform thing Art found on the Collector base?" asks Garrus.

"The one he handed to you to translate?" asks Miranda.

... Oh. _Oh_.

God, I can be an idiot sometimes.

"_So you know, then,_" says Liara. "_Good. I managed to successfully translate the little thing you gave me_."

I raise my eyebrow, leaning forward. "Really?" I ask. "What does it say?"

"_Well, it mostly turned up a group of numbers,_" says the former archaeologist. "_But they're numbers organized in such a way that I think it is a set of coordinates for the galaxy map_."

"A set of coordinates?" asks Miranda. "Interesting. Maybe there is something at these coordinates that we need to find..."

"_Perhaps,_" says Liara. "_I don't think these are modern coordinates, however. I'll have to check it against an old Prothean star map that is mostly intact. But I'll check the coordinates, and I'll tell you where the coordinates line up on a modern star map._"

I nod, crossing my arms. "Got it," I say. "We'll..." Hey, wait a minute. "Where the hell are you going to find an old Prothean star map, anyway?"

"_The University of Serrice spent years building a complete map of coordinates from what the Protheans had discovered,_" replies the asari. "_The Shadow Broker's records of that are extensive, and I think that he may have a mostly complete map. I'll check it, don't worry. And when I figure out what's there, you'll be the first to know._"

All right, we're getting somewhere. "Awesome," I say. "Keep me posted on that."

"_I will,_" she says.

And with this, the connection is cut. I look over to Miranda and Garrus, nodding to them. "Excellent," I say. "That takes care of that."

"Indeed," says Garrus. "We'll be infiltrating a Citadel species homeworld..." He shakes his head. "I gotta admit, I never thought I'd be doing something like that when I first applied to C-Sec."

I shrug. "Honestly, I don't think any of us thought we'd be doing that," I say. "Which actually brings me to another point..." I cross my arms soon after this, looking at Miranda. "When we get a chance, you and I need to head to the Circle of Magi."

She frowns, looking at me for a few seconds. Finally, though, she seems to get it, and her frown gets a little more confusing. "Are we recruiting the help of the mages against the Blight?" she asks.

"And attempting to rescue it from Uldred," I reply. Good, she got it.

"I'll tell the party to get together," says Miranda. "How soon should we get it together?"

I nod. "Maybe sometime very soon," I say. "Like, ten minutes."

"Why?" asks Garrus. "We have our minds set on where we need to go, yes?"

I nod. "Yeah, but it's not about our next destination," I say. I glance to the side as the table rises up again. "Let's just say for now that I think we may have found another piece of Orange's little prophecy thing, and I'll explain in further detail when we open the meeting."

Garrus and Miranda both look at me blankly, but by then I'm already walking around the table to get out of the briefing room. So then, they just shrug and follow along.

* * *

><p>"And now, I call this meeting of the Brotherhood into session."<p>

With this, I nod, looking at the others. Kasumi, Garrus, and Madison are all reclining on the couch, with Tali, Thane, and Miranda off to the side. Sturge and Chakwas are both sitting close to Miranda on a chair Sturge brought from who knows where. Okay... Now where's Shep...

Oh. Yeah.

Damn it, it feels so odd calling a meeting of the Brotherhood without Shepard here... Ah, fuck...

"So you needed to call this about...?" asked Madison.

"Something about the prophecy," replied Garrus. "Art says we might have another piece of it."

I nod, looking to the others in the room. "Yeah," I say. "And I think that piece is Isaac Clarke."

Everybody in the area blinks at this, but I don't see any really large amount of shock there. Nobody seems shocked about it, and honestly, I'm not surprised, given how odd Isaac would be to someone in this continuum. I mean, he has that stasis module...

"I _thought _there was something weird about him," says Madison, crossing her arms. "Nothing about him seems to match here."

"I thought he was a most intriguing individual myself," adds Thane. "He seems to display technology that did not follow the path of the Reapers."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't of this universe either," says Tali.

I nod. "Yeah, and I don't think he is," I say.

"So why are you mentioning this?" asks Garrus. "We know he's not normal for being around here, but why does that make him part of Orange's little thing?

"That's... the other thing," I say. "See, I _also _know more about him than I should."

As everybody else looks at me in disbelief, I see Sturge cross his arms. "Let me guess," he says. "He's _another _one of these characters from a video game that you played."

I nod. "Yep," I say. "That's exactly what it is."

Madison rolls her eyes, sighing as she shakes her head. "Are we sure this is actually a rare occurrence?" she asks. "From the sheer amount of people that have shown up from other universes, you'd think that stuff like this happened all the time."

I take a step forward, splaying my arms outward. "Honestly, I'm beginning to ask myself that too," I say. "This is happening _way _too often for safety. Not the point." I then step back. "The point is, I know who he is, I know most of what he's done, and... well... there we go."

Sturge simply shrugs, leaning back in his seat. "I guess he jumped forward in time?"

I shake my head. "Actually, there's an irony in that," I say. "Instead of jumping forward in time, poor Isaac has jumped something like four hundred years _backwards_ in time." I begin pacing in front of them. "It's even more ironic when you consider that his universe was able to take part in FTL travel, but that there were no aliens in his galaxy."

"Wait, no aliens?" asks Kasumi. "How does that even work? Is he...?"

Miranda nodded. "He must be very confused at all the alien species he suddenly has to be acquainted with," says the Cerberus operative. "I guess that is why he is keeping to himself right now."

"Yeah, probably," agrees Kasumi. This is met with a general mumble of agreement from everyone else.

"But it still doesn't answer our main question," says Garrus. "What was Isaac Clarke doing in his home universe?"

I shrug, smirking. "Dealing with a zombie apocalypse in space, mostly," I say. "He came from a survival horror title with zombies." I then look to Garrus. "If you remember all the times Shepard and I would play _Contact Point 3 _on the original Normandy, well... it was almost exactly like that. Well, except that it was called _Dead Space_ instead of _Contact Point_, you know. But other than that, they could've been exact copies of each other."

"Really?" asks the turian. "I have a tough time believing that."

"But you have to admit, Isaac's arsenal is almost exaclty the same," says Tali. "We haven't had a chance to look at it in detail yet, but from what I have seen of it, it looks very similar."

Garrus nods. "That's true," he concedes. "But I'm still not sure about it."

"Well, we did see what that gun of his did," offers Tali. "If you have an energy weapon that can remove someone's limbs, then you might have needed it against a specific type of enemy. And if the specific type of enemy was similar to what was seen in _Contact Point_..."

I nod, smiling. "Thank you, Tali," I say. "But still, something gets me about that, and it's not what you'd think at all..." I shake my head, coming closer to the group. "See, the game Isaac came from was a single game in the series, and yet... I've never seen the armor he's currently wearing in that game at all, and this game certainly didn't have anyone by the name of Ellie Langford in it."

Everyone else in the room frowns at this. "Really?" asks Miranda. "That's..."

"...That's certainly quite puzzling," says Dr. Chakwas. "Have you figured out why?"

I shake my head. "No," I reply. "That's the crazy part, really... I'm trying to figure out where Ellie came from, and my mind keeps drawing blanks. Every time I think I've got something, my train of thought ends up saying 'no, that couldn't possibly happen'."

Sturge shifts in his seat. "Do you think maybe the guys who made that _Dead Space _game made a sequel when you weren't looking?" he asks. "It's possible."

I nod. "That's a good point, but it doesn't serve us any good if I can't go back and see what the sequel was about," I say. "Either way, it doesn't really matter. That's a small, trivial little thing, and we've got much bigger issues to deal with. Like, how he fits in the prophecy."

"Yes, I was wondering the same thing myself," says Tali. "If Isaac figures into the prophecy, how...?"

I shrug. "Well... I think he'd fit under the moniker of 'sword forged in hell' better than anything," I say. "I mean, in _Dead Space_, he was... Well, he was literally the only guy to survive a massive outbreak that started with thousands of people getting infected. And if Sturge is right and the guys did make a sequel, then they probably went with something bigger as per sequel mechanics. We just don't know how big it was..."

"And I assume he killed a god of some sort?" asks Miranda.

"If you don't take the wording literally, I think so," I mention, rubbing my chin. "Either way, I think Isaac may play a role in what's going to go down in the near future."

"And why tell us this?" asks Dr. Chakwas.

"Well, if it's true that he's part of the prophecy, the next logical step is to induct him into the Brotherhood, right?" asks Madison.

I nod. "Exactly," I say. "Only... I'm not sure how I'm going to approach Isaac for that."

"Well, just tell him what you know," suggests Kasumi. "It can't be that bad, right?"

I shake my head. "Yeah, except for a couple things," I mention. "One, he doesn't trust anyone as a matter of principle. And two... From what was seen in the game... Isaac Clarke_might _not be all there mentally."

"You mean he's insane," says Sturge. He groans at this. "Great, now we have an insane, possibly unstable lunatic here!"

Miranda frowns at this. "I doubt he's an unstable lunatic," says the ship's XO. "He has been cooperative so far. I have seen him give us odd looks, but I don't see any reason for him to be an unstable lunatic if he has been able to keep calm under these circumstances..."

"Exactly," I say, nodding as I smile at Miranda. "It's a long story to talk about his insanity, but let's just say that if it's anything beyond seeing people that aren't really there, I'm going to be very surprised."

"Indeed," says Thane. "Which then leaves the final question of how we tell him."

I nod. "I... still don't know what's going to happen with that," I say. "I'm not sure how to break it to him that I know more about him than anybody else here. Well, without him accusing me of being part of the Church of Unitology, anyway..."

At this, I'm given confused looks from everyone in the room. "Church of Unitology?" asks asks Garrus. "What's that?"

I roll my eyes. "Oh, it's... It's basically the Church of Scientology, taken to its logical extreme," I reply.

At this, our cook instantly groans. "Oh, great, they have nutcases in the far future too," says the old man as he facepalms. "This can't get any worse."

I shake my head. "Considering that the government of Earth is also a problem in that game, well..." I shrug. "Anyway... I need to figure out how to tell him that..." I rub my chin, sitting down next to Tali. "I'll figure that on my own, though. I just needed to let you guys know that we need to get him into the Brotherhood somehow. But it's going to be easier said than done when it comes down to it, given how he was before."

"Indeed," says Miranda.

Kasumi leans forward. "Hm, you say you know what happened with him," she says. "Now I'm really curious. What exactly happened?"

I blink. "Does this mean I have to give a full synopsis?"

"That would be nice to have," comments Madison. "We do need to know what we're working with here."

I nod. "Well, if you say so." I get closer, taking a seat next to Tali as I look to everyone. "Okay, so... the story if Isaac Clarke's ordeal begins with a distress call to the planet of Aegis VII..."

And so, I tell the Brotherhood the story of _Dead Space_.

* * *

><p>Well, that went pretty well. I hope.<p>

At least, that's how I feel as I walk over to the mess hall with Sturge and Tali behind me.

"I've gotta say, Art, that's one messed-up set of things Isaac went through," says the ship's cook. "I'd feel even worse if he actually did go through it twice."

I shrug. "How do we know things had a sequel anyway?"

"You never can tell," says Tali with a shrug. "I think we'll find out where Ellie fits into Isaac's life."

"Yeah, we will eventually," I say, looking out at the crew. "I just hope Isaac will be willing to open up to us. After experiencing so many betrayals and stuff, I'm not sure he'll be entirely trusting of us."

"Well, he was with us when we dealt with Omega's problems," Tali is quick to point out. "Maybe he just needs time to get adjusted to the aliens."

I nod, looking as Jenny and Gregor look right at us. "Maybe," I say. "I'll go talk to him after we get some food."

I nod to the two crew members as they glance at us. I look over to the kitchen area, seeing Gardner hard at work as I take my seat next to Jenny.

"Oh hi guys," I say as Tali sits next to me. Sturge moves across the table to sit next to Gregor. "How are you?"

They simply look at me, a bewildered expression on their faces. Uh... Okay, this is kinda weird... Uh...

I blink, looking right at the two colonists. "Can I help you?" I ask.

Finally, Jenny shifts in her seat, looking right at me.

"A batarian on our ship? Really, mate?"

...

Oh, fuck.

"Uh... yes?"

Gregor scowls at this, looking right at Starboard Observation. "Well, that's 'ardly good news," he says. "You sure 'e ain't gonna cause any problems 'ere?"

I narrow my eyes at them. "Gregor, calm down," I say.

"Calm down?" asks Jenny. "Here we go, runnin' around the galaxy, and suddenly, we got not one, but _two _batarians sittin' in on this 'ere ship!"

"It be a real bad thing, sir," adds Gregor. "'Ow do ya know they're not gonna kidnap the 'ole lot of us later?"

"Kidnap?" I ask. "Dude, you're talking about them like they're slavers!"

"Maybe they are," says Jenny. "And ya know, I wouldn't be surprised if that old politician had some slaves of his own. If he didn't, that'll put the heart crossways in the both of us."

"They've taken our families away, mate," Gregor points out. "I can't trust 'em. If anythin' nawful 'appens at a colony, it's usually batarians. Why d'ye think I went and got meself a security system back 'ome?"

"We can't trust 'em," says Jenny. "They might take us away."

Oh, Christ. Yay, we have our colonists confusing batarians with slavers.

I frown suddenly, looking right at the two colonists. Before I can say anything, though, Sturge leans forward. "First of all, one of them was in Garrus' squad," mentions the old man. "Second of all, not all batarians are slavers."

"And from what I have seen of Dsrondo, he is actually very polite," adds Tali.

"Yeah, exactly," says Sturge, turning to the two colonists. "I know you've had tough times with batarians before, but from what I've seen, these two aren't harmful in the _least_."

Thank you, Sturge. "I know you don't like batarians," I continue. "But here's something you've gotta remember: we need to work together eventually. Once the Reapers come in to kick everybody's ass, we're not gonna have time to go on and on with racist bullshit about batarians, and we're _especially _not going to have time to give a shit about the political squabbles between two races. So you two need to bury that sentiment right now, or I'll have the both of you cleaning up the toilets down on the engineering deck for a week. Got it?"

Gregor and Jenny both look at each other. Gregor simply grumbles, his hand grasping his drink. Jenny, however, simply lets out a sigh, looking right at the door to Starboard Observation before nodding.

"Oh, all right," says the female colonist. "I'll try, but I can tell ya it's gonna be bloody murder."

Gregor simply grunts his agreement, and then I shrug. "Hey, maybe if you get to know them, you'll find they're not nearly as bad as you'd think," I say. "Just try."

Neither colonist says anything about this. Instead, I watch as Gregor then proceeds to instantly down almost the entire cup of water that he was nursing. He slams the cup down, looking at Jenny with a frightened expression. Gregor's sister only shakes her head, glancing to Tali, Sturge, and I as she lets out a sigh.

"I think we're gonna have to do what 'e says, mate," she says.

Gregor nods. "Fine," he says begrudgingly. "But ya better not expect us to just give 'em flowers an' roses when we see 'em next."

Well, that's the best I better expect from them for now. I mean, honestly? I don't blame them, what with having been the prime target of batarian slavers for so long. But I think that if they just give 'em a chance...

I nod, turning my attention to Sturge. "That works, I guess," I say. "So anyway, onto less... inflammatory topics."

At this, Jenny instantly perks up. "So I heard from Nogond the other day!"

I blink, looking right at her. "Really?" I ask. "How's he doing?"

"Oh, he be doin' fine," replies Gregor.

And so, we continue to talk about other things for a while after that.

* * *

><p>Hm... I should really visit some more people before I call it a night. I wonder... how is James adjusting to having Carhon in his living space? I'll bet there's some bitterness over the fact that James is an Alliance soldier, and Carhon... well, he's a batarian. I don't think it'll be easy, but it won't hurt to check, I guess.<p>

I nod, smiling at Tali as she walks towards the elevator. I see her eyes twinkle in return, and then we part ways for a time as I head to observation. Okay, the panel is green... So Carhon and James are probably still in there. And I haven't seen them around here, so... Hopefully, they're not fighting.

Though... if they were, wouldn't EDI have called someone in by now?

Whatever. I walk to the door panel, and place my hand against the green hologram. The door whooshes open.

"-_ou sure this man will keep to his word_?"

"Of course, Vergash. Garrus and Madison both tell me he can be trusted. I'll try to see if I can get that information soon."

"_Good. Remember, the future of Khar'shan depends on what we do, and remember that I'm trusting you with this because you haven't let us down so far. Keep fighting, soldier. We'll have freedom for everyone soon enough._"

I blink, right as I see Carhon cut a transmission. James is surprisingly sitting right next to the batarian, Kate resting on the marine's shoulders as she lets out a yawn. Carhon nods, turning right to the door to see me standing there.

I... was he...?

"Was that your resistance group?" I ask, pointing to where Carhon was speaking.

"Yes," says the batarian with a nod. "I updated them about my... change of plans." He stands up, turning towards me. "Needless to say, they weren't quite happy with me changing plans without telling them first."

James turns as well. "They were okay with the fact that they're on a human ship, though, sir," says James. "Especially with connections to the Council."

I shake my head, stepping into the room. "Those connections really aren't going to help with the fact that we're currently fugitives," I mention.

The batarian shakes his head. "At the end of this, I'll bet you anything that the Council is going to be kissing your feet for saving their stupid asses, as well as everybody else's asses," he says simply. "I'm simply looking out for the future of my people."

I nod. Okay, I better not argue with him about that. Besides, he does have a point there. "True, true," I concede. "So anyway. What kind of information do you need?"

Carhon nods, opening up his omni-tool. "There are... experiments that have been done on Khar'shan," he begins. "Thousands of people have vanished because of them, and the ones that come out... they don't seem to be themselves anymore."

James stands up. "The way they described it on the other end, it was like..." James shrugged. "He said they looked like they were waiting for something, sir."

Hm... That's definitely suspicious. "That certainly sounds like stuff you'd need to know," I say. "So you want me to see if I can pull enough strings to get some classified files about that directly out of the Hegemony?"

Carhon nods at this. "We need to understand the nature of what they're experimenting on," says the batarian. "The intel we have so far suggests that the Hegemony is constructing an army of supersoldiers, but we can't be certain until we have this data."

I nod. "I guess you just found out about this?"

Carhon nods. "Not that you'd be interested," he says, shaking his head. "That's what my friends back home say anyhow."

I nod. "EDI, make a note for me to ask the Shadow Broker about Carhon's data," I say.

The artificial intelligence appears again. "_Noted_," says the AI. "_I may note that it would be a good idea to bring this up at your earliest convenience._"

I nod. "All right," I say. "I'll figure that out."

"_Logging you out, Art_." With this, EDI cuts out, even as the batarian blinks.

He shakes his head soon after. "Are you sure that AI is a good idea?" he asks.

I shrug. "It came with the ship," I reply. "And the ship went to Shepard, so it's out of my control. But EDI's done right by us so far, so I'm not too worried." I look back to Carhon. "So... I was just coming in to check on you, see if you were settling in all right..."

Carhon nods. "I'm fine," says the batarian. He glances over at James, placing his hands behind his back as he leans on the back of the couch he was just sitting in. "I didn't think I'd be rooming with an Alliance marine."

"I didn't think I'd room with a batarian either," says James while looking at Carhon. "It's been interesting. He's barely been in here for an hour or so and already we seem to be getting along rather well. Well, if you don't mind my saying."

I shake my head, smirking. "Oh, James," I say. "Remember, you've always got permission to speak freely."

The marine nods. "Uh, I'll try to remember that," he says.

I nod, satisfied with his answer. "Anyway," I say. "So, Carhon... this resistance group of yours..." I shrug, pacing towards the batarian in question. "I never thought there'd be one on Khar'shan."

The batarian rolls his eyes, the motion somehow getting a little more strange when he's got four of them. "Typical Hegemony behavior," he says. "They bury all appearances of dissent as much as they can, even when it threatens them."

I nod. "So I take it people have finally had enough of the Hegemony?" And more specifically of its North Korea-ish tendencies?

"They are getting there, yes," says Carhon. "And people are beginning to sense it. Our politics over the last twenty-five years... We've had enough of it all. And that's what I found when I went there." He stands up. "There's so much anger there. And now, I'm doing something about it."

"So I see," I say. "And now, you're running around the galaxy, scooping up politicians and stuff."

"Only those who the Hegemony thought they should silence," replies Carhon. I can sense that he's glaring at me, but I don't really know what to make of it at the moment. "But we'll bring them back in time."

"Indeed," I say. "So... this resistance group doesn't seem so small by the looks of it. I'll bet it's picking up a lot of steam."

"We're beginning to worry the Hegemony," he says simply. "There have been arrests made in the resistance, but we're careful. Our leaders are never together, we have the best tech specialists to make sure that our lines are never cracked..."

I nod. "Sounds like it kicks ass," I say. "And now, you're back to working with aliens again."

At this, Carhon nods, his expression never once changing. "Indeed," he says. "But this works for both of us. I get my information for my resistance group, and you help us get Khar'shan back on its feet when we overthrow the oppressors. The Hegemony has shamed the batarian people long enough."

Hm... I'm beginning to think that there's a blind sense of nationalism here... But then again, given what the Hegemony is like now... Honestly, I can't really blame his gung-ho attitude about the whole thing.

"Of course," I say. "I think... Hopefully, we'll have peace on there by the time this war ends."

"I hope so too," says Carhon. He then looks to James. "For someone whose military has had so much stigma against the batarian people, he is quite good company."

I chuckle at this, crossing my arms. "Seems like the ship's already rubbing off on him," I say. "Usually, we get people to lighten up a bit on the Normandy. It happened with Ashley Williams, it'll happen with James Vega here."

"Indeed, sir," says James.

I nod, looking at the two of them. "Well... since you two seem to be settling in rather well at the moment, I think I'll leave you two to yourselves," I say. "I'll see you guys around later."

Carhon nods. "Of course."

James simply gives me a wordless salute, standing at ease soon after.

And with this, I exit the room.

* * *

><p>Okay... Mordin sure got his materials together pretty fast.<p>

I mean, two hours after debriefing, and he called us up to the armory. This is gonna get crazy. I shake my head, looking at Jacob as he helps Mordin spread the materials around. Tali and I stand off to the side, watching as Isaac lays his weapons on the table. Okay... so he's got the plasma cutter, as well as the pulse rifle. Okay, those two I recognize, though I imagine it's not gonna be that easy to get either of the ammo pieces there. I also recognize the Line Gun that he's got, and I imagine that's gonna be the hardest of them all to engineer. It's kind of weird that he has the arsenal I used, but hey.

I don't recognize the fourth gun he has, though. It's this weird little thing that apparently shoots spikes at targets. I'm not sure what use he's gonna get out of that, but I imagine we'll figure that out as we go. This is the weapon he's currently working on, fishing out the ammunition for it and placing it on the table next to the plasma cartridge, the line rack, and the pulse rounds. He nods, watching as Mordin finishes sorting things out. I glance briefly to Tidoses as she shifts some materials in front of Jacob.

I nod, looking at Isaac. "All right," I say. "So... I think we've already got an idea of what the easiest ammo to reverse engineer is," I say.

Jacob nods, looking right at the spikes. "Yeah," says the armory officer. "I think I know too."

He reaches down to pick up the cartridge, but instantly, his hand is stopped. We look there to see Isaac has grabbed Jacob's arm, his grip seeming to be pretty hard.

"I'm the only one who touches those," he says. "I won't risk you destorying what little I have."

Jacob frowns. "We will have to open them up eventually," he says.

"Then I'll open them up," replies Isaac. "But you don't touch these rounds until I show you how they work. I'm not going to have you break them when you don't even know how they work."

I raise my hands. "Can't you just fix them right up, though?" I ask.

Isaac glances to the side, shaking his head. "And where would that get us?" he asks, glaring at me. "Just... nobody touches the ammo we have here except for me."

I blink, shaking my head. "Sure, okay," I say. "Jacob, let's not."

The former Cerberus operative pulls his arm back, shaking his head. "Anyway... as we were saying I think we should have the easiest time with the spike things."

"The Javelin ammo?" asks Isaac, picking the thing up. "Yes, it is pretty simple, isn't it."

Tali leans forward, looking right at the thing. "It seems a little impractical to have large spikes for ammunition, though," she comments.

"Maybe," says Isaac. "But these spikes can pin people to the wall if they're made right."

Whoah, what? Damn if I had _that _kind of weapon to use against the explosive arm guys... Oh, where the hell did he _get _that?

Mordin looks down in surprise. "Pinning enemies to the wall?" he says. "Hm... Could be possible, given proper velocity of projectile and point of impact. Would need to take care about armor and kinetic barrier, though." He frowns, then opens up his omni-tool and types a few things in. "Would suggest making the rounds slightly larger to account for kinetic barriers."

"From the size they already are?" asks Jacob. "I don't know how a kinetic barrier would react against a spike that's already that large."

"Well, they're pretty tough rounds," says Isaac. "These... kinetic barrier things probably shouldn't be that much of a problem."

I nod, looking at the other weapons. "Maybe," I mention. "They probably won't be a problem against that plasma cutter thing you said you had."

Isaac nods, picking up the plasma cutter ammo. "Yes, this," he says. "This will probably be the hardest ammunition to manufacture if this technology is so radically different the way you say it is. Basically, this cartridge contains gasses that can create plasma."

Tidoses leans forward, but doesn't say anything. Instead, it's Mordin who comments. "Heat based weapon," says the salarian. "Will present interesting dilemma. Most problems with common weaponry assosciated with taking heat away, but intentionally adding heat..."

"It's covered already," replies Isaac. "This cartridge is essentially a battery that can hold plasma."

Tali nods, crossing her arms. "So all that's left is to find a way to heat the gas up without overloading the weapon," she says. "I think I may be able to work something out. We quarians made something similar to help power the geth in a more efficient way before the Morning War."

I nod. "That's a good point," I say, nodding. "They had to be powered somehow, I guess?"

"Yes," replies Tali. "If we can get some schematics from Legion, then maybe we can apply that here."

Tidoses leans forward. "Why not just dissect that machine?" she asks.

I frown, crossing my arms. "Because it fought with us at the Omega 4 Relay, that's why," I say. "Tidoses, we are _not _butchering up Legion for the sake of science."

The Spectre growls, but I think she understands where she's treading because she backs off almost immediately. I nod, shaking my head and looking back at Tali. "So... you've got it covered?" I ask.

"I'll go talk to Legion after this, see if I can get a schematic," she says. "I'm not going to try to dismantle Legion, don't worry."

I nod, looking back to Isaac. I blink suddenly, noticing that his expression is summarily confused. Before I can ask what the issue is, however, he blinks, shaking his head.

"Why do you have a problem with artificial intelligence?" he asks.

At this, most everyone else at the table flinches for the briefest amount of time. After a bit, though, Tidoses leans forward. "What the hell do you mean 'problem with artificial intelligence'?" she asks. "You haven't seen the kinds of things AIs can do when they're created!"

Isaac shakes his head. "I don't get why they'd be so dangerous," he says. "It's only an intelligence."

"_Only_ intelligence?" asks Tidoses, leaning forward. "The quarians created artificial machines, and they got a rebellion and the loss of their home planet when they achieved sentience! I've seen AIs also cause major damage to everything when they become self-aware! You mean you haven't heard what happens when an AI gains awareness?"

Isaac frowns, placing the plasma cutter cartridge down on the table as he glares at Tidoses. "AIs can't gain awareness," he says. "At least, the ones I've worked with haven't actually gained-"

"You mean you've worked on an AI?" asks Tidoses, her jaw dropping. "That's illegal!"

Isaac looks taken aback by this declaration. "Since when?" he asks. "All I heard about when I got my degree was how many advances we were making in arti..." He pauses, shaking his head. "Never mind."

"No, never mind nothing," replies Tidoses. "I-"

Oh, Christ. "Tidoses, enough," I say. "I understand where you're coming from, but honestly, I don't think there's a reason for you to be so hostile." I raise a finger at the turian quickly. "Especially considering that we have both an AI and a geth platform on this ship." Well, that, and Isaac is still going through culture shock at the moment, but I think mentioning that would only make things worse right about now.

"I don't get how-"

"He could look at AI as a good thing?" I ask. "Look, just because he doesn't look at AI the same way as you do doesn't mean he's necessarily wrong."

Tidoses glares at me. "You've been hanging around that robot and this ship too long," she says.

"Well, if neither of them have killed us yet, then clearly, we're not as wrong as you might suggest, right?" I ask, gesturing at the turian. "Look, I know you're suspicious of AIs, but right now we can't worry about that. We've got a sentient race of giant machine ships on the verge of killing all organic life in the galaxy, and we don't have time to get into spats with other species just because we don't like them. At the end of the day, we're gonna have to work together, because this isn't a threat that any one race can just defeat with the snap of a finger. Sooner or later, you're going to have to work with an artificial intelligence, because they may be able to help you. Trust us, Tidoses: Legion and EDI haven't done wrong by us."

She growls, but soon after, I see her step back from the table. "Have it your way," she says.

I shake my head, looking back at Isaac. "Anyway..." I cross my arms. "To get back to the topic... I imagine that this plasma cartridge is not that hard to make?"

"Maybe not," says the engineer. "Let me walk you through how this cartridge heats things up, maybe that'll give you some ideas."

And so, he lays the cartridge on the table and begins dissecting it for the benefit of Mordin, Jacob, and Tali.

* * *

><p>"Well, I think Isaac still has some adjusting to do."<p>

I nod, walking next to Tali as we head off to catch some Z's for the night. "You're telling me," I say. "He's just going through culture shock at the moment. I think it's best we give him some space to get used to everything."

Tali nods as we step away from the elevator. Well, planning how we were going to reverse engineer some of this stuff certainly helped us all. I think Isaac got a little more at ease as time went on. I think just talking about that stuff helped a lot, and I think it got easier once Tidoses kept her mouth shut. She brings up good points, but...

I shrug as Tali opens the door panel to our quarters. "I still don't get why he views AIs as a good thing, though," she says.

"Well, it might have something to do with the fact that where he comes from, the AI of the Ishimura was literally one of two things that wasn't actively trying to kill him," I mention. "And I don't think it acquired sentience the way the geth did, so there's that, too..."

Tali nods. "He seemed a little twitchy today," she comments as she sits on the bed. "Is he always like that?"

I glance to the side, biting my lower lip. "Well, from what I remember, Isaac... I think he had hallucinations of his dead girlfriend Nicole."

Tali blinks, looking at me as I sit next to her. "Really?" she asks.

"Yes," I say. "It's a complicated story, but let's just say that his mind was being influenced by something. This is a really bad oversimplification, but it's kind of like indoctrination, except that you can actually still resist it if you've got good enough willpower."

The quarian shifts slightly. "Really?" she asks. "It sounds dangerous."

"Oh, it was," I reply. "Trust me, it was, especially when it's not in its proper place."

Tali nods at this information, before leaning towards me. "What was it called?" she asks.

"It was called a Marker, I think," I say. "The Marker was commanding Isaac to put it back in its place, actually... Though I guess it doesn't help that his government was also looking into it for weapon development purposes." I shake my head. "It's a complicated story, and now he's gonna have to get used to a lot of things that never existed before."

"Indeed," says Tali, looking at me. "Is there anything else...?"

I blink, glancing to the side for a brief second. Should I...? No... I don't know. I only have scant evidence at best. Maybe it was nothing. I don't know. Whatever it is, I'm not sure it's worth bringing it up now...

But there _is _another thing that's bugged me just a little bit.

"Not that's coming to mind," I reply with a shrug. I look at the quarian, placing my hand on hers. "If there's another thing not related to that, though... I worry about Rael, though..."

"So do I," says Tali. "He hasn't appeared around the Normandy much as of late, and our conversations are a little shorter..."

I frown. "Yeah, he hasn't really been around that much," I say. "I need to find him the next time he's around."

Tali shakes her head. "That's the problem," says the quarian. "EDI has said that he spends much of his time in the tech lab with either Mordin or Jarel. And whenever I've attempted to go there, Jarel usually stops me from entering."

I blink. "Really?" I ask, looking at her. "That... doesn't bode well. You think he's doing experiments with them?"

"I think so," she replies. "It can't be nothing: he wouldn't be spending this much time there for no reason..."

I shake my head. "Then we need to confront him about it at the next available opportunity," I mention. I sit closer to her. "For now, though... We've got the key that'll help us cure the genophage, and I think we should rest up if we're going to successfully get her out of there."

"Indeed," she says, nodding as I stand and pull off my shirt. "Art... After the reconstruction of the Normandy... I had brought some of the herbal supplements and the immuno-boosters here..."

I blink, looking right at the quarian as soon as I hear this. "Really?" I ask.

"Well... Just in case you... ah... wanted to know," she says, leaning back nervously.

I raise my eyebrows, sitting back down on the bed. "Tali, uh..." Oh, dear, how do I say it...? "Are you...? Is that your way...? Uh...?" I then chuckle nervously, even as Tali holds a hand up to her chest.

"Well, I was thinking that we haven't really seen each other without this mask on," she says. "And I was thinking that even if I only took my mask off..." She glances down to the floor.

Ah... I nod. "Well," I say. "If you feel comfortable taking some now, then I'm perfectly fine with it."

Tali nods, even as I take her hand in mine and squeeze it. She nods, and then I see her rise and go to one of the drawers of the desk. When she comes back, I see an immunobooster in her hand that she's applying to the little thing that allows her to inject stuff directly into her bloodstream...

...

That thing. Of course... Dang it, I need to share a dream with her one of these days. I wonder how she'd take it, or what would be in her dream... That would be interesting to see... Maybe she dreams of one day stepping foot on Rannoch, though I'm not sure how easy that'll be given that she hasn't really seen it before... Or maybe she'll be in a field of geth of some sort, killing them all and watching as they wreak havoc on her people... Or maybe of the Fleet. That's also possible. I wonder if her mother ever appears in her dreams, because they seemed pretty close from the way Rael and Tali both talk about her... That would be very interesting to see...

Just gotta watch out for my projection...

I'm jolted out of my thoughts by a hiss. I blink, watching as Tali removes her face mask. She sets it on the nearby night stand, looking at me with a nervous smile on her face.

"Tali, don't you have to wait a minute or so for those things to take hold?" I ask.

She shakes her head. "The booster will be seen throughout my blood stream soon," she says. "I guess I'm just glad I'm here now."

I smile, leaning closer. "Indeed." With this, I plant a soft, gentle kiss against the quarian's lips, closing my eyes as she pulls me in for that. I pull back, glancing at the quarian. "How bad do you think the sickness is going to get?"

"I should be fine on Sur'Kesh," she replies. "You know my reaction from the last time we got intimate..."

I shrug. "Well, full-body exposures aren't quite like face-only exposures," I mention. "Yeah... I guess we'll figure it out when the time comes?"

"I think so," says Tali, as she sidles closer to me. "But until then..."

I smile, edging closer to her. "Come 'ere, you..."

And with this, I pull Tali onto my lap. She giggles slightly, even as she turns her head. I place my lips on her cheek, closing my eyes and letting them linger there for a while yet as she shifts, so that after a few seconds I can feel her lips press against mine.

* * *

><p><em>Well, that was certainly interesting. We didn't really get down and dirty, but... it was nice to be able to kiss Tali again. Now... we just have to hope it won't get too bad later, and...<em>

_I look around the hallway. Well... this is how it usually is, I guess. I find the key in the drawer, I walk down the hall, and open the door at the end. Just like old times._

_I thus walk to the drawer and open it. Okay, there's the key, so..._

_..._

_Hey, what's that extra note doing there?_

_I pick up a small folded piece of paper that's next to where the key normally is. This is new... I wonder... did Orange manipulate my dream? I mean... she was at the base of my subconscious this whole time, so..._

_Hm. Maybe it's some kind of message._

_I unfold the piece of folded paper, blinking when I read the contents of it._

_"Keeper,_

_There is much we must discuss about that object you found at the Collector Base. Come to the Fade: I will tell you more there._

_-Orange."_

_Hm... Looks like Orange needs me for something. Well... I better not keep her waiting, because it's probably really important._

_I nod, walking over to the end of the hallway soon after I read it. I leave the note crumpled close to where I entered the dream._

* * *

><p>"So you come yet again."<p>

I blink as soon as I wake up in the Fade. There by the usual waiting spot is Kratos, standing there regarding me with a blank expression.

I nod, following him as he guides me to where Orange is. "Yeah, I'm here again," I say. "Orange tells me I need to see her."

"She said as much earlier," Kratos replies as he begins walking. I fall into step behind him.

I look at Kratos, but he remains quiet as he walks along. I just follow along, not saying anything myself. I honestly don't really have that much to say, so... I think I'll just keep my mouth shut. Best not to piss off the angry Greek guy who's killed the entire Greek pantheon by this point, I think. I walk behind Kratos, and then the two of us wordlessly arrive at the hub area.

There, I see Orange speaking with Loghain about something. They speak in hushed tones, and I notice the Fereldan chuckle at something she says. As soon as he notices me, however, Loghain indicates my presence, and out of the corner of my eye I see Saren and Benezia turn their attention to me.

"Ah, Keeper..." Orange turns to face me, giving a gracious bow as I walk up to her. "We have much to discuss."

"I figured," I say, crossing my arms. "What's up?"

"Come with me," she said. "This is a discussion best had elsewhere."

I nod, and then the Prothean walks away. I follow her as she moves along, walking close to her. Okay... this is odd. She's just coming up to me and saying we have stuff to do. So if she's doing it without letting us talk to anybody else... Yeah, crazy times are had for everyone.

Eventually, we come to an empty place. Orange stops here, and then turns to face me right when she does this. She nods, looking around at the vast plain of blankness around us. I frown, looking at the Prothean.

"Orange?" I ask.

"The object you found on the Collector base," she said. "I notice it is no longer in your possession."

I nod. "Yeah," I say. "I gave it to Liara."

"Dr. T'Soni?" Orange asks. "It is a rather risky move, giving such sensitive things to the Shadow Broker."

I cross my arms. "Liara's been helping us since the beginning, just about," I comment. "And besides, she was the only Prothean specialist around who was in on what I really am."

Orange nods. "A fair point," she says. "I wished to speak to you about that, actually. I... do not know what is to be found on the other side."

Huh? "But... you're the one who can navigate the field," I comment. "So why can't you just tell us what's there?"

"I cannot seem to find a vision that pertains to it," says Orange. "The visions in this field can be fickle things."

"Sort of like a box of chocolates," I comment, rubbing my chin.

"A box of... chocolates?" Orange looks at me with a rather confused expression.

I blink. "Life is like a box of chocolates," I say. "You never know what you're gonna get." I lean forward, but the prothean still gives me a confused look. Okay... uh... Oh, c'mon, they don't have things with that? "What? You've never heard that quote?"

"Tis a quote, keeper?" Orange asks.

...

I wave my hand dismissively. "Never mind," I say. "Not important. Anyway..."

Orange blinks. "Anyway, I have not been able to seek out a relevant vision," says Orange. "I wish I had better news, but there may be hope yet." She looks up at the strange beige sky that makes up the Fade. "You have found another not of this universe."

"Yeah, we kinda did," I comment. "I didn't think it'd be Isaac Clarke of all people, but there you have it." I shrug. "You think that he'll be a problem?"

"No," says Orange. "He simply needs time to adjust. That is all." She looks up. "And the chosens from the other universes have appeared."

I frown. "Wait, what's that?" I ask.

Orange nods. "Perhaps, there was a detail I neglected to mention," she said. "One of the chosens in the visions... one of them specifically said that one of the chosens would hail from this galaxy."

"Wait, seriously?" I ask. I sigh. "Good. For a second, I thought I was going to have to call you a liar for saying that the whole 'Black City' bit is a rare occurrence."

"It is unusual, I must admit," says Orange. "But then, our look at the Black City was rudimentary at best. We have no true account of how we know anything about it, nor on how we know its function. Most of our work is through conjecture, chiefly." She turns to me. "Anything is possible in this realm."

I nod. "Yep, sounds like it," I say. "So this chosen one is from here..." I frown, looking directly at the oracle. "It's not Shepard, is it?"

"It may very well be," says Orange. "I believe, Keeper, that such information is best discovered on your own."

I raise my eyebrows, sighing. "Fair enough," I comment. "So... that all you wanted to talk about?"

"Perhaps," says Orange. "But there are other topics of conversation that cover my mind now. I wish you to indulge in conversation with me."

I nod, leaning against one of the Fade's twisted roots. "Sure," I comment. "What'd you want to talk about?"

* * *

><p>When I wake up that morning, I blink, looking up at the ceiling. I shift slightly, seeing Tali resting beside me. She's got a serene expression on her face, which isn't covered by that mask of hers.<p>

Wait... Oh, wait, that's right, she took the immune system boosters before.

I glance to the ceiling guiltily as I think of this. This is one of the few times we've been able to get intimate. It's probably more than most quarian-human couples get, but... I'm just lucky I don't have an allergic reaction to dextro-amino acid stuff. And I guess we're _really _damn lucky she isn't allergic to levo-amino stuff either, because that would just _suck_. I mean, dealing with an allergy to levo-amino acids _and _a bad immune system?

I breathe out, shaking my head. No, it's not that important. The trust issue is the most important thing in this relationship, really... But it still sucks that we can't really be that intimate.

Still, I'll take it at her pace. Because really, if she wants it... then I think that takes precedence over what I want, right?

I lean closer, my arm draping over Tali's as she shifts slightly. I smile, leaning closer. Well... whatever it is that I have to do to make her happy, I'll do it, even if it kills me first.

For now, though... I have the krogan princess to worry about... I hope things go down well with her. It's going to be a really hard mission, given that it's taking place in Citadel Space... Well, we'll do what we can with that. Mordin and Jarel work their magic, we get her out of there, and hopefully we can get her to Tuchanka before long. And if we have to go around the Terminus systems first, then so be it.

For now... we'll just have to hope for the best.


	10. Chapter 9

_A/N: Awrighty then__! So next up with Art and the gang, we get going with heading to Sur'Kesh to get that krogan princess back. Expect lots of crazy things to go down when the krogan princess gets in on the action. How crazy will it get?_

_Well..._

_You won't find out this chapter. Ha!_

_Seriously, though, this chapter of MV3 will do things a little differently. This will be what is known as the B Story of Mass Vexations 3, where we see what's going on with the galaxy outside of Art's experience. It will get particularly crazy there, but you'll see this every time we hit the conclusion of one of MV3's major arcs._

_So... what's the basic gist of this?_

_Well... I'll just say this:_

_Don't you think it's about time we checked in on Shepard here?_

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: B Story: Defensive Maneuvers<p>

I lean back at my desk, examining the multiple datapads in front of me. All office work... I'm going to need to get this sorted soon. Especially now that cases have been coming in slowly, I think I should have some time. Literally the only employee I have right now is a secretary, so...

Hard times have fallen on me indeed.

I shake my head, moving to pick up the first datapad that's on my desk. I glance at the information briefly as I stand up from my desk... Yes, this case. This one ended in disaster... I shouldn't have been so reckless. I underestimated the prosecution's case, I really did... Perhaps if I had been more careful, it would not have resulted in the prosecution of my defendant... Well, I learn, I guess...

I shake my head, opening a file and placing the datapad in its proper place. I also let out a soft sigh.

As soon as I walk back to my desk, I hear a ringing at my terminal, and then blink as I look at the terminal. I then look up, and... yes, there she is. My secretary Lalia stands at the door, leaning against it. She's asari, of course, and quite reserved for someone who's supposed to be in her maiden stage. I've seen people like her get into crazier situations, but she's helpful and dependable, so...

"It's for you, Will."

I nod, sitting back down and taking some datapads off of my desk. "Thank you, Lalia," I say.

Lalia leaves me there, and then I turn to the terminal. All right, let's see...

I accept the call, and then sit back. "Moskas and Lutherax, attorneys at law," I say. "How may I help you?"

"_Is this Mr. William Moskas?_"

The voice at the other end of the line is serene. And it's a woman, so... Hm...

"Yes, this is he," I reply, looking around my office again. "Do you need something, ma'am?"

I lean forward as the other voice responds. "_Yes, we find ourselves in need of your services_," says the woman on the other end of the line. "_So you know, this will put you on the federal paycheck_."

"Really?" I ask, getting out a blank datapad and beginning to type some things on it. "I assume the client can't afford an attorney?"

"_No, but our family doesn't have an attorney at the moment_," says the voice on the other line. "_The nature of this case is very... strange, if you will. The prosecution has kept on holding off the trial for some reason, but..._"

"Well, if the prosecution keeps on holding off the trial, then it's best to get a lawyer as soon as possible," I comment. "Even if they tell you not to, do it anyway, because it gives the client and the attorney time to formulate a defense."

"_That's what some of my friends told me to do,_" replies the woman at the other end. "_It is actually a very important case_."

"What's the nature of the charge?" I ask.

"_Treason._"

I blink, stopping my typing momentarily. I... "I'm sorry, did you say 'treason'?" I ask.

"_Yes, Mr. Moskas_," replies the woman on the other end of the line.

... Well...

"Then this just got interesting," I say. "I've never taken on a treason case before. Who's the client?"

"_Jocelyn Shepard_."

... Wait, what?

I pause typing again, looking right at the terminal. "Wait," I say. "You don't mean... _the _Jocelyn Shepard, the hero of the Citadel?"

"_I... I do..._" says the other woman.

I shake my head. "Jesus," I say softly. I type more rapidly now. "I've been keeping up with that development ever since Shepard got arrested by C-Sec. I didn't know that she hadn't even gotten an attorney yet!"

"_We've been waiting for word from the Council_," says the woman. "_They've been delaying the trial on the premise that they want the entire crew present when they try Shepard for treasons_."

"I was wondering about that," I mention. "So you decided to get an attorney on the case. I must say, I've never defended anyone against treason before, miss..."

"_Captain Hannah Shepard_," she replies. "_I'm Jocelyn's mother... and I know that my daughter didn't betray the Council._"

"I don't think so either," I say. "I mean, it's Commander Shepard we're talking about here, I think you and I both know that she wouldn't do something unless she had a good reason to."

I can hear a grateful sigh. "_That's good to hear from someone else_," says Hannah. "_All I've been hearing from the Alliance is how she betrayed their ideals and the Council. I need someone who can prove them wrong._"

I blink, looking to my other case files. Well... I'm not sure what happens for a treason charge. I mean, how many lawyers get to defend someone from treason? And yet... this is Commander Shepard here. I don't think she did anything really all that wrong. And to get to defend her in court... Whether or not I lose, that's the opportunity of a lifetime. And I'm sure I'll be able to prove her innocense some way or another.

"Very well," I say. "I'll take the case."

"_I... Truly_?" she asks. "_I didn't think you'd take the case._"

"This is Commander Shepard we're talking about here," I reply. "It would be an honor to defend someone who saved the galaxy." I frown. "Just, one question: why didn't you get any military defense lawyers for your case?"

"_None of them wanted to defend Shepard_," she replies.

What? That... "They didn't want to defend one of their own?" I ask, leaning forward slightly. "How could people be so cold to one of their own?"

"_I don't know_," says Hannah. I can imagine that she is shaking her head right now. "_I think there's been some stigma against her for 'abandoning the Alliance and becoming a Cerberus dog'. You were the last resort._"

"I guess my history as a former military lawyer plays into it, I guess," I say. "I left the profession a while ago, Captain. Is it so hard to ask courts to show some respect for people who aren't afraid to give their lives for the safety of everyone else?"

"_Perhaps it did,_" replies the Captain. "_I only want a defense for my daughter. The Shepard clan is full of fighters, and I won't let my daughter be executed without the assurance that she fought to prove her innocence to the end_."

I nod at this. Well, she is qutie dedicated to her daughter, so... "We'll see what happens with that, ma'am," I say. "I'd like to meet with your daughter whenever possible. Can I just pop in?"

"_You'll have to make an appointment first_," she says. "_C-Sec can be pretty stringent about that..._"

I frown. C-Sec, huh? Something seems off about all this... I'm not sure exactly what it is, but... This is not a usual case. I'll have to bring this up with Nad later today, see what he makes of this...

"This is a very odd case, Captain," I admit. "I'd expect your daughter to be in an Alliance brig or something..."

"_Technically, she's under Council jurisdiction,_" she replies, as if she's anticipated that question. "_So they're holding her on the Citadel until further notice. So far, though, she's shown no attempts to resist._"

I blink, nodding soon after. "So she's cooperating with authorities," I say. "Well, apart from when she was first captured, anyway..."

"_My daughter isn't stupid_," replies Hannah. "_But I trust you can visit her, formulate a strategy together..._"

"Indeed," I reply. "Well... I'll take this case. I'll discuss pricing and further consultations after I have met with your daughter."

"_Excellent_," replies Hannah Shepard. "_I can't thank you enough_."

I nod. "The pleasure's all mine, Captain Shepard," I reply. "I'll do my best to help your daughter."

And with this, I end the call. Hm... Well, if we're going to build a case now... I nod, stepping out of my office.

"Lalia," I say. The asari turns to me, pausing in her movements as she looks. "Cancel my appointments for the rest of the day, and see if you can get me an appointment with my latest client."

"Yes, sir," she replies, her attention back on the terminal as she typed away on the holographic interface. "So... Commander Shepard?"

"You better believe it, Lalia," I reply.

"Nad will probably be pretty awestruck to hear it," she says. "I think he might not be entirely too happy at the fact that you may have bitten off more than you can chew here."

"He'll be fine," I reply, crossing my arms. "I'll admit, I never thought I'd be asked to defend Commander Shepard."

"Well, there we have it," Lalia replies. "Just so you know, sir, I'm behind you the entire way. You ask me to jump, I'll ask you 'how high', as the saying goes."

I smile. "That's appreciated Lalia," I say. "I'll be in my office, getting ready. Let me know when the appointment is scheduled."

Lalia simply nods, giving me a soft smile that I've come to know quite well over the years.

"Will do, Will."

* * *

><p>About three hours later, I step out of the rapid transportation vehicle and am greeted by a small contingent of C-Sec officers. I blink, looking at a seemingly grizzled old human as he nods. He looks rather old, but he's in a C-Sec uniform, which means that he's probably in charge of one of the Wards. I don't know if he's in charge of Shepard, but from the look of this prison, I doubt it. I glance at the prison again, noticing how odd it feels situated in the Kithoi ward like this... Well, I might as well get used to it.<p>

My attention is turned back to the man in front of me. "Mr. Moskas?" he asks.

"That would be me, sir," I say, extending my hand. "Please, call me Will."

The C-Sec returns the gesture, and we shake hands as he nods. "Captain Bailey," he replies. "I'm in charge of the Zakera Ward."

"A pleasure, Captain," I reply. "Are you in charge of Shepard?"

At this, he shakes his head, the two of us walking towards the prison. "No," Bailey replies. "But I am here in relation to her. She's got a visitor right now, and I'm technically supposed to be in charge of him."

I raise my eyebrows. "A visitor?" I ask. "Is it Kaidan Alenko?"

"No," says Bailey pointedly. "That man is _way _too busy with some kind of Alliance business right now." He holds his hands behind his back. "No, this is the son of someone who's still on the Normandy at the moment."

"Oh?" I say. "I see..." I then raise my hand as I walk along. "I wonder whose son it is..."

"Kid's got very few people right now," says Bailey. "His father's trying to do right by him, though I imagine that with an arrest warrant on his head that'll complicate things quite a bit. So in the meantime, she's the only form of support the kid has."

Wait... "So Shepard was seeing this boy's father," I finish.

"I think so," replies Bailey. "The kid asked me about what would happen if he thought his father was trying to replace his mother." He shakes his head. "Questions like that tend to leave very little room to interpret things."

"I'll say," I reply. "The Council seems to be getting very involved in this case."

Bailey shakes his head. "This is a big deal for them," he says. "Shepard saved their lives. I don't think the asari and salarian councillors have forgotten that, but the turian one seems to forget that fact a lot..."

"We'll think about the Council when we get there," I comment as we come up to security. "Uh... will I have to make appointments through such complicated channels in the future? It took my secretary a pretty long time to schedule this appointment."

"Usually, they get better about it if you schedule things in advance," says Bailey as he and I walk up to the security checkpoint. "Since you scheduled so unexpectedly, they were probably just caught off guard. Happens all the time."

"So I see," I say. "Security is probably more thorough here, so..."

"You won't have to worry about that, Mr. Moskas," replies Bailey. "Just cooperate, and you should be all right."

I nod, pulling out a spare datapad and waving it to the guards in charge of the prison as they direct me to a screening area. "I'll keep that in mind."

And with this, I'm ushered through security rather quickly.

* * *

><p>After a while, we're moved through the prison. It's funny... I've been to many prisons on this station, but never a prison like this... The security checkpoint was absolutely rigorous, really. I'm surprised Bailey got through, but then, I guess I shouldn't be surprised seeing as how he's a C-Sec captain and all. I felt a little claustrophobic at the checkpoint to be honest.<p>

Well, I'm in no position to complain, I guess. After all, they do what they must, since from what I hear, this place has some very dangerous criminals. And it shows, too, because I'm escorted to my cell by a group of about four C-Sec guards, though I guess it helps that Bailey is with us.

I turn to the captain again, looking at him nervously. "Do you come here often?" I ask.

"Not until recently," replies the captain. "The kid is trying to make sense of his relationship with Shepard."

"I can't say I blame him," I add. "He must be going through a lot, seeing his father be one of the most wanted men in Citadel space, and having someone he's afraid might replace his mother at the same time."

"Probably," says Bailey. "I give him some distance. Best thing to do at a time like this." He shrugs, even as the guards turn down a hallway. "I should probably get him out of there so you can talk to Shepard."

I nod. "That would be appreciated," I say. "Just... be careful with how you word it..."

"He's old enough that he can handle it," he replies, even as the guards train their eyes on one particular cell. "We're almost there, we'll worry about that then."

And with this, we walk right up to the cell. When we do, I see Shepard sitting against the cot, her back leaning against the wall as she silently looks at the other occupant. The other occupant... is a teal-colored drell who's standing at the other end of the cell. He has a very slight scowl on his face, but it is not terribly prominent, even as I see him wringing his hands together. From the looks of things, there has been an awkward silence between the two of them for some time.

...

So Commander Shepard is seeing a drell...

Huh. Nad would be quite pleased to see that, I think.

I hear one of the guards step forward. It's one of the turian guards, who hits his assault rifle against the floor. "Hey, kid, you need to get out of there," he says. "Shepard's attorney is here."

The drell frowns, looking at the guards, Bailey, and I, and then to Shepard. "You had hired an attorney already?" he asked.

Shepard shakes her head, standing up. "It must be my mother," she says. I... I can't believe it, I've heard Commander Shepard speak... "Kolyat... be careful out there."

He then turns to look outside of the cell, and notices Bailey. He gruffly nods as one of the guards takes a look at the mass effect field keeping Shepard and Kolyat caged inside the rather small cell. The guard nods, manipulating a control with his omni-tool that then causes the field to dissipate. Shepard sits there listlessly, even as Kolyat walks out.

"Yeah," he replies. "I'll be careful."

With this, I nod to Captain Bailey. "She's all yours, Mr. Moskas," he says.

I nod, smiling. "Thank you, Captain," I say, stepping within the cell. I turn to the guards as soon as I'm within the cell, holding my blank datapad as I gesture to them. "So I know, how long do I have to work something out with my client?"

"Half an hour," replies one of the guards.

I nod. "Thank you," I say.

With this, the mass effect field forms again, trapping myself and Shepard in the cell. I nod, as the guards walk away with the kid and Bailey walking with the guards soon after. All right... down to business.

I look to Shepard soon after, and it's then when I notice the confused look she's giving me. "You don't look like any military lawyer I know," she says.

I shake my head. "Well, I'm not exactly your average military lawyer," I reply. "I'm an ex-military lawyer, actually."

The Commander blinks at this. "Ex-military?" she asked.

"I retired after a bit," I reply. "It was getting a bit tiring on me. So I was discharged. Honorably, thankfully." I shift slightly. "Since then, I started a practice on the Citadel. I never thought I'd get into doing military law again, but apparently nobody else who's had that kind of experience wants in to defend you, so..."

Shepard scoffs at this, leaning back with an even more bitter expression on her face. "I'm not that surprised by this point," she admits. "I've had basically everyone important betray me... The Council, Anderson, the Alliance, Kaidan Alenko..." She shakes her head. "It's good to know that my mom at least hasn't turned her back on me yet, and managed to find someone who has experience with this kind of thing to boot." She shakes her head. "I find it a little hard to believe that _nobody_ in the Alliance's employ wanted to defend me. I guess they abandoned me too, like all the others..."

I nod grimly. "You really don't deserve it," I say. "I mean... Christ, you saved the galaxy once! You'd think that there would be less of a backlash against you when something like this happens. I mean... I don't know if you want to hear it, but I don't think you'd have done something without a damn good reason to."

Shepard chuckles bitterly. "Well, it's nice to see my attorney isn't out for my blood too," she says.

I nod, smiling. "It's an honor to get the chance to defend you, Commander," I say. "I can't wait to go to court with something."

"Yeah, neither can I," says Shepard. I sense from her tone that there's something... sarcastic about how she's putting it.

I simply shrug, pulling my blank datapad to attention as I walk into the cell. "Do you mind if I sit?"

"No," she replies.

"Very well then," I say, taking my seat at the opposite end of the cot from her. "Now... We need to think up a legal strategy, and one that's going to work against the Council."

"So no mentioning the 'Reapers' then," she says bitterly.

Reapers? "I... don't even know what those are," I say. "Technically, this is about your supposed connections with Cerberus that were leaked to the mass media. So... let's dispell illusions right now. Did you work with Cerberus?"

Shepard smiles. "Yes," she says.

I blink, frowning. "Really?" I ask. "You worked with Cerberus."

The commander simply points at me. "'With', being the key word," she says. "I was not working 'for' Cerberus, as everybody else seems to think."

Wait... 'with', versus 'for'... 'For' implies that she had been made an underling of Cerberus, and that she was answering to somebody. 'With' implies that she was forming an alliance...

"That doesn't help that much," I admit. "That distinction isn't one that many people will be able to distinguish for what it is. I can see the difference of the wording, but..." Hm, if we go with this question, then we probably won't get far... Hm...

"Let me rephrase my question," I say, shifting in my seat. "What was the nature of your relationship with Cerberus?"

Shepard nods. "They provided me with funds, a crew, and a ship with which to stop the Collectors from abducting human colonies," she said. "I didn't like it, but I went with it because they were giving me the resources I needed. I spoke directly to the Illusive Man throughout the mission, and he made it clear when we started our little partnership that if I wasn't happy with the way the mission was going, I could leave his employ at any time."

I nod, typing this all down on the blank datapad. "That definitely doesn't sound like your average terrorist mission," I say. "Isn't the safety of the colonies the Alliance's responsibility?"

"But they weren't doing anything," replies Shepard. "Which means that Cerberus took matters into their own hands to look out for humanity."

Ah, there we go! I snap my fingers, pointing at Shepard while grinning. "Then _there_'s our defense," I mention. "Yes, you worked with Cerberus, but you were doing so because they were providing the resources to help save the colonies, an action which should have been the responsibility of the Alliance and the Council. Therefore, your actions were still within your responsibilities as a Spectre. Admittedly not the best defense since it doesn't completely cover two years, but it's workable," I say. "Now... we've gotten that much out of the way. The next bit... that involves Tela Vasir, no?"

"Tela Vasir betrayed the Council herself," she says. "When I killed her, she was taking a job for the Shadow Broker."

I snort. "Well, that solves that," I say. "We just need to prove both of those things, and we should have a good defense." I type some more things on the datapad. "Though, it'll also help if we can get any witnesses not affected by the arrest warrant. Are there any that might come to the top of your head?"

"There might," says Shepard. "One of the dossiers sent to me was of a Justicar by the name of Samara. She swore an oath to help me in her mission, and when she broke it, I don't think she had a reason to go after me. She left the Normandy before Tela Vasir died, so she shouldn't be affected by the arrest warrant."

... Whoah, what?

"A justicar?" I ask, blinking. "Shepard, that..." I shake my head, frantically typing that information down. "That's going to help a _lot_, provided that she is able to come to the Citadel. It might be enough to win over any asari that preside over the case, and it'll definitely help against the asari councillor."

Shepard frowns. "And how do you know that?" she asks.

"My secretary and friend is an asari," I reply. "She talks about Thessia quite often, and even some tales of Justicar bravery. Anyway, not the point." I then look back to her. "So we have a strong witness, and hopefully one that can deflect the prosecution's questions. Now... we need evidence. From what I've noticed in the media coverage, the media is blaming the disappearances on the colonies on Cerberus. But if your mission is what you say it is, you'll have to prove that Cerberus was actually helping. Do you have any evidence of that?"

Shepard nods. "The colonists from Horizon that were on the Normandy can testify that it was the Collectors," she says.

"You mean the colonists that are still on the Citadel?" I ask. "I see... If we can bring them to the witness stand..." I nod, writing that down. "We'll also need some evidence to prove their assertions, though."

Shepard nods. "You know Freedom's Progress?" she asks. Freedom's Progress... Yes, that was one of the affected colonies. I nod at this, which Shepard takes as a tacit cue to continue. "That was the first colony Cerberus sent me to. Everyone had already been abducted by that point, but we managed to find a quarian on Pilgrimage who had evaded it all. He had recorded some surveillance footage on it..." She frowns. "I don't know where it is, but if we could find it..."

"...then that would be good evidence," I reply, typing that down. "I don't know if getting a quarian to testify on your behalf would be a good idea, though. The Migrant Fleet might not like the idea of releasing someone who went through that to testify."

Shepard shakes her head. "The poor kid went through a lot," she says. "He's still traumatized by it, I bet. Besides, I don't think there's anything he could say that the footage he got doesn't, so..."

"So it would be redundant anyway," I say. "That works. That doesn't explain the two year gap, though..."

"I was clinically dead during that two-year gap," says Shepard. "Cerberus spent those two years reviving me..."

I frown. I blink, then write that down. "And you've told them that," I say.

"They don't believe me," she says.

I shake my head. "Honestly, who would?" I ask. "I don't mean to be abrasive, Commander, but using that to justify your two-year gap is probably pushing our luck. We have a reasonably solid defense by this point, that's the one hole that the prosecutors would be all over if we can't prove it. And it might be the downfall of our whole defense if we can't explain to the jury and the judge why you were gone for two years without contacting anyone you knew." I shift slightly. "Do you have any information about how they revived you?"

"They called it the Lazarus Project," replies Shepard. "They also fitted me with a lot of cybernetics."

I blink. "Cybernetics?" I ask. "Cybernetics... would they theoretically show up on a bio-scan?"

"I don't know," says Shepard. "I wasn't around my XO long enough to find out."

I nod. "Then I guess now we'll have to find out for certain," I say. "But that won't be enough... We need to find evidence that this Lazarus Project ever existed. And I doubt we're going to get that evidence..." I shake my head. "The bio-scan will have to do for now. It's a very weak justification, though, and I imagine they'll think that some of the cybernetics might be control chips."

Shepard shakes her head. "Well, there go the prospects of getting me acquitted," she states plainly. "And that's not even bringing up the geth..."

"Geth?" I ask. "What have the geth got to do with it?"

"They're also accusing me of gathering a geth army," she says. "Technically, it is true as I had a geth on my ship at the time that the arrest warrant was issued, but..."

I frown. "But?" I ask. "You mean there's something about this geth that the Council doesn't realize?"

"It's... a long story," replied Shepard. "One I'm not sure I can tell here. But basically, the geth have had... something of a split occur. And the faction that wasn't behind the attack on the Citadel is allying with my crew as we speak."

"Commander, I think there's a certain limit to how much you can get away with telling without being able to prove it," I say. "I mean... geth being good? I don't believe it, and I'm sure the defense won't believe it. So... I don't know, we're going to have to wing that one. I have no idea how, though..."

"So we don't have a good defense, then," Shepard replies.

I shake my head. "Not quite, Commander," I say, leaning forward. "Already, we can prove that you were within your rights as a Spectre to stop a rogue Spectre with the death of Tela Vasir, and we can at least show that in your latest activity, you were still working towards the galaxy's best interests while still working with a known terrorist organization. We have something, and that something covers a large part of what the prosecution might poke. There's just the issue of the Lazarus project and the geth, and I'm sure we'll figure out the first one as we go." I give her a small smile as I shift my seat slightly. "That's a better start than I was expecting, honestly."

Shepard nods. "Well, that's good, I guess," she says. "So we've formed our legal strategy."

"Pretty much," I reply.

Shepard nods. "Well, we've got our strategy formed. How much time have we got left?"

I shrug. "A lot," I guess. "I guess we're in good hands here..." I shift, looking at her as I save the information on my datapad. "I think I should get to know my client a little better. So, how do you feel right now?"

"Betrayed." The word is almost spat out, and I blink as she shakes her head. She closes her eyes, shaking her head. "I feel betrayed and alone. The Council issued the arrest warrant, the Alliance isn't doing anything to help me, the one person on this damn rock I thought I could trust sold me out at the end, and the only people still loyal to me are unable to help me right now. My mother is literally the only person who's helped, but..." She shakes her head, leaning back against the wall of the cell we're both sitting in.

I nod uncertainly. I place my hand on her shoulder tentatively, and while I expect the flinch, I don't get the brushing away of the gesture I was expecting. I squeeze her shoulder slightly, which she responds to by looking at me.

"It'll be all right," I say. "With any luck, we'll at least show the Council that some of the charges against you are ridiculous. And at least we have a strategy at all." I shift slightly closer. "I tend to stay by my clients as much as I can. This won't be any different, Commander. Trust me on this."

Shepard nods. "It's good to know there are some people that haven't abandoned me yet," she comments.

"Indeed not," I say. "They've been waiting a while to put you on trial... Your mother already told me this, but I'm still wondering why they want the rest of your crew here as well."

"The warrant went out for them too," says Shepard. "And they escaped, so..." She shrugs, shifting her posture to look right at me. "I guess it makes sense, if they're going to let us use some of the crew as witnesses."

"Maybe," I supply. "Well... we've got some hope left for us yet. Let's just hope we're graced with good luck." I nod, stowing the datapad away as I look to her. "So... that kid who was hear earlier...?"

"Kolyat?" asked Shepard. "What about him?"

I nod, sitting back as I look at the commander. "I was just curious," I say. "What's you're relationship with him."

Shepard frowns. "How is this relevant to my defense?" she asks.

I shrug. "Well, it helps me if I get to know my clients better," I say. "You won't have to answer everything I talk about, but on the flip side, you get to ask things about me."

The Commander looks right at me. "Isn't that a bad idea?" she asks.

"If nothing else, it gives me extra incentive to defend you," I reply with a shrug. "So..."

"Yes, I see your point," says Shepard. "So... Kolyat..." She rubs her chin. "How do I explain this...?"

"Start at the beginning?" I offer.

I watch as Shepard mulls over this. She glances off to the side, rubbing her chin in thought. Finally, she turns to me, and nods.

"Yeah, I guess that would work," she says.

And so, we begin talking about things not pertaining to Shepard's defense.

* * *

><p>Some time later, I'm escorted out of Shepard's cell. When I exit the facility, she seems to be in better spirits than she was before. Well... we have hope now, there's that at least. And now, I think we may be able to at least do something to ward off the allegations against her.<p>

Well... when this trial ever gets off the ground, anyway.

As soon as I exit the facility, I see Captain Bailey there. Kolyat stands off to the side, looking on with a sulking expression on his face as Bailey acknowledges my presence.

I walk up to the C-Sec captain soon after. "Good to see you're still in one piece," he says. "How are you feeling?"

"A little nervous," I reply. "I think I've got something worked out, though. We just need some more evidence, but apart from that, we've got a workable defense, which is good."

"That's good to hear," says Bailey. "She's a damn hero. She's gotten me out of a few tight spots, and I'd hate to see her get done in by a bunch of Councillors who are too paranoid for their own good."

"I know," I reply. "And after the fact that two years ago, she saved their lives."

"That's also true," comments Bailey. "I called a cab in for you as soon as you were escorted out of Shepard's cell."

I raise my eyebrows. "Oh?" I ask. "Uh... thank you, captain."

"Consider it a thank you card for stepping in to defend Shepard," says Bailey. "So long as you do your best, you'll be all right by me."

I nod. "Good to know," I reply. "When should I expect the cab?"

I suddenly find my question answered by a soft hum from the distance. I look up, and sure enough I see a vehicle coming straight towards the two of us. I nod, looking to Bailey.

"Now, just about."

The cab lands, and the door opens.

"Well," I say, smirking at this. "That comes as a convenience. Thank you, Captain."

"Not a problem," he says. "Just stay out of trouble and defend Shepard!"

I nod, stepping into the cab soon after. "I'll see what I can do," I reply.

With this, I close the door, and then the cab driver rises from the ground. I spare a final glance at Captain Bailey as he nods, looking at the cab as it drives off. He must've programmed it to take me back to my office.

Hm... Well, I do have some things I need to take care of when I return to the office, so I think it's for the best anyhow. I lean back, glancing to the empty seats in the cab. I nod, bringing a finger up to the interface. Hm... Someone put this cab on autopilot. Works for me.

I look through the interfaces... Hm... Well, we have Emily Wong reporting on things right now on Citadel News Radio.

Now there's a trustworthy reporter, Emily Wong. Always getting at the truth, conducts great interviews, keeps a cool head even when she's talking to someone who's excitable, and best of all doesn't try to spin doctor anything. Eh, I'll listen to her talk a little bit about something the rest of the way there.

I manipulate the holographic interface, increasing the volume as Emily Wong's voice fills the cab. For a brief second, I wonder why I haven't heard anything from Khalisa Al'Jilani as of late. I don't miss her, but she's always good for a laugh or two, especially when the person she's interviewing punches her in the face. Now that is actually really funny when she fumes about it and pretends she can hurt their career or something.

I simply sit back, and listen as I hear her distinct voice talk a little bit about something.

"_And now, an interview with the Council on the measures they have taken should the crew of Commander Shepard ever come into Citadel Space again_..."

* * *

><p>When I get home, I enter to find that the air smells really spicy. Well, I have never smelled such strong spice... except when Nad is cooking.<p>

I set my briefcase down by the door, and enter into the apartment. I look into the kitchen area to see that indeed, Nad is busy cooking some food on the stove there. Probalby some traditional drell dish: it certainly sounds like it. The light seems to reflect off of his scales, and honestly, he's always looked like a god when he's at the kitchen.

I smile at this, watching as he goes to work. Ah, Nad... Why do you have to be such a good cook?

I walk forward, and I have my arms around him in a heartbeat. He doesn't flinch, but as my head comes to rest over his shoulder, I can feel him tilt his head towards me.

"Hey there, Nadeire," I say softly.

"Welcome home, Will," he says.

I plant a soft kiss on the drell's cheek, holding him there as he stirs something in a pot of spiced water. "How's your day been?" I ask.

"A little hectic, but I will be all right," he says. "Would you be so kind as to let go? I need to get this pot off the stove."

I nod, and then let him go. After getting some gloves on, he moves the pot off the stove, and peeks at it. He nods once again, giving that faint hint of a smile that shows me he's amused at something.

"There we go," he says. "Now we simply need to let it cool for a short period of time..."

"Indeed," I say. "I sometimes wonder how I got blessed with someone who could actually cook really well."

"I like to think Arashu looks kindly upon you," Nad replies as he steps back. "You protect people, so it is only fair that she blesses you."

"Well, when you put it like _that, _it actually makes me work harder..." I say, taking a step closer.

"That is the intent," he says jokingly, shrugging. "Speaking of which, actually... Lalia may have mentioned that you took on Commander Shepard's case."

I nod. Well, I suppose if someone would tell him before I got home, it would be Lalia. She knows the both of us too well, I swear to God... "That's right," I mention. "I was contacted by her mother. I'll admit, I never thought I would defend an Alliance commander in court again, let alone Commander Shepard..."

"Strange things can happen," says the drell. "After nearly twenty years, you return to defending someone in the military again..."

"After nearly twenty years, indeed," I reply, watching as Nadeire turns to get some bowls out for the rest of us. "And to think that I'll be returning to that defending the savior of the Citadel..."

"It certainly serves to make it surreal," Nadeire replies. "Whether or not you can maneuver through such legal work again will certainly be something to see." He places the bowls in question close to the pot he removed from the heat. "However, I worry that you may have bitten off more than you can chew, as your saying goes."

"I can't say I blame you," I reply. "I mean, this is treason we're talking about here..."

"That is perhaps what worries me." Nadeire takes a step towards me, so that we're quite close in the small space that is our kitchen. "You have had experience defending military men and women, William. But defending someone from a charge of treason? And one of the most famous women in the galaxy? I do hope you know what you have gotten yourself into..."

"I know," I reply, confirming his fears with a grim tilt of my head as I briefly glance to the side. "I'm afraid I may not be able to do this." I then look back at the drell. "But already we're off to a better start than you could have imagined. We have a workable angle, and one that may clear Shepard if we get the right evidence towards it. It just needs to be done, and some things need to reveal themselves." I blink, before shifting my weight on my feet. "You know how I am, Nadeire. Now, it's just a matter of doing."

Nadeire simply nods, stepping towards me. "Knowing you, I am certain you will find a way to succeed, even despite the odds," he says, his hand taking mine. "In many ways, you always have, through your victories and your losses." I then gaze down at the ring on one of his fingers, the simple band glinting in the light.

"I believe that is why we united under Arashu."

I smile at him, taking a final step towards him as we get quite close, so that our faces almost touch. "I believe it is too..."

I close my eyes, and then our lips touch. We're both smiling when we pull back a few seconds later, still holding hands as time stands still for only a moment. With a nod, my sweet Nad turns, taking a ladle from close by the stove, and nodding as he picks up a bowl.

"I think you will quite like what I've prepared for you tonight," he says, stirring the ladle through the stew-like substance one more time.

I simply nod, my smile staying constant as he then draws the ladle from the pot.

"Knowing you, Nad, I wouldn't expect any less."

He chuckles in response, and I see his teeth glint in the light as he goes about his business.


	11. Chapter 10

_A/N: And that, my friends, was MV3's B Story. You'll see the B Story come up whenever a major story arc resolves itself. So you'll see Will Moskas every so often, and everyone around him as well._

_Now that we've gotten the introduction of the B Story out of the way, well..._

_I guess it's time to get back to our regularly scheduled programming with Art and the gang, eh? You know how it is._

_Also, let's welcome in the new year! Happy New Year, peeps! Now things are getting crazy, but worry not: one of my fanfic resolutions is to finish MV3 by the time 2012 ends, so... Hopefully, I'll have it done before the day that the world is supposed to end._

_Also, ME3 is out in TWO MONTHS! *parties*_

_But in the meantime, while we wait for that..._

_Let's take it to Sur'Kesh, shall we?_

_NOTE: This is an updated version of Chapter 10, which has undergone extensive revision. I would like to thank ValentineDiverseOptics for being extremely helpful in brainstorming a solution to making this arc and the Tuchanka arc actually work. _

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Scelsi: Anahit<p>

"All right, so what've we got?"

I look to Jarel and Miranda as they circle around the Normandy's briefing table. I look to Kasumi, Tali, Thane, Mordin, and Al as we all sit there. Jack is standing right by Al with her arms crossed, and Liselle simply looks on from behind Miranda. Jenny is also hanging back, though she is more at the front of the room.

"We've got blueprints of this STG base from the Shadow Broker," says Miranda. "EDI, bring up the scans."

The scan of the STG base comes to life in front of us, and we watch as it takes form. "Essentially, we know this," says Jarel. "We know about the security at the doors. It's rather hefty, and to take it out would be tough in other situations."

"Thankfully, useful alternative," says Mordin as he opens his omni-tool. "Have various STG codes. Can infiltrate with help of codes. Only works at entrance."

"And what are these codes?" I ask.

"They're codes typically used for infiltration," says Jarel. "They're usually used by STG since they're useful. Unfortunately, they'll know we're in if we use them, and we'll be lucky if they don't immediately notice that something's off. But it's the best way we can work around the system quickly."

"Understandable," says Thane. "We move in, and quickly retrieve the princess."

Miranda shakes her head. "It's not as simple as you might think," she replies. "We know our krogan princess is in this facility, but _where_ is the ultimate question."

"You mean we don't know where in this base she actually is," says Al.

All eyes fall on Miranda as Al asks this. She stands there, suddenly looking just the tiniest bit less sure. Oh dear….

"I'm afraid so," says Miranda.

…

You're kidding.

"They couldn't find out where our princess was?" I ask.

"We know that she is definitely in this base, but Liara's operatives were unable to uncover anything else," Miranda states.

Jarel shakes his head, leaning against the table. "So not only are we going to alert every STG operative in that base to our presence, but we're also going in blind," he says. "I knew this was going to be risky, but this?"

"Hm…" Kasumi leans forward. "I've never infiltrated an STG base before. But this could be interesting…" She looks right at Miranda. "Did the Shadow Broker tell you what kind of security was in there?"

"State of the art security," says Miranda. "If it exists, they will have it."

"Then this is gonna be tricky," says Kasumi. "But we can definitely crack it."

"Probably," says Jarel. "Our first priority upon entering should be towards finding out about where this princess is located as quickly as we can."

"Yeah," I comment. "There should be terminals all over the place, right?"

"Yes." Miranda smiles as a bunch of little markers appear all over the floor. "Do you think you would be able to extract the appropriate information from a nearby terminal?"

"If we're fast," says Jarel. "And careful." He looks right up at Kasumi and Tali when he says this. "And I know that we can be both thanks to this crew."

"Good," says Miranda. "So we will infiltrate from different entrances of the base, and then we find information on where she is. Fair enough."

"Different entrances? No question." Mordin steps forward. "Multiple entry points, confuse STG. Only way to keep STG off our back. Risky, but worth it."

The former Cerberus operative looks at the rest of us. "This could go wrong in so many ways."

"Yeah, it really could," I comment. "So what's the game plan?"

"The game plan…" Miranda looks to Kasumi. "I will send Kasumi, Tali, and Al down to Sur'Kesh. Mordin, Jarel, and Thane will go with each of them."

I nod. "And then we just hope for the best," I comment. "And we…" Hold on. "Wait, what about the rest of us?"

"Oh, I'll bet ya ten quid we're just gonna sit around in that blasted shuttle all day," says Jenny.

"That… isn't actually that far from what I was going to say," says Miranda. "The rest of us will be waiting in the shuttle in the event that something goes wrong, which I am certain it will. We will also monitor communications from the shuttle, maybe even alert them if STG operatives get too close."

"Wait…" I look around. "The rest of us…"

…

"Including me…"

"Yes, including you," says Miranda.

I blink. "W-whoah,seriously?" I ask. "You can't be serious!"

"Oh, chill out, Artie-boy," Jack says. "They'll be fine. And if not, we'll fuck those STG guys up anyway."

I frown, looking at Jack. "I don't know," I reply. "This is just—"

"They'll be fine," says Miranda. "If not, we can come in and rescue them from the STG units. They won't be expecting us, and even if we do we have initiative, and the firepower to punch through and extract them."

"And besides, it would be risky to bring in more people," Jarel comments. "Stealth is our best asset here, and I don't know if we'll be able to do this if we have more than six people running around the STG base."

I… Well…

I sigh. "Yeah, I guess you're right," I comment. "I don't really like this set-up, but… You know. We'll see."

I notice almost immediately that Tali is giving me a knowing look. I nod to her, but say nothing at all. I'll just tell her about this when we're alone and stuff. For now…

I look back to Miranda as she looks to the others. "Good," she says. "I think we know what we need to do. I will be sending teams of two to various drop points, which I will determine with the maps given. Kasumi, Thane, you will make up one team." I watch as the two of them nod. "Jarel, Tali, you will form another." They nod rather quickly, and Miranda turns to Al and Mordin. "And I don't think I need to tell you that you two are on the same team."

"Not necessary," says Mordin.

"Good," says Miranda. "Am I understood?" I watch as the others nod their agreement.

"Very well then," she finishes. "We'll be going through the relay in an hour. Everyone should be ready by then. Until then, you are all dismissed."

I blink, and then find myself crossing my arms. Everyone else seems to accept this, though I notice that Liselle looks a little impatient. Honestly, I can't say I blame her, even if I'm not exactly thinking the same way she is.

Well… there we go, I guess.

I uncross my arms, and then walk up to Tali. The two of us walk out of the room together as Jarel and the others head out.

* * *

><p>I look over my assault rifle again for the eighteenth time. I resight it, and sigh as I attach the fully modded weapon to my back. I turn to Tali, watching as she finishes preparing her geth shotgun.<p>

"Art?" she asks. "Are you all right?"

I shrug, shaking my head. "Not really," I reply. "I mean… I'm not going on the ground this time."

"Maybe not," says Tali. "You may not be the best at stealth."

I roll my eyes. "Because Kasumi didn't give me a cloak at all," I comment sarcastically. "It's not that I'm worried about. It's just… letting you guys jump into something like this doesn't seem all that good an idea. I mean, you'll probably be fine and all, but I'm just afraid, you know?"

"We've managed quite well," says Tali. "Just because you aren't there doesn't mean that it will go badly."

I sigh. "Being in command of you guys changes all that."

She pauses, looking directly at me. She says nothing for a few seconds, looking at me with some kind of stern look. Finally, she softens her glance, and nods.

"That is… very true," she admits. "I understand, then. It's tough to watch people that you are commanding to into a situation where you cannot have any active role in their fate." She pauses, and glances to the side. "I sometimes wonder what would have happened on Haestrom."

I nod slowly, biting my lower lip. "And that's the whole problem right there."

"I understand your fear," she says. "I think I can even understand why you would want to be by us. But…" She shakes her head. "You have to trust that we will be able to do the best we can." She pauses. "In a way, it's all you can do."

"…And then that's it…" I comment. "I see…" I shake my head. "I have to say, Tali, I don't like this at all. But… since I don't exactly have much of an option…"

"We will pull through, my hesh'alan." Tali touches my chest tenderly. "We must."

I nod slowly. "We must," I repeat. Damn it… I'm letting Tali go in there along with everyone else. And they're all in danger of getting caught…

_Shit_…

No, they'll be all right. We've been all right through everything the galaxy's tossed at us. Really, Art, this is just silly and stuff. They'll be all right, just you see.

"Well… I guess moping about it all day isn't going to help anyone," I comment. "Come on. We should get downstairs."

"We should," says Tali as she takes her hand away from mine.

With this, the two of us turn and leave our shared quarters. We walk straight to the elevator, which is when I notice that Thane is standing there already. The two of us walk up to the drell, who says nothing as we take our place by his side waiting for the elevator to come.

* * *

><p>The shuttle breaks the atmosphere of Sur'Kesh, and suddenly we're heading into…<p>

"Wow, this looks like the craziest jungle I've ever seen," I comment.

"Yeah, I know," says Jenny.

"Welcome to Sur'Kesh," Jarel comments briefly. "And trust me, this is actually not bad scenery, considering where we are."

"I'll bet," says Kasumi from behind us. I turn to where the ground team is, looking to Jack and Liselle as they sit back.

"Yeah, so what's the big deal?" asks Jack. "We go in there and crush some skulls in some rainforest."

I turn my attention to Thane as he shakes his head. "I do not believe that crushing skulls would be good for stealth," he comments.

I smirk, rolling my eyes. My attention then turns to Tali as we feel a dip. "Well, we're almost there," says Jenny. "We're hittin' the landin' zone in one minute."

I nod, looking back to the others. "Well, here we are," I say. "You're all going into the fire, and you're all going into a dangerous place." I look at each of the people that will be going down there. "Be careful. We don't know what'll happen once Jarel uses those STG codes to break into the base."

"Keep track of the comm chatter for us," says Jarel. "The STG typically uses secure comm channels, but if you're careful you can break into the line and listen in."

"I've got that covered," I reply as I turn my head towards Miranda. "Miranda should be able to break the security on the comm channels. Now… let's hope we can do this."

I stand there for a few more seconds as Jenny maneuvers the shuttle. After a brief amount of time, I feel the shuttle come to a stop, and then the doors open. I look outside, seeing that there is a rather dense jungle around us. I can faintly hear the sounds of wildlife all around us, and I look to the others as they all stand up. They pause right at the doors, glancing outside and nodding resolutely.

I move towards Tali, and before I know what I'm doing, I'm gripping her hand. She turns to look at me, and I nod.

"I'll be waiting for you guys to get out of there, _querida_," I say.

Tali only nods before she and the rest of the people with her move towards the door. They step outside, and then I watch as they all begin to move into the forest.

I look down as the doors close, looking to Liselle and Jack as the shuttle pulls away. I glance at Miranda again as she manipulates her omni-tool. She then takes a seat close to the three of us, and nods.

"And now, we wait for the call," she says.

I hear Liselle snort in displeasure. "And here I thought I'd be seeing some action," she says.

"Oh, there'll be action all right," says Jack. "We usually find it whether or not we want to find it."

I nod. "That's true," I comment. "But it still doesn't make me feel any better that they're going in."

"They'll be fine," Jack reassures me. "Just watch."

I bite my lower lip, and feel the shuttle land somewhere, I don't know where. I look over to Miranda as she manipulates her omni-tool. "All right," she says. "Art, I have some STG channels… They're all secure."

"You think you can handle it?" I ask.

"I should be able to," she replies as she sits there. "I'm actually uploading a suite to your omni-tool now. You should be able to get live updates with it."

I hear a beep from my omni-tool, and then I lift my arm to see a notification from it. I nod, opening the omni-tool and looking right at a download bar. I watch it fill up, and then see a bunch of comm channels come up in front of me. I then hear quite a bit of static from these comm channels, and I frown as I look at them.

"You're going to try to unscramble all these channels?" I ask.

"No," says Miranda. "But you'll be able to see what I'm doing. Maybe even catch something I would've missed." She looks up at me. "You can help me keep track of the comms so that we can alert the others."

"Not that you need it," I comment. "I mean… I don't think you need this, anyhow."

"Fair enough, but you can never be too prepared on a mission like this." Miranda then looks directly at Liselle and Jack. "You two, keep your comms ready. We might need to contact them at a moment's notice."

I nod right as Jenny walks in. She's holding something that has a map of the STG facility. I see a collection of six dots move towards it, even though they are still quite a ways away.

"They're movin' into position 'round this 'ere tip, ma'am," says Jenny.

"Good," says Miranda. "Keep that map open. We should be able to help them."

I blink, looking at the map. "I hope it's enough if things go south," I comment.

With this, I take a place next to Jack, and watch as the six dots approach the STG base and take their positions.

"_All right, we're getting into position,_" says Jarel over the comm line that he's just opened up. "_I'll let you know when I've fed the STG codes into the system. You'll probably know anyway._"

"Yeah," I comment. "Just be careful once you're in there."

I sit back, looking at the dots as they move around the map. Eventually, I see them all take positions in various places around the base. Oh dear… this isn't going to… No, Art, you've gotta have faith in them. They'll pull through.

That's what they've usually done, anyway.

I then hear the comm unit come to life. "_All right, I've fed the codes_," says Jarel. "_Moving in!_"

And with this, I watch as all six dots enter the base.

And so it begins.

* * *

><p>Hm… It's been ten minutes, and all we've found so far is nothing. Jarel keeps his comm chatter infrequent, I guess to keep the STG people off their backs. I can understand why, but it's just killing me sitting here. It's just been us sitting here for ten minutes as Miranda has tried to hack her way into the STG communications. This is just… gah!<p>

I shift nervously, looking at the others. My free hand suddenly takes a keen interest in my knee, and I find my fingers tapping my knee very quickly.

None of us have really spoken in the ten minutes. We're just sitting there, either waiting for Miranda to break through STG comm lines from here, or for Jarel to let us know something. But it's been a weird silence. Miranda has remained concentrated, and I think Liselle and Jack look absolutely bored by all this. Jenny is walking in and out of the cockpit every so often to check on the ship's systems or something like that, but she doesn't look as bored as the rest of us.

Me, I'm just nervous… Shit, when're we gonna hear something?

"_…Odd anom…codes…STG encrypt… t's odd…_"

I suddenly turn to Miranda, as do the rest of us. We watch as she begins frantically typing on her omni-tool.

"Well, look at that," says Jack. "Shit finally happened."

"And here I thought I'd be sitting all day doing nothing," Liselle adds.

I nod, watching as Miranda manages to get some of the static out of the comm line's feedback. Eventually, the line clears up, and we look on as a salarian suddenly starts speaking.

"_But why would STG… Unless someone's infiltrating this base!_"

"_And if they're using STG codes to infiltrate an STG base..._" There's a brief pause. "_Put all STG units on high alert. We cannot let the krogan princess or the test subjects from Weyrloc's genophage experiments go loose._"

Yep, and now they—

… Wait, the Weyrloc experiments? What?

I frown, looking at Miranda. "They're talking about Maelon's test subjects?" I ask. "Didn't they all die?"

Liselle frowns, looking at the rest of us. "Maelon's test subjects?" she asks. "What're you talking about?"

"Maelon was a salarian who attempted to cure the genophage," Miranda explains. "I was under the impression that the females were all dead, actually. Did a few of them escape?"

"I don't know," I say, manipulating my omni-tool. "Either way, STG knows we're in. We have to let them know, and maybe bring Mordin up to speed on that." I nod, opening a comm line to the others. "Hey guys. Don't look now, but the STG knows you're in."

"_I'm not that surprised, to be honest,_" says Jarel. "_I'm just surprised it took them this long to figure it out._"

"_Probably on high alert,_" Mordin adds. "_Keep comm chatter to a minimum. No finds yet. Will update you when we find something._"

I nod. "Okay," I comment. "But before I let you go, there's something else I need to let you guys know about. When Miranda hacked into the STG lines, we got some more info. Apparently, they have some test subjects from Maelon's experiments here."

I hear a brief pause. "_Someone actually survived those experiments?_" asks Tali.

"That's what it looks like," I say. "Either way, they're at this base. Maybe you could look into that."

"_That's certainly possible,_" says Al. "_We'll update you guys when we find something._"

"Got that," I comment. "Be careful."

And with this, I close the comm line as quickly as I can.

Almost immediately, I hear the comm chatter from Miranda's omni-tool pick up. "_I've got something! They've got salarians with them, and they knew about the Weyrloc experiments! They might be after our krogan!_"

"_Might be former STG, then,_" says another salarian. "_Call for Alanya Sorshis, and get her over here. She may be interested in this. In the meantime, track their comm lines, and try to get a fix on their positions._"

The line cuts out, and I look directly at the others. "Alanya Sorshis?" I ask. "Who?"

"I don't know about you fuckers, but that sounds like an asari name," Liselle comments. "I _really _don't get it, though. What would an asari want on some STG base?"

"I dunno about that," says Jenny. "But it sounds awfully weird that she's hangin' out at this 'ere tip."

I frown, looking at Miranda. "It's awfully weird…" I comment. Yeah, why would a Spectre be in Council... space... commanding other Council species... "Unless…"

"Unless she's a Spectre," Miranda finishes. "Yes… the Council might have known we'd go after a genophage cure once it came out that Jarel was part of the crew. They'd want a Spectre monitoring that afterwards."

"Okay, so we have a possible Council Spectre on that," says Liselle. "We need to tell them that now, right?"

"Right now might be a bit risky," says Miranda. "We just contacted them, and the STG is perfectly capable of using repeated comm usage as a way to pinpoint where they are. We'll alert our friends to the Spectre's presence the next time we contact them."

Jack nods, and sits back. "Sure," she says disinterestedly.

I sit back, watching as the dots on the map begin moving around the base as quickly as I can imagine. Damn it… what's going on over there? I know they're all moving away to keep the STG off their backs, but what if they run into STG operatives?

Fuck… this is not good. This is not good at all. Now the STG knows we're in there, and… shit, they could find them at any moment…

I notice two of the dots stop in a random place.

"_All right_." I hear my comm unit come to life as Kasumi speaks up. "_I've found a terminal. Finally, it's one that shows up in a room where all those salarian guys aren't even close._"

"_We will be as quick as we can be,_" Thane adds.

I nod. "Be careful," I say.

The comm line cuts out, and I look over to Miranda. I frown, looking at her as she shakes her head.

"The STG didn't catch on that time," she says. "The call was pretty short, though."

"Yeah, but they're gonna find 'em when that terminal goes all off its nuts there," Jenny comments. "It's only a matter o'—"

Suddenly, the static picks up on Miranda's omni-tool. "—_'ve got… ing!_"

Miranda quickly leans forward, and types on her omni-tool. Unintelligible words and static briefly battle there as she attempts to clean up the comm chatter, but in a few seconds the line becomes clear.

"_Can you pinpoint where it's coming from?_"

"_I think so! It looks like they're data mining from it! I can have STG operatives down there in one minute!_"

"_Got it. Send them down, now! We can't let whoever's in here infiltrate this base!_"

I tense up, right as Miranda looks up to the dots. I shake my head, chewing on my lower lip.

"Told ya," says Jenny.

I shake my head. "Damn it…" I move to open a comm line almost immediately when I feel Jack's hand grip my arm.

"Oh, chill out," she says. "Kasumi's got a fuckin' cloak, and you know how lizard boy is."

I hear my comm unit go online. "_Okay… we're still mining for data._" That's Kasumi, and…

I glance briefly at my omni-tool's clock to see—aw, crap, it's been half a minute!

"Kasumi, they're on to you!" I say, unable to stop myself.

"_Oh, don't you worry your little head off,_" says Kasumi. "_We'll just go here and—_"

"_We see them!_" Crap, that came from Miranda's omni-tool! Shit, that means… "_It looks like a human and a drell are two of our culprits! We're at the door, and they don't know we're here. We're waiting for the order, sir!_"

"_Take them down!_"

I turn to Jack and watch her smirk. "Hey, lady, don't look now, but those fuckers are in the room with you!" she says.

"_W-what?_" Kasumi sounds surprised, but before anything else can happen I hear the faint sound of the room's door opening.

What happens next is a cacophony of sounds, raising from both my suite and Miranda's part of the equation. I can hear a few stray gunshots in there, a few grunts and groans of people, and the sounds of footsteps pounding against the ground. I hear a boom, and people shouting, and suddenly find my hair standing on end.

This cacophony of sounds ends after a few seconds, giving way to complete silence on both channels.

Shit…

I look over to Miranda in shock, and look back to the map quickly. The two dots that represent Kasumi and Thane are moving away from where they just were so quickly that I can barely process it. Before I can even blink, they're halfway across the base.

"Kasumi?" I ask.

I don't get a reply, however, but watch as the dots retreat. Does this…?

I shake my head, looking to Miranda. "_Damn it, we lost track of the intruders!_" says someone from the salarian comm link. "_We were there, and then they just… up and vanished!_"

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Shit, was that ever a close one…

"_They vanished?_" asks another salarian. "_Damn it! Issue a lockdown order on the premises. Nobody gets in or out of this base until Alanya arrives, understood?_"

"_Yes sir_."

I look back to Miranda. "Lockdown?" I ask. "Isn't that—"

I don't get to elaborate, though, for I finally hear Kasumi's comm line open up again. "_Damn, that was a close one,_" says Kasumi. "_And here I thought we'd just waltz in and get the data._"

I shake my head. "Good God, that was close," I comment. "Well, they know we're here now."

"Yep," says Liselle. I watch as she leans forward. "I hope you've got some damn data. I wanna fight something."

"_We're looking through it right now…_" I hear someone typing something on an omni-tool. We're left sitting there for a few seconds, and then I hear a disapproving growl.

"_It seems the data transfer was incomplete,_" says Thane. "_We do not have the location of the krogan princess._"

I groan. "As if we needed any reason to move our asses," I comment.

"_It might not be a total loss, though,_" says Kasumi. "_Looking at it now… Yes, this looks like it refers to those experiments you mentioned._"

I blink, leaning forward. "What does it say?" I ask.

"_Apparently, it looks like the STG did a sweep of Tuchanka after we were done,_" Kasumi replies. "_And then they just _happened _to find some weak krogan females and brought them over to Sur'Kesh. Keep it quiet, y'know?_" I hear Kasumi pause, and I can almost imagine her shaking her head at reading the data. "_From the other things mentioned here, the krogan females must _really _have some rotten luck. That, or the fact that most of those females died when they got here is something bad._"

I frown, glancing at Miranda. "This isn't good," I say.

Miranda leans towards me. "Are there any survivors?" she asks.

"_Yes._" That was Thane, who seems to be leaning closer. "_There is one female shaman that is mentioned as the only one of Maelon's test subjects who yet lives._" I glance over to the others before leaning forward again. "_She has refused to give her name to the STG._"

"_Yeah, this report makes it sound like she _really _doesn't like them,_" says Kasumi.

I nod. "Do you think we should try to save them?" I ask.

"_Perhaps,_" says Kasumi. "_I mean, that would—_"

And then the salarian comm lines come up again. "_I've pinpointed the location of both ends of the comm conversation, sir. Should I send someone to investigate?_"

"_Yes._"

I violently shudder at this, and look at Miranda with a horrified look on her face. "Fuck!" I say.

Almost immediately, Jenny is scrambling to her feet. "Good Lord!" she shouts. "I'm on it!"

She runs back into the cockpit, and I turn back to Kasumi. "Kasumi, get away from wherever you are!" I shout. "They're on us!"

"_On it!_" The comm line closes immediately, and I hear the shuttle starting up. Fuck…

"What, we're running away?" asks Liselle. "But shouldn't we stay and fight?"

"That won't do anything if they outnumber us and take us prisoner," says Miranda. "We wouldn't be able to get off of Sur'Kesh if that happened. Relocating is our best option for now, and hopefully we will be able to escape detection so that the STG cannot ambush us when we land." She shakes her head. "For now, we need to assess our priorities."

I frown. "So we're going to leave Maelon's test subject there?" I ask.

"Our krogan princess is our top priority," says Miranda. "I don't know if this woman from Maelon's experiments is close to where we are or where we need to be. We will rescue her if we can, but I don't believe it's likely."

I frown, looking at Miranda. "But there's gotta be some way we can help her," I comment.

"At this stage, that may not be possible," she says. "We need to keep our priorities in order. We have already been discovered, and they have already located us three times. We may not be able to go out of our way."

I abruptly stand up, looking at Miranda. "But—"

"Art." Miranda gives me a stern look. "The mission comes first. We cannot risk letting our krogan princess slip from our grasp."

I blink, glancing at Liselle and Jack who are both just sort of sitting there. Jack is giving Miranda something of a leer, while Liselle looks like she just doesn't give a crap. She's… she's really not budging on this, is she?

As I feel the shuttle lift off beneath me, I sit back down. "All right," I say, defeated. "But if that krogan lady shows up anywhere, I'm taking that chance to help her."

Miranda nods. "Fair enough," she says. "Jenny, take us far away from here."

"Ya got it!" Jenny shouts frantically.

And with this, the shuttle rapidly moves somewhere else.

* * *

><p>We've barely landed when I hear the salarians' comm lines come to life again.<p>

"_We're at the coordinates, sir,_" I hear a salarian say. "_There's nobody here!_"

"_They must have moved somewhere_," I hear the commander of these guys say. "_Search the area. They can't have moved far._"

"_Yes sir!_"

With this, that comm line cuts out. So they don't know where we are, but they could find us any second. Okay then… At least nobody's been captured yet.

I turn to Jenny as she steps out of the cockpit. "I'm not movin' this bird again," I say. "Not unless we really get in a load o' shite or anythin'."

"Hopefully, it won't come to that," says Miranda. She turns her attention back to the comm lines. "We're still here, and we can still find this krogan princess."

"I hope so," says Liselle. "I'm getting tired of sitting here waiting for something to happen. Something's gotta happen soon, you know?"

"Oh, you'll see some action, blue," says Jack. "Trust me, even if it's for two seconds you'll see action."

I shrug, looking up at the ceiling of the shuttle before turning back to the map that Jenny has just re-opened with her omni-tool. "I hope so," I comment. "For once, I'm with her."

"It's tough," Miranda acknowledges.

I cast a glance over at her. "Tough?" I ask. "I think that when you get right down to it, that's something of an under—"

"_Sir! Spectre Alanya is here!_"

As soon as this line is heard from Miranda's omni-tool suite, I jolt, sitting upright.

"_Good. Patch her through._"

I hear something get set up on the other line, and I lean forward. "_I hope you have a good excuse for calling me here,_" I hear a female voice say. Yep… that definitely sounds like an asari, all right. She's probably just entering her matron stage, if I hear the way her voice sounds correctly. "_I was actually enjoying my stay on Sur'Kesh._"

"_Ma'am, our base has been infiltrated,_" says the STG operatives on the other line.

"_Infiltrated?_" asks the lady. "_Have you caught them yet?_"

"_No._" I hear a brief pause. "_We did come close at least twice, though. And we know what they're after. They're after the krogan princess that's immune to the genophage._"

"_Yes, the Dalatrass Linron mentioned something about that,_" says the female voice. "_We can go in there ourselves and reinforce that krogan's position before they find out._"

"_Of course,_" says the salarian. I then hear some typing on a console somewhere. "_You'll understand if I don't say it out loud, though. We think they might be listening in on our comm chatter. Sending it to you is also risky._"

"_Then you can wait for me to come to the control room,_" says the asari. "_Keep the situation under control until I get there._"

"_Yes, Spectre_."

And with this, the comm line cuts out again.

"Spectre…" I say. "So we _are _dealing with a Spectre."

"Yep, that's what it sounds like," says Liselle. "Can I kick her ass?"

"Probably not," I comment. "She'd probably own you before you could get a single warp in." I lean forward. "I hope Jarel and Mordin can come up with a solution quickly. The sooner we can get off this planet, the better."

"Well, ya gotta admit, it ain't heavin' or anythin' like that," says Jenny. "That's a good thing."

"Yeah, up until they catch us," I comment. "Come on, Jarel…"

A few seconds later, we hear a loud static burst. Right as I cover my ears, Miranda is already scrambling to make sense of what is being said there. I watch nervously as she works, and then the line becomes clear.

"_—ain! The… nd—mething el…!_"

Miranda types a few more things into the omni-tool, and then she looks up as the line comes through clearly. "_Then don't just stand there! Find them! And be more subtle about it this time!_"

I look back at Jenny's map, noticing that two dots are situated in a different spot from where Kasumi and Thane were nearly caught. I watch those two dots, and… Hm… Another room. Well… here goes attempt number two. I glance at Miranda briefly as she looks up.

"What, and they don't even tell us this time?" asks Jack. "That's a load of bullshit."

"To be fair, they may not want to make it easier on the STG to discover where they are," says Miranda. "Remember, they were able to pinpoint locations from our last communication."

"Yep," says Jenny. "Ya think we're gonna get it this time?"

"Anything could happen," says Miranda. "We just have to hope that—"

"_Sir! We have an issue! It seems… hold on…_"

I look at Miranda's comm lines, noticing that.

"_What is it?_" I hear a salarian ask.

"_It… it looks like they're feeding garbage data into our system from the disturbance we saw in the security systems…_" says another salarian.

I glance back to the map that Jenny is displaying. "What?" I ask. "One of our groups is feeding garbage data into the system?"

"Now why the fuck would ya do that?" asks Jack.

I turn to look at Jack, before turning my attention to the map. "Yeah, why…?"

…

Wait a second…

What're those two dots standing still for over there?

"_It… no, you don't think…_" says the salarian commander.

"_I do think!_" says the salarian. "_Abandon looking around that terminal! Search the base for—!"_

And then, I hear a ping. "_Damn it! They've got the data!_"

I jolt back in my seat, looking at Miranda and the others quickly. No… no way!

I then hear a comm line open from my omni-tool.

"_And we've got it!_" I hear Jarel state triumphantly. "_I wonder what the people at this base thought of my using that bait and switch._"

"Wait, you mean that you _meant _to do that?" I ask.

"_Bait and switch tactic._" That's Mordin who's just came in. "_Classic STG maneuver. Useful with multiple teams involved in data extraction. One group feeds garbage data, and the other extracts the data. Distraction._"

"_And it sounds like it was successful,_" says Jarel. "_Our princess is in the lower levels._"

I nod, smiling. "That's good, right?" I ask.

"_Not really,_" says Jarel. "_If we want to keep the STG off our backs, we'll have to take a really complicated route through the base to make sure they can't get us. That route means we probably won't be able to get to a place where you can pick us up quickly. I'll call you again when we get close to the pick-up site._"

"Okay," I say. "And just so you know, Jarel, there's an asari Spectre here. Her name's… Alanya, I think."

The other side of the line is silent for a few seconds. I frown at my omni-tool… Oh, boy… C'mon, Jarel, answer me! These guys could latch on to this signal any minute here!

"_I knew we should've expected a Spectre here_," says Jarel. "_This'll complicate things slightly._"

"Maybe," I comment. "Keep us updated."

"_Got it._"

And with this, our comm line cuts out. I sit back, looking at the others. Okay… we're a third of the way there. No big deal. We just need to get the princess, get her out of there, and—

"_Spectre Alanya, we need to change our plans_."

I lean forward, watching Miranda's omni-tool keenly as the salarian commander says this.

"_Let me guess: they found out,_" says… Alanya? Yeah, Alanya.

"_They did,_" the commander replies. "_Our princess is in the lower levels. If you brought a contingent of STG units with you, you could probably corner our intruders before they leave._"

"_Yeah, I can do that,_" says the Spectre. "_Just tell me where in the lower levels and I'll be right there_."

I nod, sitting back and looking at the others. The conversation between Alanya and the salarian commander continues as he gives her the exact location where our krogan princess is. But… well…

"Well, we're part of the way there," I comment. "Now, I guess we just see who wins the race to get down to this krogan princess."

"It's certainly progress," Miranda comments. "But shaky progress. With any luck, we can get to this princess first."

I nod. "With any luck," I echo. "I just hope that's on our side right now, 'cause we really need it."

And with this, I sit back against the wall of the shuttle, and I realize a few seconds after I close my eyes that I'm chewing on my lower lip as if my life depended on it.

* * *

><p>It's a few minutes later when I suddenly hear the comm lines come up again.<p>

"_All right, we're here_." That sounds like Albert. "_They're probably coming for us anyway, so it won't make a difference what we say._"

"They actually tracked us here through these conversations," I comment.

"_Oh…_"

I hear someone facepalm on the other end of the line. "_I told you,_" says Kasumi.

"_Anyway, we're here,_" says Jarel. "_We've found our princess. We're gonna try to break her out as quickly as we can. Of course, we're gonna have to carry her to the other side of the corridors we're in to do that, and we need to be careful since our princess has a weak immune system._"

"A weak immune system?" asks Miranda. "How?"

"_We don't know, but the salarian files we extracted mention that some of the experiments they attempted involved weakening her immune system,_" says Tali. "_She is recovering now, but we don't know how healthy her immune system will be._"

"_With any luck, she shall be well enough for us to transport her out of her cell and to the landing zone,_" I hear Thane comment.

"_Hopefully, we can manage it,_" says Jarel. "_We'll update you on what happens as we do it._"

I nod. "You do that," I say. "And be careful."

With this, I close the comm connection closes again, and I look to the others. "Halfway there," I comment. "We're making progress."

"Yep, that it is, mate," says Jenny. "Now let's hope we can actually get off this bleedin' rock."

I glance again at the map, seeing all six of the holographic dots hovering around in the same place on the map. "Yeah, I guess that's the only thing left, isn't it?" I ask. "I just hope we can do that."

"At this stage, it is certainly possible," says Miranda. "We will have to wait it out."

I nod, sitting back. When this is said, a silence comes over the shuttle, and settles in it for a few seconds. Well… here we are. We're so close to getting this krogan princess out of there. Just a little more time, and we'll be good.

Liselle leans forward suddenly. "Wait, hold on," she says. "This Spectre is headed down there, right?"

"Yes," says Miranda.

The asari frowns. "How many STG people are with her, exactly?"

…

Holy fuck, she's got a point! There are… there are…

"Shit…" I mutter.

Before any of us can comment any further, Miranda's omni-tool emits a loud staticky sound. I jump back, but Miranda has this under control almost immediately. She fiddles around through the static, and within a few seconds she is able to bring up a video.

"_We're approaching the room_." Fuck, that's this Alanya lady again! "_Or… the area where this princess is being held._"

"_Good,_" says the salarian commander. "_We'll have them soon._"

"_Do you think we should find their shuttle?_" asks Alanya.

"_If they phone in again,_" says the salarian commander. "_I doubt they'll do so, though. If they're listening in like I think we are, they'll know not to call._"

"Well, that guy gets a gold star," Liselle comments.

I shrug, looking back at Miranda. "_But we'll find them eventually,_" Alanya replies.

"_They can't be far,_" says the salarian commander. "_I have sent STG units to patrol the perimiter._"

Jenny shakes her head. "If they find us, I'm movin'."

"All right." Miranda looks on as we watch the map. "But try to remember that we may have to fight some off first."

"_All right,_" says Alanya. "_We're here. We outnumber them, so make sure you let them know of our advantage!_"

"_Yes, Spectre!_"

With this, I hear various weapons getting prepped. I… Whoah… that sounds like a _lot _more weapons than I thought…

There… would be…

"Oh, _fuck_," I say.

Before I can open a comm line to Jarel and the others, I hear the comm line from Miranda's omni-tool cut out completely. Barely two seconds later, I look back to the map on Jenny's side when I see all six dots jolt in place. I look at the map, and…

Fuck! No no no no no!

I stand up, looking at the map immediately. "Shit, _no!_" I look over to Jenny. "Jenny, we've gotta get right the fuck over there!"

"Wait, we're goin' in?" asks Liselle. "About damn time! I need some damn action here!"

Miranda shakes her head, standing up. "Hold on," she says. "Even if we did get there, we might not arrive in time to save them," she says. "And once we move, we can't guarantee that we can go unnoticed."

"Well, we don't exactly have very many options there," I point out.

"True," Miranda replies. "But I'm saying this maneuver may not be successful."

"Still, it's better than sittin' here," I hear Jenny shout from the cockpit. "Ya'd have to be off your nut to think we're doin' any good sittin' here."

I look to Miranda as she shakes her head. "I have the feeling that no matter what we do, we will not be able to help them," she says. "That said… it may turn in our favor."

"Yeah, exactly," I say. "We can't lose hope yet."

"Startin' up the shuttle!" says Jenny. "I can have us there in 'alf a minute if we're goin' ninty to the dozen!"

"Then what are ya waiting for!" says Jack. "Get us moving!"

I feel the shuttle start to prep around us. I feel some lift-off, and then we're moving quickly. "Hopefully those slimy bastards won't catch us on the way there," says Liselle.

I shake my head. "We're probably moving too fast for them to do anything," I observe as I move towards the cockpit. I step in and see Jenny's hands flying across the displays. She's looking up every so often, and I feel a jerk as Jenny narrowly avoids a rather tall-looking tree.

"Hang on to yer hats there!" she shouts. She then looks ahead, turning her attention right in front of us. "We're goin—"

And quite suddenly, I hear a click from my omni-tool. No sooner do I hear this when the sounds of gunfire and people being hit in the face are heard.

"_Art! Art! Come in!_"

Wait… That's Tali!

I suddenly raise my omni-tool, looking on as the fighting on the other end of the line occurs. "Tali, what the fuck is going on over there?" I ask.

"_Art, we need you to get over here!_" I hear Tali shout. "_We got very lucky, but I think we could use a little help getting out of there!_"

"What happened?" I ask again.

"_We'll explain later,_" Tali shouts. I hear her pause, muttering a 'bosh'tet' before I hear a very close shotgun blast go off. I jump back, but before I can comment on it I hear what sounds like Tali rapidly planting her back against the wall. "_Some unexpected things happened, and we now have one extra person we need to help to the shuttle._"

I blink, looking up to Miranda. I notice her look at me in surprise, and we hold this look for two seconds before I turn my attention back to the omni-tool. "That extra person's not a krogan, is it?" I ask.

"_Yes!_" says Tali. "_Then you know what it is! Get into the base and help us!_"

"We're already way ahead of you," I say. "Hang tight, _querida_!"

I barely realize that my pet name has slipped from my tongue before I close the omni-tool connection. "Jenny, can you get that map downloaded to Miranda's omni-tool?"

"In case ya haven't noticed, I'm a bit busy at the moment!" Jenny shouts back. "I'll get to it when we get down!"

"Don't worry about that." With this, I see that Miranda is already doing something on her omni-tool. "I have access to that map on my own omni-tool. That download won't be necessary."

I nod, looking at Miranda. "What the hell happened down there?"

"I don't know, but I guess we'll find out soon," says the former Cerberus operative. "Jenny, how close are we to the base?"

She then indicates it with her finger, and I look outside and see a building there just at the cusp of the valley. "There she is!" she says. "She doesn't look half bad for some ol' STG tip, actually."

I roll my eyes, even as Miranda glares at the base. "I won't have time to figure out what happened, then," she says. "Maybe if—"

And then, Miranda's omni-tool suddenly comes to life. "_Sir! Both of our krogan subjects have escaped! They're both with our intruders! One of the krogan came out of nowhere, and she just… I don't know how to explain it, sir!_"

I hear a brief pause. "_What!?_" I hear the salarian captain. "_What happened?_"

"_I don't know!_" Wow, this salarian sounds frantic. "_But they're headed out of the base now with the two krogan. We need back-up!_"

I hear the STG commander curse in… whatever language is common on Sur'Kesh, I guess. "_Put the base on the highest alert level!_" I hear the commander shout. "_We are now officially entering lockdown. Nobody goes in and out unless we say so!_"

I blink, looking to Miranda. "Lockdown!?" I ask. "It's going into lockdown _again_?"

Miranda shakes her head. "That means we can't go in…" she observes. She then looks to me. "At least, they don't think we can."

She then turns to—hey, when the hell did Jack and Liselle enter the cockpit? Damn it, now it's crowded in here!

"Jack, Liselle," says Miranda. "What kind of action do you think you'd like to perform against a door?"

I look at Jack as she breaks out into the most maniacal smile I have ever seen her give anyone. Liselle looks at Miranda and Jack before smiling herself. Why would they do that? I mean, they can't really do much unless they take their biotics and—

...

"Oh my God, you can't be serious," I say.

"I am," says Miranda as she leaves the cockpit.

"Are ya off your nut?" Jenny shouts. "We're gonna—"

"I know what we're doing," says Miranda. "Trust me."

With this, Jack and Liselle also leave the cockpit. The shuttle slowly begins to slow down, and I look at Jenny as she shakes her head.

"Bloody hell, this ain't gonna end well," she says. "Look after 'em!"

With this, I walk back to the main area of the shuttle as we speed off to our destination very quickly. It barely even takes a minute before the shuttle lands. Immediately when this happens, I notice as Jenny does a few things with the displays and turns to Miranda.

"Well, here we are," says Jenny. "Ya better get on whatever ya loonies are thinkin' of!"

Miranda nods, and then steps outside of the cockpit. "Jack, Liselle, with me." I step out of the cockpit myself, and watch as Jack and Liselle follow her orders. I see them step out of the still-opening shuttle door, and I notice that Jack is looking just a little _too _gleeful there.

I step into the body of the shuttle as Liselle, Jack, and Miranda all walk towards the door. I… They can't be serious, can they?

I hear footsteps from my right as I watch them go, and then I turn to see Jenny walking up behind me. "Well, this'll be fun," she says. "Betcha ten bucks they're gonna put a Santa hat on it and call it Randall."

I frown, looking at Jenny almost immediately. "They don't even have a Santa hat with them," I point out.

Jenny rolls her eyes. "Figure o' speech," she replies. She then walks so that she is standing next to me. "This oughta be fun, though."

I watch as Miranda, Jack, and Liselle take equidistant positions around where the door is. I watch them glow a rather brilliant blue almost immediately, and I sit there as they look directly at the door.

Before I know what has happened, I see a warp hit the door. I frown, looking at Jenny.

"They're warping the door?" I ask.

I turn back to look at the door as Liselle launches another warp.

"Looks like it," says Jenny.

I frown as Miranda and Jack both send a series of warps flying at the door. "I was under the impression they were going to tear the door off its hinges," I reply.

"Hinges?" asks Jenny.

…

I raise my arms in the air. "You know what I mean!" I reply.

I continue watching as Liselle tosses another warp at the door. I watch the three biotics pelt the door with several warps, and I don't actually see any visible changes on the door. If anything, it just looks sturdier… Jesus…

"We're going to be here forever if they keep this up," I comment.

"Give it time," says Jenny.

I shrug. "What time?" I ask. "They're basically just throwing warps at the door!" I gesture to them. "I mean, why not just pick up a tree and ram it in there?"

I then hear a rather loud creak come from that direction. I flinch at this, immediately turning back to the three biotics to see…

…

Oh.

"Well, that works too, I suppose," I say.

I hear a screech again, and watch as the door begins to budge again. It's weird, actually… the door actually looks a little strange from how it was before. I'm not sure how to describe it, to be honest, but it does not look like the door had a lot of fun being pelted by warps.

I hear Jack let out a shout, sending another warp flying at the door. Miranda and Liselle simply concentrate on the door itself, and…

Whoah…

I hear Jack's yell of anger right before she starts running towards the door. The biotic glows fiercely, and I watch as she rears her fist back. I cringe slightly right as she biotically punches the door directly in the center.

Hey… was the door always that dented? Because I don't…

Whoah… Whoah!

I suddenly watch as the door literally comes apart in front of Jack. Time seems to slow down as the two sides of the door peel away from the facility. The door flies around Jack, pulled back by Liselle and Miranda, and I watch as the door begins to break up into many hundreds of tiny fragments. All these fragments pass over Jack harmlessly, and I watch as they also fly right over Miranda and Liselle. The fragments fly behind the two biotics, and they begin clattering on the floor several feet away.

…

I look back at Jenny.

"Holy shit," I say. "Did…"

"Yeah, mate, I saw it too," she comments.

…

…

"Holy shit, it actually _worked_," I comment.

"Yes, it seems to have worked," says Miranda. Whoah, when'd she get up to the shuttle? "And now… we simply have to go help Jarel and the others. Jack, you're with me. Liselle, Art, I'm leaving you to guard the shuttle."

"Have fun, fuckers!" Jack says.

And with this, the two of them turn towards the door they just broke open.

…

I…

Liselle grumbles. "Figures," she says sourly. She then turns to look at me. "What the hell are you gawking at?"

"Uh… I…"

My comm unit suddenly comes to life. "_Art, I don't know if you've heard, but we're in a lockdown situation right now,_" says Kasumi.

…

I slowly lift my arm up and answer the call. "I… uh… How do I put this…"

"We broke the door down," says Liselle.

I'm met with complete silence from the other end. I look back at Liselle again as she steps onto the shuttle, and then notice that Miranda and Jack are already inside. I…

"_Well… that's… _one _way of dealing with that,_" says Kasumi. "_Is someone coming for us?_"

"Uh, yeah, Miranda took Jack with her and they're both off to find you," I comment.

"_Right,_" says Kasumi. "_We'll just stay here and run into them._"

And with this, the comm line cuts out.

I shake my head. "Good God, I can't believe we did that," I say.

"I can," says Liselle. "And trust me, it happened." She shakes her head.

* * *

><p>I find myself sitting on the shuttle about three minutes later, my assault rifle still in my hand. Liselle is pacing around impatiently, and Jenny is sitting inside the cockpit. Well, the sun is slowly setting on Sur'Kesh, but that just means that it's getting slightly darker. I'm sure the shuttle's lights will kick in once the sun goes down. For now, though…<p>

"I spy with my little eye, something green," I hear Jenny shout from the cockpit.

"Tree," I say in a rather bored manner.

"I spy with my little eye, something… orange," she says.

"Sun," I reply.

"I spy with my little—"

I find myself jumping in my seat as Liselle suddenly slams her fist against the wall. "If you say 'I spy with my little eye' one more fucking time…" Liselle says.

"What?" asks Jenny. "I can't pass any bloody time 'ere?"

"No. I mean… Goddess, can we just go in there?" asks Liselle. "It's been three minutes, we haven't heard from them, and we're just sitting on our asses twiddling our thumbs!"

I shake my head. "And what, leave Jenny to defend the shuttle?" I ask. "Yeah, that's not happening."

"But we're here, and all I've done is to sit here and do nothing!" She then turns to me. "If I'm going to be on this mission, I need things to _do_, damn it!"

I hold my hands up defensively. "Chill out, Liselle," I comment. "You'll get something to do eventually."

She shakes her head. "Really?" she asks. "'Cause that's something I keep hearing from—"

"I spy with my little eye somethin' invisible!"

Liselle shoots a death glare at the cockpit, but…

"Wait," I say, standing up and raising my assault rifle. Liselle turns to me in surprise, and I stand up and edge towards the door just a little bit. Right… She saw something invisible. But how do you see something invisible?

Unless…

I suddenly notice the air shimmer slightly in front of us. This shimmer moves towards us, enters the shuttle…

Ack!

I open fire with my assault rifle. Liselle lets out a yell, but right as soon as I fire the first few rounds a salarian appears, apparently having decloaked after getting hit. He takes about four rounds to the chest before he stumbles to the wall behind him. He sinks down dead, and I find that I'm breathing in and out a little too quickly for my taste before I turn my attention back outside, where…

…

Oh, dear, there's another thing of shimmering air.

I fire my assault rifle in that direction too, Liselle watching as I fire at something she can't see. However, upon firing two rounds another cloaking device goes out, and I watch as another salarian guy stumbles backwards with two wounds in his chest.

"W-what?" asks Liselle. "What are you doing? How are you getting those guys?"

"It's a trick I learned dealing with geth," I reply. "If you see the air shimmer, there's someone using a tactical cloak." I look over, not seeing the air shimmer. "Apparently, Jenny picked it up fast, but if you see the air shimmer, then there's probably an STG guy hiding out there!"

I then watch as someone uncloaks from nearby. I raise my assault rifle, but before I can shoot the salarian in question, I watch as the salarian gets flung back a good ten feet by a biotic throw.

"Finally, we get some action!" she says.

I nod. "What they'll probably try to do is that they'll bum rush us, but some of 'em will cloak," I continue. "That way, the ones we can see distract us from the ones we can't. Handy tactic, I have to say." I then shrug. "Of course, there's a very easy way to deal with that with just two people guarding a narrow entrance."

She turns to me, and I nod in her direction. "Right," she says as she glows blue. "Well, here we are, STG! Come and get some!"

Okay. With that done… I see a couple of salarians that have seemingly climbed up the walls of the base while we've been sitting here. Okay… two of them are over there, and they rush us. I hear the hum of biotic energy just to my left before the salarians rushing towards us are sent flying back. One of them actually flies so far away that his back actually hits the edge, and he's sent tumbling over. Hm…

I see another salarian come from the left hand side… Hm…

I glance just to the right side, and—

"Whoah!"

I step towards the entrance of the shuttle and bring my elbow forward. It somehow connects with the air, but as a decloaking salarian stumbles away… yep, that's what I thought it was. I quickly bring up my assault rifle and fire two rounds at him. Those bounce off his shields, but Liselle is quick on her feet and throws him several feet away with her biotics. She doesn't miss a beat, and pulls the salarian that is further away. After a few seconds, he immediately flies over the shuttle, and I can hear his yell as he falls to the ground below.

I nod. "Yeah, something like that," I comment, smiling at Liselle. "There probably won't be too many more salarians if they're all going to be gunning for our guys downstairs."

"Well, it's better than nothing," says Liselle.

"Yep, that it—"

Before I can finish, I hear my omni-tool beep. I look at it, and find that…

"Shit, it's Miranda!" I say to Liselle. "Cover me!"

I duck behind the wall close by the shuttle door, and see Liselle light up biotically. I quickly bring my hand up to my ear, glancing over to the asari as she launches a… throw, I think.

"Miranda, what's up?" I ask.

"_We've met up with Jarel and the others,_" says Miranda. "_We're getting swarmed down here!_"

I nod. "How soon do you think you can be here?" I ask loudly. "'Cause I can get going at any time here!"

"_We're about… two minutes away,_" says Miranda. "_Guard the shuttle until then. And be prepared, we have a _lot _of people following us._"

I nod, looking back to the cockpit. "Jenny, prep the shuttle!" I shout. "Miranda and the others are gonna be here any minute now!"

"Got ya!"

I nod. "Okay," I say. "We're all good to go, we're just waiting on you!"

"_Good._"

With this, Miranda cuts out, and I turn to Liselle. I quickly turn around to see more than a few salarians starting to gather around. Hm… This still doesn't look like a small force, but it looks like they're maneuvering around so that…

Yeah, just make sure there's a clear path to the shuttle and we'll be good.

It's then that I notice that some of them are actually hanging out towards the back now, and preparing…

Sniper rifles?

Shit!

"Liselle, get behind cover!" I shout.

"What does that—?"

She is abruptly interrupted by the sound of a sniper rifle round flying past her head. Abruptly, I push her to the opposite end of the shuttle, throwing her off so that she's by the door. Of course, she stumbles back, and gives me an angry look.

"Sniper rifles," I point out, pointing to behind the singularity that is just beginning to dissipate. "Watch your head."

With this, I peek my head out of cover and continue to fire at the salarians. "Come on, Miranda, any minute now…" I mutter.

I come out of cover and shoot at another cloaked salarian, and then find my shields being pinged by another sniper. God damn it… Why the hell did I leave my sniper rifle back on the Normandy? This is just… gah!

I hide behind cover, watching Liselle lean out of cover while waiting for my shields to regenerate. Come on… There are guys out there… Come on…

I hear a ping from my armor. All right, there we go.

I turn out to face the salarians again, and find myself firing at the incoming crowd of salarians. One of them drops down pretty quickly, though his friends do not seem to be fazed at all. I look to the salarians, seeing one of their lasers dance towards me, and I quickly retreat behind my wall. Thankfully, the sniper round comes barreling past where I was, and I then… Hm… I take this time to reload, looking over to Liselle. I watch her prepare something else, and then I keep an eye on her biotics as a miniature black hole appears right in the middle of a large group of incoming salarians.

…

"You can do singularities?" I ask.

"Yep," says Liselle. "Mother taught me well."

I roll my eyes, turning my attention back to the salarians as the ones caught in the singularity kinda just… float there. I begin firing my assault rifle wildly, and when I hear gunshots close to me I turn to see Liselle has pulled out her pistol and is firing into the crowd too. I turn my attention back to the fight in front of me, noticing that some of the salarians are simply sidestepping the singularity.

I raise my assault rifle and fire at them. They drop pretty quickly, and it's then that I notice the air shimmering slightly as some forms approach us.

"Careful," I shout. "There are cloaked ones coming right up!"

Liselle wastes no time. She throws another biotic attack at the salarians, and before I know what's up I see two guys decloak right as they get pulled back into the singularity. I turn my attention to another shimmer and fire my assault rifle at the shimmer. Sure enough, I get a salarian right as he's about to enter the shuttle. I barely concentrate on him as he goes down quickly, instead turning my attention back to a couple of others.

I hear the gunshots to my right, and see that Liselle has briefly pushed herself against the shuttle wall to dodge a sniper bullet. She wastes no time in promptly pulling herself out of cover, however, and when she does this she tosses a warp into the middle of the field. Instead of getting a salarian that I think she was intending to hit, the warp manages to get a cloaked salarian. This sends him stumbling back, but it gives me time to take note of another shimmer. I go to fire at the shimmer, but then a sniper rifle round pings off of my shields and impacts the opposite wall. I instinctively dive behind cover, glancing at my rifle… Shit, I haven't reloaded yet, have I?

I shake my head and reload quickly. I then turn around and gun the shimmer in the air right as it's about to enter the shuttle. This causes the salarian's cloaks to die off, and before he can react Liselle uses a biotic throw on him. I turn back out to the rest of the salarians and begin firing my assault rifle.

And then, I see a biotic blur appear within the salarian forces. Before I know what's happened, I see the form of a lithe girl jumping up, and then she slams into the ground biotically. This sets off a shockwave that causes all the salarians nearby to stumble. The snipers look confused for a second as they don't fire, but as she stands up I can see that Jack is in good hands.

I then turn to look at the door as Miranda, Al, and Tali all step out. They brandish their weapons, and before I know what is happening the two sides are exchanging gunfire.

"Get the krogan women onto the shuttle!" shouts Miranda.

Okay, good, they're here.

I turn to see Thane, Kasumi, Jarel, and Mordin running as quickly as they can amid the mayhem. Jarel is helping a krogan who is wearing what appears to be a traditional robe… Hm, it's not unlike a Hindi wedding dress, now that I think about it. Jarel rushes straight to the shuttle, and then looks at Liselle and me.

"Help us!" he shouts.

I don't waste any time. I lay down some suppressing fire to keep the snipers down, and then Liselle and I both lean forward. We yank the krogan woman onto the shuttle while Jarel pushes her from behind, and then she's in. Liselle quickly yanks the krogan female off to the side, and I nod as Jarel jumps on and immediately returns fire.

"All right, our princess is on," says Jarel.

I look over to the krogan female. "So that's her," I say.

"Yes," says Jarel, looking back out. "We've got another krogan with us."

I nod. "Good," I say, peeking outside. "How's she doing?"

"Not good." I jolt, hearing the krogan female already in the shuttle say this.

"Yeah, what she said," says Jarel.

At that moment, I look down to see Mordin and Thane helping what looks like an older krogan woman to the shuttle. I look back up, providing some quick suppressing fire before turning my attention back to her.

"Immune system compromised!" Mordin shouts. "Sustained injuries on the way here! Move quickly!"

I nod, watching as Liselle and Jarel both reach forward and yank the second krogan woman inside the shuttle. I briefly notice that Jack, Tali, Al, and Miranda are all slowly working their way towards the shuttle before I lean down and help everyone pull the krogan female inside. I yank her to my side right as Mordin and Thane jump into the shuttle. They turn around and lay down some fire.

"We're in!" shouts Jarel at the top of his lungs.

I look outside to see Miranda nod. "Fall back!"

With this, Miranda, Tali, Al, and Jack all immediately turn towards the shuttle. Al is the first one on, and he turns around and fires into the salarians right as Tali jumps in. Miranda leaps onto the shuttle, and before I know it, Jack is on as well.

Okay… That's me… and… yes… and…

Yes, everyone's accounted for.

I run to the cockpit and look to Jenny.

"The gang's all here!" I shout. "Move!"

"Ya got it!" Jenny shouts as she manipulates the controls.

I look back outside to the general area of the shuttle. Mordin, Thane, and Tali all help the second of the two krogan women onto the seats on the wall of the shuttle, and as I notice this I also see that the shuttle door is closing. As soon as the door closes, I feel the shuttle levitate, and before I know what has happened we are blasting the hell away from that STG base.

…

I lean back against the wall, and suddenly find myself sliding down it. I look to everyone else as they look right at me. I…

"Holy shit, we actually did it…" I say.

"Seems that way." Mordin's comment is more casual than anything, as if he's not saying much. "No time to waste." I then look to Mordin to see that he's examining the second of the two female krogan. "Hm…" He runs his omni-tool over her body. "Vital signs… not good. Dropping. Grazed by assault rifle round, took minor bruising, endured several cuts from headbutting the enclosure…" I hear Mordin inhale sharply. "Will need medical attention. And quickly."

I see the first of the two women step forward, and she comes to stand next to Thane. "No, please…" she says. "There must be something we can do…"

"Our ship has one of the most advanced medical bays in the galaxy," says Miranda. "I can guarantee you that we will help her when we get back to our ship."

"I see…" The krogan princess steps forward. "I—"

"It is all right, Anahit," the other krogan female replies. Hm… she sounds older. "They could not break my spirit when I came to that base. My spirit will endure yet."

"That is not the point," the younger of the two krogan says as she kneels in front of the injured krogan. "You… You are _dying_."

"Perhaps," says the older krogan. "I have seen much in my day, but this? I believe there may be hope for the krogan yet, Anahit." She looks over to Mordin as he applies a dose of medigel. "You cannot… lose sight of that hope…"

The younger of the two krogan women… Anahit? Yeah, Anahit leans forward. "Please, no," she says. "You cannot leave us here. The krogan need you."

"No," says the older of the two women. "The krogan need you. You… are the one they will look to when the genophage is cured… They will look to you…" I see the older of the two women smile. "I have spoken much to you… over the many days I knew you…"

"Yes, but you are the one who knows the krogan best," says Anahit. "I… I cannot help them. I am only the answer to one problem. You showed me that yourself. I cannot hope to help them see that we must adapt and change our ways. Who would listen to me?"

"You underestimate… yourself…" says the older krogan. "You are… a symbol. The krogan… they will listen to one… such as you… Anahit… help the krogan people. Help them… see…"

The older of the two krogan woman slowly leans against the wall, and I watch as she closes her eyes. I briefly catch Anahit leaning in and grabbing the older woman's hand, even as she slowly leans back. I watch Jarel catch the older woman's shoulders.

"Shaman!" Anahit exclaims desperately.

"No!" says Mordin, applying another dose of medigel before running his omni-tool over the older krogan woman again. "Still alive, but vitals dropping fast! Must get her medical treatment!"

"Or an immune booster!" says Jarel. "That would be helpful too!"

I shake my head, turning into the cockpit and looking at Jenny. "Jenny, get us to the Normandy, stat!" I shout.

"_She's working on it!_" I jolt in surprise upon hearing Joker's voice. "_But I'm also coming through. If this whole 'help the krogan thing' is as serious as I think it is, I'm gonna need to meet you halfway._"

"_Dr. Chakwas is waiting outside of the hangar bay,_" EDI adds."_As soon as you are docked with the Normandy, she will do what she must._"

I look over to Jenny. "Just thought I might go an' let 'em know," says Jenny. "Ya know, ta make it easier on us." She turns her attention back to the control panel. "This bird is also goin' as fast as she can!"

I nod. "Thank you, Jenny," I say. "Let's just hope this actually pays off."

"Oh, you and me both, mate!" she says.

"_Yeah,_" says Joker."_I'd be more worried about the massive fleet that might be following us out._"

"They won't 'ave time," says Jenny. "Just meet us halfway!"

With this, Jenny closes the comm line. I glance outside to see that we're already in space, with the stars twinkling around us. I grab onto Jenny's seat, looking outside as we speed away from the salarian homeworld.


	12. Chapter 11

_A/N: Okay. This chapter will see the second part of our krogan genophage-related arc. So stay tuned for more insanity, stay tuned for more conversations, and stay tuned for more action._

_Also, before I say much else... I'd just like to take this time to thank SithKing Zero for adding Mass Vexations to the Fanfic Recs page for TVTropes' Mass Effect page. You are awesome, so thank you so much for that! Crazy times shall be had with that, you know._

_And this story has now officially passed the review count of MV1. I appreciate your reviews a lot, guys, so thanks for all the feedback!_

_So here we go._

_NOTE: This is an updated version of Chapter 11, which has undergone extensive revision. I would like to thank ValentineDiverseOptics for being extremely helpful in brainstorming a solution to making this arc and the Tuchanka arc actually work._

* * *

><p>Chapter 11: Wise Women<p>

Almost immediately after the shuttle docks on the Normandy, I notice that Dr. Chakwas is indeed standing there with a gurney ready. I make my way down as quickly as possible, helping Thane, Jarel, and Tali get the unconscious shaman lady out of the shuttle. I glance at Dr. Chakwas, suddenly noticing that Sturge is on standby as well. We both rush her there, with Anahit not far behind.

"Here she is," says Jarel. "We have to move it."

"Already on it," says Dr. Chakwas. "Sturge, the immunobooster!"

The old man hands Dr. Chakwas an immunobooster that I don't exactly recognize, and I watch as the doctor goes and sticks that needle into the shaman's shoulder.

I… No, I really shouldn't bitch about that. Doctor knows best, after all. I look back up at Dr. Chakwas, who nods.

"That should keep her alive while we take her to the med bay," she says. "I will need the equipment there, but that should keep her breathing."

"Provided she hasn't gotten an infection already," Jarel replies. "Come on!"

With this, the entire group rushes towards the elevators, moving the injured krogan as quickly as we can. When we get to the elevator, I break out in a run, slamming my hand on the call button. Thankfully, the elevator door opens almost immediately, and the elevator opens. Dr. Chakwas wheels her latest patient into the elevator quickly, and I dimly notice that Mordin is sprinting over in our general direction as I climb into the elevator after Sturge, Tali, Anahit, and Thane. The doctor rushes right in, and immediately afterwards the elevator door closes.

I look over to the others. "So… I guess you found this lady at last," I say. "How'd you find her?"

Jarel shakes his head. "She was close to Anahit," says Jarel.

"We were in different cells," says Anahit as she places her hand on the shaman. "We could still speak…" She shakes her head, and I notice that her eyes are betraying major panic. "Please, do not let her die."

"Oh, trust me, I don't plan to let her die just yet," says Dr. Chakwas. "If only this damn elevator would—"

And immediately, the elevator door opens. I blink in surprise, looking out at the crew deck. Huh… the elevator is faster than normal today. Well… that's a good thing, 'cause that means we have a better chance of saving this shaman that Anahit is so attached to.

"Well, that's lucky," says Sturge. "Come on!"

With this, he grasps the gurney and pushes it out, Mordin and Jarel quickly rushing to his aid. Dr. Chakwas follows, and then Tali, Thane, Anahit, and I all follow them rather quickly. As soon as we get to the med-bay, though, she immediately turns to us.

"Stay out of the med-bay until I'm done," she says. "I'll have EDI notify you when we're finished."

I nod. "Got it," I say.

Before Anahit can protest, Dr. Chakwas closes the door behind her, and I watch as the panel turns red. With this, I look over to Anahit, who looks like she is petrified with terror.

Wait… A krogan? Terrified?

I walk over to Anahit, glancing at the med bay briefly. "She'll be fine, Anahit," I reassure her. "She's in good hands."

"I hope so," says Anahit. "I… I need somewhere quiet to think for a few seconds."

"I would be willing to allow you to sit in Life Support," says Thane. "It is quiet there."

The krogan nods. "Thank you, drell," she says. "That would be appreciated."

Thane nods, and begins walking toward Life Support. Anahit follows closely behind him, and before I know it they have both entered Life Support.

I look directly at Tali, placing my hands behind my back. "Well, there we are…" I say. "I'd say we've gotten our krogan princess safely on board, wouldn't you?"

"Yes, I believe so," says Tali. She then looks over to me. "She seemed rather close with the shaman, though."

I nod. "That's what it looks like," I say. "Well, the only thing we can do from here is hope that Dr. Chakwas is successful, so… we'll just have to let that play out."

"Yes, we will," Tali agrees. "We should see if Joker has driven us out of this system."

I nod, and follow Tali as she turns back to the elevator.

* * *

><p>Tali and I get over to the Normandy's cockpit quickly to see that we are in a huge expanse of space. Hm…<p>

"Well, looks like the cavalry's all here," Joker says. "I can't believe I had to follow you guys through the relay."

I shrug. "Our plans changed," I comment. "But we're out of that system, right?"

"Just got back in the Terminus Systems," says Joker as his chair turns around to face Tali and I. "No way the Council's ships are going to follow us here."

I nod, patting his chair. "Good," I say. "I have to say, I didn't think we could pull it off."

"Well, here we are," says Joker. "EDI, we're good on everything, right?"

I see EDI's avatar appear. "_Yes, Jeff,_" she says. "_I am also under orders of Miranda to let Mr. ********* know when I am updated on the condition of the shaman Miranda and the others rescued from Sur'Kesh._"

I nod. "Thanks, EDI," I say. "Has Grunt heard?"

"_Miranda has gone to inform him of both this, and the shaman that has been rescued,_" says EDI. "_I cannot say he will take this so well._"

I shrug. "I dunno," I say. "We'll cross that hurdle when we get there." I nod, looking at Tali. "Well… I think we've got everything we need to here," I say.

"Really?" asks Joker. "So… we're not going back into Council space to steal more krogan women from the STG?"

I roll my eyes and shake my head. "No, Joker," I reply.

The pilot shrugs. "Good to know," he says. "One group of krogan women is enough for me to handle, thank you very much."

"_That's what she said._"

I blink, watching as EDI says this. Before I can properly reply, though, Joker nods. "There you go, EDI," he says, smiling. "You're actually starting to get the hang of it now!"

I frown, pointing at EDI. "You taught her 'that's what she said'," I say.

"_Yes,_" says EDI. "_Jeff thought I should expand my… repertoire of jokes._"

…

Okay…

"What?" asks Joker.

"Well… I just think it's weird how you taught her 'that's what she said'," I comment.

"Says the guy who has ensured that every krogan on Tuchanka is now playing 'the game'," Joker retorts.

…

Oh, for the love of—mother—in a—

I raise my hand, pointing at Joker. "Touché," I reply. "You… _do _realize that there's a beating with an invisible chair in order, right?"

"I've been through worse," says Joker. "You don't want to know what being hit with an invisible bat is like."

"I'll bet I don't," I say, glancing at Tali. "Well, since we're in the Terminus systems… As you were, Joker."

The pilot nods. "You just let me know when we jump back into the arrest zone, and we'll be good." His chair then swivels back around, and he returns to piloting. I shrug, looking at Tali as the two of us walk away from the cockpit.

* * *

><p>"Well, there we are," I say. "You think Grunt will come up to the crew deck after Miranda's explanation?"<p>

"Probably," says Tali. "I don't think he's ever seen a krogan female before."

I shrug. "Technically, neither have I," I comment. "Though… Something did catch my attention."

Tali looks at me. "About Anahit and the shaman?"

"About something the shaman said to Anahit," I say. "About… the krogan. Being self destructive. You know, that stuff."

She nods. "Yes, I thought there was something odd about that, too," she says. "You were going to ask…?"

"Yes," I reply. "First, though, I think we should give her some space for a few minutes. So… I guess we're up for chilling down on the crew deck."

"I think so," says Tali. "Do you believe we will debrief soon?"

I shrug. "I think Miranda may want to wait on the shaman's condition to improve or something like that," I comment. "Either way… we need to get Anahit adjusted slightly. This is probably a huge shift from what was essentially an STG prison."

"She'll get used to it very quickly, I think," says Tali. "For now… I guess we wait."

With this, I hit the call button on the elevator. "Yep, that we do," I reply.

My hand unconsciously seeks her hand out, and before I know it we are both holding hands, waiting for the elevator to rise up to the CIC.

When we step out of the elevator (about ten minutes later—jeez, this elevator can be annoyingly slow sometimes), we're surprised to see Grunt stepping out of Life Support. He looks at Tali and I, crossing his arms as he stands there.

It doesn't take him long to speak. "So we got them out of there," says Grunt. "Wish I was there to see it. I would've liked to rip some of those pyjacks apart."

I pout slightly. "Yeah, you would've liked it," I reply. "The rest of us…" I raise my right hand, giving him a so-so gesture. "Not so much, I think you'll find."

"Right," says Grunt. He then turns around and looks back at Life Support. "I've never spoken with a female before. It was… _different_ from what the tank and the Urdnot clan people said."

"It would be very different," Tali observes.

Grunt shrugs. "There's one thing I don't get," he says. "Why… why does she wear all those _clothes_? You can't kill things with them. They'd just… get in the way."

I shrug. "You'll have to ask Wrex on that one," I reply. "I honestly don't know." I then look out to Life Support. "But trust me, Grunt, some people are not meant to fight at all."

"Hmph." Grunt looks back. "To be honest… she seems weak." He glances back at me. "She wouldn't quit talking about that shaman inside the med bay."

"And why not?" asks Tali. "This shaman… we would be sitting in an STG cell if not for her."

"Yes, but this… female won't stop talking about the shaman," says Grunt. "It's annoying."

I shrug. "Well…" I comment. "It's likely that this shaman and Anahit were close enough that she's got reasonable cause to worry." I look directly at Grunt. "When you care about someone like that…" I shrug. "You kind of really can't shut up about them, you know?"

"I wouldn't know about that," says Grunt. "I was created to fight. And there she is talking about not fighting!" He shakes his head.

I frown. "She's also talking about not fighting?" I ask. "What makes you say that?"

"She spoke about things the shaman told her," says Grunt. "They are… not things I have heard. They are things some people within the Urdnot clan told me were… _wrong_…"

I frown, looking at the krogan. "Uh…" I say. Really? Hm… I'll humor him for now, but… "And you don't think she should be talking about those things?"

"They make her look weak," says Grunt. "It must be those pyjacks that kept them." Grunt points at his head. "They probably told them everything they're talking about now." He shakes his head.

I shrug. "Well… whether you like it or not, that woman has the key to the genophage," I point out. "So I know you don't like what she's saying, Grunt, but—"

"I have to live with it," says Grunt. "I'm not stupid. I don't like what she says, but she's the one who can help get the genophage cured."

"Yeah, something like that," I reply. "As you were, Grunt."

The krogan lumbers past us to the elevator, hitting the call button. Thankfully, it seems the elevator hasn't moved since we got off, and so Grunt is able to get on immediately. Once inside, he presses the button for what I assume is engineering, and then the elevator doors close behind him.

As soon as they do, I turn to Tali. "Things the Urdnot clan didn't say?" I ask. I frown, looking at Tali. "But isn't Wrex trying to push reforms of krogan culture to that effect?"

"That's what I gathered when we were on Tuchanka," says Tali. "Do you think…?"

"It's possible," I say. "But we won't know unti—"

Suddenly, EDI's avatar pops up from the little access point that's right by the elevator. "_Mr. *********_," says EDI. "_I have an update on the shaman's condition._"

I blink, looking back to EDI. "What's up?" I ask.

"_The shaman is now in stable condition,_" EDI states. "_Dr. Chakwas is watching her condition very closely, but she believes that this shaman will be awake in two hours._"

I nod. "Good," I say. "Thank you, EDI. You want to break that to Anahit, or…?"

"Actually, I was going to do that." I look right past the access point to see Jarel walking right up to Tali and I. He nods. "It's good to see you again, Art. Especially after all that."

"I take it that there was a lot of unpleasant things going around?" I ask.

"Not really," says Jarel. "Just… it was difficult to work with the limited supplies we've got now. We managed, though, and with any luck she'll be all right."

"That's good," says Tali.

"Anahit will be pleased, at any rate," says Jarel. "The kinds of things that Anahit was saying while we were running out of that base…" He shrugs. "They're practically sisters by this point."

"I'm not surprised," says Tali. "They were two captives surrounded by a large group of captors."

"And yet they were separated by a cell," says Jarel. "The cells weren't sound-proofed, though, and I think that might mean that there were _many _conversations between them."

"Sounds about right," I comment. "Tali and I were actually just about to go talk to her."

"Really?" asks Jarel. "Why?"

"Well… we literally _just _passed Grunt," I reply. "You know, 'cause he went to talk to Anahit. And he said some things that are a bit intriguing."

Jarel nods. "I see," he says. "Well… You'll get your answers soon."

"That we will," I reply. "Come on. Let's go see this krogan princess for the first time."

With this, the three of us walk towards Life Support. The door opens, and I walk in to see Thane standing at the window. He turns his head to glance at us, and simply nods in acknowledgment of our presence before motioning to Anahit. She is sitting with her back to the window, and I notice for the first time how odd it is that she has all those clothes on. They're a fine shade of lavender, don't get me wrong, but there are just so many of them. More than I'm used to seeing on a krogan, really. Her green eyes shine in the light, though I don't think it's from happiness.

The female krogan looks directly at Jarel and I, sparing a glance towards Tali before looking ahead again. She clasps her hands together and releases a low hum.

Hm…

"So…" I begin. "Here we are."

"Indeed," says Anahit. "You must know who I am."

"Well, we know that your name's Anahit and that you're immune to the genophage, but that's about it, really," I reply.

"Jorgal Anahit," she replies. "That is my full name."

I nod. "I see," I say. "How're you holding up?"

Anahit's hands clench ever more tightly. "If I wish to be honest, which I do, then I would say that I am terrified for the well-being of the shaman," she replies. "She was my only company in that STG facility." She looks up at Jarel. "It is only because of your salarian friend here that I do not refer to it as a prison."

"Oh, no, I can see why you'd say that," says Jarel.

"Then you do not agree with Dalatrass Linron," says Anahit.

"I don't," says Jarel. "I happen to think that the krogan people could use hope. The genophage has gone on too long by now."

Anahit nods. "That… makes me glad," she says. "I never thought I would hear those words from a salarian." She looks down. "I… I worry about the shaman."

Jarel nods. "You won't have to for much longer," he says. "She's in stable condition now."

Anahit immediately perks up, looking at Jarel. "Is she?" she asks. "Do you believe she will wake up?"

"With krogan regenerative abilities, I would say that she'll be awake in… three hours, at the absolute maximum."

The krogan in front of us looks at the wall in front of her, though I… is that a sigh I just heard. "Good," she says. "She underestimates her worth as a shaman. She is wise beyond her years, and I know that the krogan people would listen to her."

"It sounded that way," I comment, walking forward. "You mind if one of us sits here?"

"Not at all, human," says Anahit. "It is only fair after saving my life, after all."

I smile and sit down in front of her. Jarel and Tali take positions behind me as I place my elbows on the table and lean forward. "Now that's something you don't hear every day," I comment. "And please, call me Art."

"Art…" says Anahit. "That is a funny name. It has no place."

"It's actually a nickname," says Tali.

"Nickname?" The krogan frowns briefly, though her expression immediately softens back up after a few seconds. "I see… You will have to forgive my cultural ignorance. I was taken away from my home just after the Relay 314 Incident. I… am not very familiar with humans."

"Must be weird being in a ship that's full of 'em," I comment.

"Yes," says Anahit. "Though I believe 'weird' would be something of an understatement. The shaman told me much about humanity. About their nobility… about their Commander Shepard…" I can sense that she's smirking under all those clothes. "She even told me of a… _custom _that was introduced into the krogan clans by a human. I admit, it is a rather silly custom, but also an amusing custom."

…

God damn it.

"Lemme guess," I say. "I just lost the game."

"Yes, you did," she replies. "I believe it was introduced by a young friend of the leader of Clan Urdnot."

"Yeah," I say. "And it just so happens that you're sitting in front of him."

"Oh!" Anahit looks taken aback. "I… I see."

I shrug. "It's fine," I say. "It was just something silly, anyway."

"Indeed it is," says Anahit. "And yet, it has apparently become quite prominent on Tuchanka. I know not how it happened, but I trust that answer will be revealed to me eventually."

"Yeah," I reply. "It'll be revealed eventually, and then you'll still probably ask yourself how it ever caught on." I'm silent for a few seconds, wondering… Hm… Maybe I should talk to her about this shaman person. Yeah, that might be a good idea. "So… you talked a lot to the shaman."

"Yes," says Anahit, and her expression becomes more serious again. "She came some time before you came and took me away from that place. She was accompanied by many other females." Anahit looks down and to the side. "Many of them died shortly after they arrived. Some died later. But by the time the week was out, only the shaman was left."

"And so you sort of gravitated towards each other," I hear Jarel say. "I thought that that's what might've happened."

"She was very close to where I was," says Anahit. "I… I was so lonely down there. It simply felt good to hear another voice respond to mine after a while. And the shaman… she is a wise woman. I do not think I could ever be as wise as she is in a thousand years." She sighs. "There were… many things we spoke about. Chiefly, we spoke about things that need to change if the krogan hope to reach prosperity again."

I nod. "Grunt mentioned you talked a bit about changing tradition," I comment.

Anahit chuckles. "I would go so far as to say that the shaman has cited tradition that dates very far back in our history," she says. "In fact, I would say that she turns to traditions that existed before we bombed our own planet."

I blink. "There… You have traditions that date that far back?" asks Tali in disbelief.

"We were an honorable race once," says Anahit. "But alas, many of our most honorable traditions got swept up before the Rachni wars began."

I nod. "I see…" I say. "And you're hoping to get back to that."

"Yes," says Anahit. "For the sake of the krogan, and for the sake of the galaxy."

"And for the sake of the galaxy?" asks Jarel.

Anahit nods. "Yes," she replies. "The shaman… she was not like most krogan when it came to the salarians. She regarded them differently from any krogan I have ever known. She regarded them with quite a bit of respect. It was…" She shakes her head. "Strange, I think is the word I am looking for."

"I'm guessing she was nicer to them than most krogan would be," says Jarel.

"Yes," says Anahit. "I could not understand it at first. I even briefly thought that the clans would be appalled at her behavior, even if I was not quite as offended as they were." She says this using airquotes, at which I can't help but chuckle good-naturedly. "I could not understand what possessed her to do such a thing. But there were… _subtle _changes. The salarians still looked rather cold, but once the shaman came and began actually speaking with them… they stopped looking so hatefully at us." Anahit glances to the side. "For the first time in many years, I even saw a salarian give me a look that was not laced with some amount of disdain."

She pauses. "I was… confused," she says. "It was strange seeing salarians that had regarded me with nothing but anger suddenly change the way they viewed us. And then… the shaman told me of traditions that I had only briefly heard about. And that began a long conversation about the future of the krogan." She looks up at Jarel. "It is… odd. I am still quite young for a krogan."

"Really?" asks Jarel. "About how old are you?"

"I am merely eighty-four," she says.

I blink. Whoah, seriously? This lady's younger than Liara! I mean… this can't be… "Eighty-four?" I ask.

"You are… _much _younger than I expected," Jarel comments.

"Many would expect me to be older as well," Anahit replies. "But… I am actually quite young. My clan did not discover my immunity to the genophage until I had physically matured. When it was discovered, they attempted to keep me a secret." She looks down sadly. "And then the STG stole me from the place I consider home. I did not even know I had been captured until I woke up on the shuttle to Sur'Kesh." She sighs, glancing down.

"Jeez," I comment. "That's…" I pause, glancing to the side. "I'm sorry you had to lose some part of your life like that."

"It was not your fault," says Anahit.

"Still, it's rough going through such a sudden change like that," I comment. My left hand comes behind my head and scratches some area on the back of it before I lay it back on the table. "It usually is."

"You were not responsible for it," says Anahit. "Therefore, I think that your condolences are superfluous." She shakes her head. "But that is trivial. I thank you for your concern, human, but I am all right." She sighs. "It is so strange to speak with a race I have heard much about but have never seen."

I bite my lower lip, barely suppressing a chuckle. "Trust me, I know that feeling all too well," I comment. "Growing up on Earth all my life tends to make alien encounters very interesting the first time they happen." Well, that, and jumping forward in time.

"So I hear," says Anahit. She looks over at Jarel briefly before shifting in her seat slightly. "I believe this conversation is quite nice and pleasant, but…" She fixes a look at Jarel. "I believe there is something the salarian wishes to address with me."

"I… yes, there is, actually," says Jarel. "I don't know if you know all that much about why the shaman was there?"

"She mentioned that there was a salarian who tried to cure the genophage," says Anahit. "She was one of the subjects from that experiment…"

Jarel nods. "Good, I don't need to explain too much," he says. "I… was there when the experiments were shut down."

"Oh?" says Anahit. "What were you doing there?"

"I was sent there on a mission from the Council," says Jarel. "We happened to run into Art and the rest of the Normandy's crew there, and we found Maelon." He pauses, and then opens his omni-tool. "Maelon's dead now, but I have a copy of his data. I've recently started going through it, coming up with possible solutions."

Anahit looks up at the salarian. "And you would cure the genophage?"

"Consequences be damned," Jarel adds as he closes the omni-tool. "But I would need help to do so."

"Indeed you would," Anahit replies. "Do you wish to see me about this?"

"Not immediately, but eventually," Jarel replies. "I think you would be able to help us quite a bit. I will need to draw samples, of course." He pauses. "I know you might not like the idea of that."

"It depends," says Anahit at length. "I… There are some things that the STG people did with needles I would be perfectly content to never discuss again."

Jarel nods. "We can talk about that further at the tech lab, then," he says.

"And I believe we can help you with that," I reply. I look up at Thane. "I notice you've been quiet here."

"Your drell was actually engaged in quite the discussion with me earlier," says Anahit. "I wish there were not as many interruptions as there have been, though…"

It is only then that Thane turns to Anahit. "I did not realize our discussion was that… stimulating to you."

"It has plenty of things worth further discussion," says Anahit. "I wish to get back to it."

I nod, looking to Jarel and Tali before shrugging. "Well… I guess it's convenient, actually," I comment as I get out of the chair. "There are some things I need to check up on."

I wink at Anahit, and she looks at me with a slightly confused look on her face. However, she turns to Thane, and realizes that he is sitting down where I was seated barely two seconds ago.

"We'll leave you two here," says Tali.

I nod. "We'll have EDI update you when the shaman's condition changes."

"Good," says Anahit. "Now…" She turns to the drell. "I believe there was something we were speaking of earlier relating to what you think of Commander Shepard."

"There was…" says the drell.

I start hearing the rest of the conversation, but I don't listen in as I start exiting the room. As soon as we are outside, I nod to Tali and Jarel, who both look pretty pleased.

As soon as the door to Life Support closes, Tali speaks first. "Well, she seems to be doing alright," she says.

"It definitely looks like it," says Jarel. "She is adjusting quickly, for someone who was imprisoned by an STG unit not too long ago."

I shrug. "Maybe we can ask this shaman about that when she wakes up," I reply. "It seems that shaman has had a lot of influence."

"I'm not surprised," says Jarel. "She's young for a krogan. I would say that she is the youngest person on the ship if not for Grunt."

I nod, crossing my arms. "Do you think she'll actually go to help you?" I ask.

"I don't know," says Jarel. "She's probably had one bad experience with needles too many." He shrugs. "But I think she will see reason. Until then, I think the best thing to do would be to take it at her pace."

"Yep," I reply. "That's the best thing indeed."

Tali frowns. "You know, something occurred to me," she says. "Why have we not debriefed yet?"

… Hm… "Yeah, that's a good question," I comment. "We just got back from a mission, but we haven't even debriefed yet."

"I suppose they'll want the shaman awake for debriefing," says Jarel. He opens his omni-tool. "At any rate, that gives me time to look over Maelon's data in further detail. I could start now with the blueprint from Maelon's data."

I nod. "You do that," I say. "Tali and I are going to hang out down here."

Jarel nods. "All right, then," he says. "Good day to you two."

And with this, he walks towards the elevators. As he presses the call button, I shrug, looking directly at Tali.

"Well, this has been interesting," I comment. "You feeling hungry?"

"I… believe so," says Tali.

I smile. "Then to the mess hall we go!"

* * *

><p>Sometime later, Tali and I are sitting there in the mess hall. My fork is hovering over my empty plate, and I sit there as Tali unhooks the tube of nutrient paste from her suit.<p>

"I wish we could've gotten those fruit-flavored nutrient paste packs before we left the Citadel," Tali mentions.

I raise my eyebrows. "It's not like you to complain about something," I comment.

"Yes, it isn't," says Tali. "I think this ship has spoiled father and I." She shakes her head. "I can't remember the last time I was complaining about the flavor of a pack of nutrient paste."

I shrug. "Neither can I," I guess. "I guess it's something you get used to?"

"Yes," says Tali. She pauses for a few seconds before looking at me. "Things are changing very quickly around here. Jarel wants to cure the genophage, Aria is helping us gather forces to fight the Reapers…"

I catch her dejected glance down towards the floor almost as soon as she gives it. I frown, leaning forward and placing my fork back on the plate.

"What's wrong, Tali?" I ask.

The quarian shakes her head. "It'll seem silly," she says. "And selfish."

I give her a gentle smile. "Foolish?" I ask. "Tali, you know I won't mind. I mean…" I glance to the side, feeling my cheeks heat up slightly. "We've… ah…"

"Yes," says Tali with a nod. "That is… _very _true." I can sense her blush even through the glass of her face mask. A few seconds later, though, this blush dies down, and she looks at herself. "All of this upheaval has made me think, actually. What… what would happen if we could suddenly step outside of our suits without getting sick?"

I raise my eyebrow at this. "What brought this on?" I ask.

"I admit I don't really know," says Tali. "But…" She shakes her head. "You know as well as I do how much I'd like to get out of this suit. You know how much the quarian people want to be rid of these suits."

I nod, looking at her and seeing what she means. "Everything's changing around us," I add. "I guess that means we'll have to hope that you can step out of your suit again without getting ill, right?"

"Yes," says Tali. "It seems like a perfectly silly thing to want."

I shake my head. "It doesn't sound silly to me at all," I reply. "Just like that house on Rannoch doesn't seem silly at all now with Legion and everything."

I can almost sense the quarian's smile. "And my father is alive to be able to keep his promise," Tali replies. "I wonder where he will build that house on the homeworld for us to live in…"

I shrug. "I dunno, maybe we can find a nice, fancy beach somewhere to build it on," I comment.

"A beach?" asks Tali. "Why would you ask for a beach?"

"Well… it would be something to remind me of home," I comment. "My home city was famous for its beaches, you know." I shrug. "Besides, waterfront properties are nice. There's something… calming about being in a house that's right next to a large body of water."

Tali gives me an odd look. "Isn't it dangerous to live by the water, though?" she asks. "Some people in the Fleet say that living by water is dangerous."

I roll my eyes. "Beaches don't tend to have their water stored in tanks," I reply. Tali blinks, frowning slightly. After a few seconds, however, she nods, and I notice her posture get more noticeably relaxed.

"Besides," I continue. "You actually get to _see _the water when you live on a waterfront property. And then there are the things you do in that waterfront property that you need the water for."

Tali nods. "Yes…" She pauses briefly. "And to be able to smell the air… I hear it's supposed to be nice, the smell of the ocean."

"I personally don't think it's anything special," I reply, gesturing with my free hand. "But if you can smell the ocean and you're sitting there… then I think that's the ultimate sign of 'life is good', you know?"

"Yes… I think," says Tali. She then shakes her head. "Keelah, this is an odd conversation. I'm having a conversation with my boyfriend about my house on the homeworld as if we were already scouting the location."

I raise my eyebrows. "'We'?" I ask.

Tali pauses, looking at me. She then realizes what we both have been saying, and freezes up. "Oh, Keelah…" she says.

"Oh Keelah indeed," I comment. "I mean… Are we really this far along?"

Tali pauses before looking at me. "It… seems that way," she says. "This is getting… Oh… My, it's hot in here."

I pull at the collar of my shirt. "I've gotta say, I agree with you on that," I comment. I look at her. "This is just…"

Tali looks down, and then looks back up. "Well… I guess I had to say this sooner rather than later…" She looks at me. "We've been through so much together."

I nod. "Two suicide missions, all this stuff, and if the Reapers get defeated…" I comment. "It _is _a lot."

"Yes," she says. "And to be honest, I don't think I can simply go to the homeworld without you."

I blink. "You really think so?" I ask.

"Yes…" she says.

I pause, glancing to the side. Am I really ready for that? I mean… I've never… Well, I've never lived with a girlfriend. Sure, I sleep in the same bed as Tali, but this is a war situation. This is going to be totally different from how things are at home, I know that for a fact.

But…

I smile, and lightly take her hand in mine. "Well…" I say. "If you feel that way… I would love to be by your side on Rannoch, _querida_. And if there are hitches in that plan, I'll be willing to figure them out."

The quarian nods, and it's then that I hear her sniffle slightly. "Thank you, my _hesh'alan_," she says. "I was… A part of me hoped you would say that."

I frown. "Tali?" I ask. "You're not… _crying_, are you?"

At this, Tali chuckles. "_Keelah_, no," she says. "I'm not _that _emotional. No. It's… I think it's the side effect from the face exposure before we dropped on Sur'Kesh."

"Ah." I nod, pursing my lips together. "And here I was beginning to think you had already adapted to me."

"So was I," says Tali.

I shrug, looking at Tali as I gently let go of her hand. "Well, now that we've got that out of the way," I comment. "I wonder what else is in store for us."

"Probably a conversation with the old man."

I flinch, looking behind me to see Sturge standing there. Tali and I jolt, and I find myself moving an inch or two to the side.

"Oh, Sturge!" I say. "I… I'm sorry, I didn't see you there!"

Sturge shrugs. "Eh, I just got here," he says. "Don't worry your head off, old timer. You mind if I sit here?"

"Oh, no," says Tali. "Please, sit."

Sturge nods and takes a seat next to us. "I've gotta say, Art, the more I see around here, the crazier it gets," he says. "If you had told me I'd be helping some future doctor patch up a giant hulking woman, I'd have thought you were crazy. I never thought I'd see any woman that is bigger than your average Brünnhilde, and now I'm trying to keep one of them alive?"

"Brünnhilde?" asks Tali.

I shrug. "Wagner reference," I reply. "Shouldn't you be in there?"

"Eh, Mordin and Carolyn can handle it," says the old man. "Especially with Mordin there. I swear, the man knows more about krogan anatomy than I could keep track of. He was spouting off all this technobabble about krogan anatomy that I couldn't even follow!" He shakes his head. "If only he didn't talk so fast."

"That's a salarian for ya," I reply. "They know everything, and they usually talk _way _too fast."

"You're tellin' me," says Sturge. "And then there's the part where he sings reworked Gilbert and Sullivan." He shakes his head. "I don't know what's up with librettists today trying to recontextualize Gilbert and Sullivan. I mean… 'better to die to a thresher maw, with shotgun-blasting-roaring-raw'? I don't think W.S. Gilbert ever did _that _kind of poetic license with his words." He pauses. "But then again, I haven't been able to look at music all that much."

I look at him. "All this jazz happening?" I ask.

"Yes," says Sturge. "When I retired, I didn't think I'd have to deal with anything like this."

"I don't think Art did either," Tali replies.

"Especially not him," says Sturge. "I know one thing for sure, though: Mordin can't sing if his life depended on it. I mean… Christ, I've never seen someone get off pitch so wildly."

I frown. "Wait, you heard him sing?"

"I overheard him spouting off a couple of verses from that reworked version of 'Pirate King' as I was helping Carolyn clean up after herself," says Sturge. "That guy couldn't hold pitch consistently if he tried."

I shrug. "Well, I guess that's the reason he prefers the patter songs," I comment.

The old man shrugs. "Or it could be that it's easier to rework the patter songs," he replies. "And they're catchier. That too." He shifts in his seat. "Though… I heard through the grapevine that he did _Iolanthe _too. I'd be _really _interested to hear some of the reworked songs from _that_."

"'_Pirate King_'? Patter songs? _Iolanthe_?" We both look to Tali, who is busy rubbing her face mask in confusion. "I think you'll forgive me if I am _very _lost here."

And there's the downside of not having a musical girlfriend. I glance at Sturge, grinning nervously as I look at Tali. "Give me a couple of years, and we'll have you all up to date on this stuff," I say. "Trust me."

Tali nods, but then frowns. "Weren't you going to do that years ago?"

I blink, looking at Tali and… Oh shit, that's right, I was going to get her started on that, wasn't I?

"It must've gotten lost in all the stuff that happened on the original Normandy," I comment. "I guess. I don't really know. Either way… we kind of need to fix that."

"That we—"

Before Sturge can finish his comment, however, I see Mordin come walking into the mess hall.

"Art," says Mordin. "Sturge. Both here. Excellent. Shaman in process of waking up."

I frown, looking at Sturge. "Really?" asks Sturge. "She's up almost a full hour before Dr. Brosca's projections!"

"More resilient than given credit for," says Mordin. "Awake very quickly. Will be slightly confused. May want to talk."

I nod, standing up. "Well, I've got plenty of time for _that_, so I think we should get this out of the way now." I nod to Tali, watching as she stands up pretty much straight away. "Come on. We've got a krogan shaman to talk to."

I walk into the med bay to see Dr. Chakwas and Mordin both presiding over the female shaman. Sturge and Tali walk in behind me, and I look at the shaman as she casts a glance at us. I stand there, looking at the shaman. Hm… for someone who's probably disoriented, she's got an excellent poker face. I think, anyway…

I lean forward, hearing another set of footsteps. I cast a glance behind me to see that Garrus and Madison have both entered the room. Turning my attention back to the Shaman, I take a couple of tentative steps towards the krogan woman as she blearily looks up.

"Am I…?" she asks.

I chuckle, shaking my head while moving so I'm standing next to the shaman. "Dead?" I ask. "I don't think so."

She looks at the other occupants of the room. I hear her grunt as she looks at all of us in the room. "I do not believe so either," says the shaman. "Perhaps for a brief second…" She looks at all of us. "Where am I…?"

I hear another set of footsteps enter the med bay. When I turn around, I see Miranda walk right in and push past the small crowd that has gathered there. "You are on our ship," says Miranda. "We are the crew of the Normandy SR-3."

The shaman smiles. "Yes… I see…" She turns to us. "Then we escaped from Sur'Kesh."

"Yep," I reply, crossing my arms. "And now you're on our med bay, sitting here, getting healed by our wonderful doctor."

The shaman nods weakly. "And Anahit?" she asks.

"She is also doing quite well," says Miranda. "She was _quite _distressed about your injuries, though."

"This does not surprise me," says the shaman. "Anahit is young, and was taken to a prison at a young age. She will cling to what company she can find: it is only natural for captives."

"I can imagine," I comment. "You did tell EDI to alert Anahit to—"

I hear yet another set of footsteps enter the room, and I turn immediately to see Anahit enter the room. She pauses, looking at the shaman.

"Shaman!" says Anahit. She rushes towards me, and before I know what has happened I feel myself get pushed rather quickly to the side. I stumble back quite a bit, a protest forming in my throat. I turn to Anahit, and any protest that I have built up is instantly shot down by the way Anahit is kneeling next to the shaman's bed.

"Shaman!" the younger krogan repeats. "You… You are alive… I did not think…"

The shaman simply gives her a kind smile, and I watch as her hand touches Anahit's shoulder tenderly. Wait… tender? A krogan? "Even with my compromised immune system, I yet live," says the shaman.

Anahit nods. "This is good news, then," she says. "You… You can help the krogan."

"As can you," says the shaman. "There is much you can do to aid our people." She then looks more serious. "I heard Maelon was killed."

"Maelon dead, yes," says Mordin. "Out of our hands. Tried to spare him. Spectre there. Shot him." He sniffs. "Data safe."

The shaman frowns. "The data is safe…?" she asks, almost in disbelief.

"Yes," says Miranda as she walks forward. "One of the salarians that was with us has a copy of Maelon's data. One of our goals is to attempt to cure the genophage, which was one reason why we infiltrated that STG base."

Anahit nods. "I spoke with him earlier about this," she says.

"I see…" The shaman looks wistfully. "Who would have thought that the genophage could be cured within our lifetimes?"

"Nobody, really," I comment. "But here we are."

The shaman nods. "I see," she says. She then turns to Miranda. "Why are you attempting to cure the genophage? Is the Council not angry at this?"

I watch as Garrus walks forward. "Well, technically, we _are _fugitives in Council space," he says.

"Fugitives?" asks Anahit. "You…?"

The shaman simply chuckles. "Well, I believe this is rather amusing," she comments. "Already, you run from the Council. It would suit you well to twist the knife as well." She then frowns. "It is risky behavior, though I believe the repercussions of such an act would not be pleasant."

"We don't have time to think about that," says Miranda. "There is a great threat coming to this galaxy, and it threatens to destroy all life as we know it."

Anahit and the shaman both frown at the same time. "Really?" asks Anahit. "Why have I not heard of this?"

"Because few people want to believe it exists, even fewer actually believe it exists, and even less people than that are prepared for it," I comment. "And we need everyone in the galaxy to come together if we have any hope of beating this threat." I shrug. "And, well, we thought curing the genophage might help there."

Anahit frowns. "I believe you will forgive me if I find that less appealing than you hope we will find it," she says. "You plan to use the genophage to curry favor with the krogan. Was that not similar to what happened before the krogan rebellions?"

But the shaman pats Anahit's shoulders. "I do not see it like that," says the shaman. "I believe the krogan would demand a cure for the genophage before pledging their allegiance to anyone, especially in a fleet that will eventually include the Council."

"And this is a threat that threatens all life," says Miranda.

The shaman nods. "It is how things must be, Anahit," says the shaman. "It may be manipulative, but sometimes that is how it must be."

I shrug, looking at Mordin. "Plus, I don't think the Council will be too angry at the krogan over the cured genophage once you guys help defeat an alien race that would've killed us all, right?" I ask.

"Do not believe so," says Mordin. "Difficult to tell, but do not believe so."

Anahit looks up at Miranda. "And he can attempt to cure it without a laboratory or the STG's resources?" she asks.

"The tech lab on the Normandy was outfitted with some of the most advanced technology available," says Miranda. "I think he will have a sufficient workspace with which to cure the genophage."

Anahit nods. "Very well, then." She stands up, and looks down at the shaman. "I believe there is a discussion I must have with our salarian friend."

"Very well, Anahit," the shaman replies. "I will be here."

The young krogan woman nods, and turns around almost immediately. She leaves the med-bay, a strange purpose invigorating her steps. She exits the room, and then the door closes behind her almost immediately.

I then turn my attention back to the Shaman. "So… you survived Maelon's experiments."

"I did, yes," says the shaman. "There were others, but if I know Anahit, she likely told you about their fate."

I nod, chewing lightly on my lower lip. "She did," I reply. "I'm sorry about those other krogan. It must have been difficult."

"At first," says the shaman. "But Anahit took a priority. She is young, and she will become a symbol to the krogan for simply being immune to the genophage." She pauses. "I will need more ground than what I had there to mourn the dead, anyhow."

I nod respectfully, turning my attention to Miranda. "Very well, then," says Miranda. "Now, we were hoping to plot our course to Tuchanka. We have a very powerful friend in the Urdnot Clan. Have you heard of Urdnot Wrex?"

The shaman smirks. "It might be easier to tell you who has not heard of Urdnot Wrex," says the shaman. "I have definitely heard of Urdnot Wrex. I may even have spoken to him on occasion."

I raise my eyebrows. "So you've actually talked to him?" I ask.

"Yes," says the shaman.

"Then why'd you go to the Weyrloc clan?" asks Garrus.

"The possibility of someone curing the genophage… it would have been a revelation," says the shaman. "I wished to help the people of Tuchanka in whatever capacity I could." She shakily holds a hand up. "I know the history of the Weyrloc clan. I am aware of what they have done. But I would be remiss in any opportunity to aid a dying people. I sought to help the krogan." She looks at us. "In a way, I can still be of help."

"Perhaps of more help than you would have been helping the Weyrloc clan," Miranda comments. "We will be going to Tuchanka as soon as you can stand. Is this acceptable to you?"

"Yes," says the shaman. "I must warn you, however, that there may be Council ships in the Krogan DMZ."

Garrus shrugs. "Yeah, that sounds right," he comments. "The Council might send ships directly to the Krogan DMZ. It would be the only place they could send them to since they can guarantee we'll be going there in the near future."

"Then we will have to be careful," says Miranda. She then looks at us, and crosses her arms. "I believe we can have that debrief now."

I nod, looking to everyone else in the room before looking up. "EDI, call the crew and tell them to get to the briefing room, stat," I say. "And make sure Anahit and Jarel know that debriefing is expected to begin soon."

EDI's avatar flashes briefly. "_Of course, Mr. *********_," says EDI.

As soon as EDI's avatar flickers out of existence, I notice that the shaman is looking at it curiously. "You have an AI on this ship?" she asks.

I see Garrus glance at the AI core for a split second. He then looks right back at the shaman. "And a geth," he adds. "Can't forget the VI storm."

The krogan simply smirks. "If I did not know any better, I would say you were honestly attempting to annoy the Council," she says.

I shrug. "Well, they're going to have to live with it," I comment. "When the Reapers come, they unfortunately won't have that much of a choice in allies. Either we all band together, or we get our asses kicked."

The krogan shaman pauses, and looks at the door to the AI core. "Are you certain they are safe to be around?" she asks.

"Oh, we're certain of it," says Garrus. "They haven't tried to kill us yet, and I don't think they will."

"Yeah, we've been through a lot with them," I comment. "They don't really have any motivation to try anything."

The krogan simply looks at the AI core. "I still believe there may be danger in trusting them so," she says.

"Then trust us," says Dr. Chakwas. "The AIs on this ship have done right by us this far."

I nod, looking to the others. "We'll let you think about that," I say to the krogan. "For now… we've gotta get back upstairs for debriefing. We'll be back to check on you soon enough."

And with this, I look to the others. We slowly begin to file out of the room. I nod to Sturge very quickly as we leave, and then he walks back over to where Dr. Chakwas stands. I see Mordin follow the rest of us out of the room, and then we are all heading towards the elevator.

* * *

><p>Wow, we sure filled the briefing room fast. Everyone's here, and in their proper places. I glance around the briefing room again, looking to the others. Carhon and James are both leaning against the table while standing next to each other, with Anahit standing behind Jarel. Mordin stands next to his fellow salarian, and I notice Tidoses looking at them both with a blank expression on her face. And yeah, there are Jack and Albert standing off to the side… Okay...<p>

So who else...? Well, Isaac is here, thank goodness, but he's standing off to the side, almost like a detached observer of the whole thing. Carhon and James are both there... as are Legion and Jacob... as are Madison and Garrus... and Grunt... and with that...

Okay, I think the gang's all here. All right. Let's get this show on the road.

"So… here we are," I say, looking at Miranda. "Miranda, I think we'll need the skinny."

Miranda nods to everyone in the briefing room. "Very well," she says. "We have acquired our friend Anahit here," I say, gesturing to the female krogan. "Needless to say, she's doing pretty well for herself, yes?"

I hear Carhon grunt. "Looks like it," he supplies.

"I for one can't believe we're going to cure the genophage," Tidoses comments. "That oughta piss the Council off for sure."

"And I _really _doubt they're gonna just sit there and take this," James adds.

I nod. "I don't believe they are either," I reply. I look back at Miranda, who crosses her arms. "But we're not going in right away."

Miranda nods. "We are not," she confirms. "First, we will wait for the second person we found on Sur'Kesh to get well."

"I heard about that," says Albert as he steps forward. "I didn't think we'd find anyone else down there."

"Neither did we," says Miranda. "But the fact remains that we have found her as well."

"And she is wise," says Anahit. "The krogan would have been lost without her. I can never thank you enough for saving her life."

I nod. "So… we know the Council's forces are going to be waiting for us when we get into the krogan DMZ," I comment.

"Joker can handle it," says Garrus.

"That he can," says Miranda. "We will allow him to do what he does best when that happens. And as for Tuchanka…" She frowns, leaning forward. "EDI, are we aware of what the situation is on Tuchanka?"

"_We have no current updates_," says EDI as her avatar appears in the center of the room. "_However, according to current projections the previously established trend of Clan Urdnot's alliance building will continue as before._"

"Very well, then," says Miranda. "I believe we can use this time to inform the krogan people about the potential genophage cure. There was never any question about that, was there?"

I shrug. "I didn't think there was," I reply. "But anyway, yeah, I was thinking we could go to Tuchanka after that to let Wrex know about the whole thing."

I look over to Liselle as she lets out a sigh. "Can't we just send him a message or something like that?" she asks.

I shake my head. "It'll be better if we can introduce her to this krogan, and show him Maelon's genophage data," I say. "Besides… we should probably return the shaman we found to the clan she was last with."

"That's what I was thinking myself," says Garrus. "So… I guess we have our next course of action planned?"

"Yes," says Miranda. "EDI, set a course for Tuchanka, and make sure it is a course that does not run through any relays in Citadel space."

EDI's thing comes up again. "_The course has been plotted_," she says. "_I have told Jeff not to begin making this course until the shaman is feeling better_."

Oh. Well, that's nice of her. "Thank you, EDI," I say. "Okay. So... I think that's everything, right?"

"I think so," says Garrus.

"Then I think that settles it," says Miranda. "Most of you are dismissed. If you're not, you know who you are."

I glance over to Carhon, who gives me a worried look. Hm... I nod back, giving him a reassuring smile. Don't worry Carhon, I haven't forgotten about your little request to ask for stuff from the Shadow Broker. And I'll get right on that as soon as everyone leaves. He gets the message, and soon walks off, joining everyone else soon after.

And when everyone leaves, only Garrus, Miranda, and I are left inside the briefing room. Okay... I nod, looking over at the table. "EDI, you know what to do."

With this, the comm thing comes up on the holographic projector in the center of the table. The three of us lean forward, looking right as a display comes up that shows us being connected to the Shadow Broker. Okay...

After a few seconds, the line is answered.

"_Oh. Oh dear… I can't believe I'm accepting this call._"

I frown. Wait, what?

"Feron?" I ask.

"_The one and only,_" he replies. "_You'll have to do with me for now. Liara..._" He sighs, a note of merriment in the sigh. "_She fell asleep at her desk again. I keep telling her she needs to get more sleep._"

I shrug. "She's got a lot of work to do," I point out.

"_Yes,_" Feron replies.

"Hopefully, you're not walking around with broken bones," Garrus comments.

"_I'm not_," Feron replies. "_I'm actually feeling much better than I was before. Thank you for getting me out of there._"

"No problem," I say. "So… Liara's asleep, huh?"

"_Yes._" I hear some footsteps. "_ I think she'll be up soon, but you never can tell with Liara. When I talked to her last, she said she had made a breakthrough that she wanted to talk to you about. But while we're waiting for her, I could probably take requests._"

I nod. "Good, because we need some help," I say. "One of our newer ground team members is part of a resistance group that's trying to get some stuff done on Khar'Shan."

"_Khar'shan?_" Feron asks. "_Why are you interested in that?_"

"We need some intel," says Miranda. "I think Liara may have told you that we have a batarian on the crew now."

"_She did mention that in passing, yes,_" Feron replied. "_She said he was in some kind of resistance…_"

"Yes," I reply.

"_Well… I imagine they do have their work cut out for them._" I hear some stuff there. "_Some of our operatives actually do have information on this resistance. Apparently, it is deep-rooted throughout Khar'shan_."

… Whoah…

"Really?" I ask, leaning forward. "He made it sound small…"

"_On the contrary,_" said Feron. "_This resistance is actually quite large. They are laying low on Khar'shan, however. They do not want to risk attacking the Hegemony only to get crushed._"

"So they're biding their time," says Garrus.

"_Essentially_," Feron supplies. "_But I get the feeling that this is not what you wanted to ask me about. You said you have a member of this resistance on the ship._"

"Yeah, you could say that," I say. "How many operatives have you got there?"

"_Well, I think we have a few,_" says Feron. "_And last I checked, they were sitting there. What do you want us to see?_"

I nod. "According to the guy we've got, there's stuff going down on Khar'shan were there's apparently an army of super-soldiers being made," I say. "We're asking you to look into it, because... well, super-soldiers don't sound like a good thing if they're causing thousands of people to disappear."

"_I see…_" Feron states. "_Well, I'll tell Liara to look into it. I cannot tell you if we can since the information necessary may be classified at a level higher than what we have access to, but we'll have our operatives take a look in case we can't access that information ourselves_" He pauses. "_Oh, and I think Liara just woke up._"

And indeed, I hear footsteps approach. "_Feron?_" Ah, there she is!

"Oh hi, Liara," I say, smiling. "How're you?"

There's a brief silence. "_Oh... Oh Goddess!_" I hear Liara say. "_I'm sorry... I... I must've fallen asleep. I didn't..._"

"_Don't worry,_" says Feron. "_They finished leaving a request for our operatives in Khar'shan. I can tell you more about it later_."

"_Oh._" Liara says this simply. Gah, why can't I just see her face at a time like this? "_So I see..._" I hear her shift slightly, and then the footsteps walk away. "_Hello, sorry about that._"

"Oh, don't worry about it, please," I say. "You said you had important information for me?"

"_Yes, I do,_" she says. "_It's about the thing you gave me to translate._"

I glance over to Miranda and Garrus, raising my eyebrows. "You mean you have the coordinates you mentioned?" asked Miranda.

"_I have the possibilities_," Liara says. "_I've also narrowed it down to one possible set of coordinates, but... I have to warn you now that there's something odd about the possibilities that seemed most correct_."

I frown. "Really?" I ask. "Why would that be?"

I look on for a few seconds. And then, I look as two things are displayed next to the little comm things. Hm... they look like galaxy maps. I frown, hearing Miranda and Garrus step closer to get a better look at the star maps.

"_These are both star maps of the galaxy_," says Liara. "_One of them is a map I managed to find in the archives of the University of Serrice._"

"Is one of them a Prothean star map?" asked Miranda.

"_Yes,_" said Liara. "_When I was studying at the University of Serrice, they were just finishing compiling and filling in the Prothean star map from something we found at a dig site close by that was in remarkably good shape._"

I nod. "So I see," I say. "So you checked the coordinates against all possibilities on the map."

"_Well, I double-checked my translation first,_" says Liara. "_When I did, I managed to narrow it down to three possibilities. And when I checked them against a modern star map, I was able to eliminate from there._" I can almost see her nodding at this as I then watch the two maps converge on each other. "_Two possibilities I managed to take away pretty much instantly, because one of them coincides with the modern galactic map's coordinates for where Illium's sun is, and another was removed because I doubt that the Protheans would leave something so important laying around in an asteroid_ _belt_."

I snort upon hearing this, looking at the galaxy map. "Then what about the third set?" I ask.

"_That is perhaps... the most bizarre part of this whole thing_," says Liara. "_The most likely set of coordinates... it's in uncharted territory._"

I frown. "Really?" I ask. "Well... that's never stopped explorers before, right?"

"I shouldn't think so," mentions Garrus. "From what I remember, most of the galaxy still hasn't been discovered."

"_But most new systems can be easily accessed from a mass relay_," says Liara. "_And from what I can see... these coordinates can't be reached without destroying the ship_."

... What?

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Miranda says, leaning forward.

"I know!" I say. "Why would there be a set of coordinates in this galaxy that you can't reach?"

"_I don't know, but the fact remains that it would be dangerous even for the Destiny Ascension to go to those coordinates_," says Liara. "_I had Feron double-check for me. He doesn't know why I asked him to, but he couldn't find any mass relay paths that go there, not even theoretical ones. This is bad. We can't go there..._"

Yeah, this is bad indeed. We can't go there, because we don't have a way to get there. That's just... That's insanity like I've never seen before. I mean, the only way we could go there...

...

...is if we asked someone from a galaxy without mass relays to construct something.

Except for the fact that...

_Eureka_!

"That... Actually, Liara, I might have a solution to that," I say.

I feel Miranda and Garrus give me odd looks as I say this. "What?" asks Garrus.

"_Art, are you crazy?_" asks Liara. "_Nobody can-_"

"I might have a way to do it," I say. "I'm heading to Tuchanka next, but I'll let you know when we have success with that other thing. You've been a great help as always."

"_I... You're welcome?_" says Liara, obviously confused. "_I... need to get back to work. Goodbye._"

And with this, the link cuts. I nod, turning to Garrus and Miranda.

"Art, are you crazy?" asks Miranda.

I shake my head. "No," I say. "I really do think I have a solution." I raise my finger. "I was thinking when Liara mentioned that that we'd need to get someone from a galaxy without mass relays to develop a ship with its own FTL capabilities that can jump to a different system without needing to deal with that static discharge that builds up during conventional FTL." I then gesture rapidly. "And I was thinking about how impossible that would be... but then, I remembered that we've got Isaac on this ship!"

"Isaac Clarke?" asks Miranda, rubbing her chin. "But... Yes, it's true that he isn't from this galaxy..."

I nod. "And it's a galaxy that didn't have any Reapers or mass relays, so humanity had to make its own FTL technology," I continue. "And on top of that, Isaac himself is an engineer. Chances are, he'd know how to make a schematic for one of those things! So..." I shake my head, turning away from them. "Damn, now I _really _have to talk to him. And I have to make sure that he knows what I know about him, or he won't trust me enough to make the schematic for the FTL drive..." I shake my head. "As soon as I'm done here, I'm going down there to talk to him."

Garrus nods. "That's all fine and good, but schematics aren't going to do us any good if we can't _build _the thing," he says.

I frown. Hm, that's true... Shit, I can't believe I forgot about that. Isaac just fixes it, he never builds it. And most people can't build things that fast, not even the Shadow Broker with all her resources and all her operatives...

...

Wait.

"That's true," I say. "But... I think we might have a solution." I nod. "Where can we find the rachni right about now?"

"The rachni?" Garris is quick to say with surprise settling on his face. "Why would we want to talk to them?"

I shrug. "Well, the second game had an encounter you could trigger if you spared the rachni," I say. "And it establishes that in the period of two years and without any form of knowing what goes down, they already had a ship that was fully capable of FTL travel, even relay travel. So if anything, they're fast builders."

Miranda rubs her chin. "And if they could build a ship that complex in such a short amount of time without any schematics whatsoever..." Miranda nods. "Then I think that may be a good idea to find them. If we can..."

"Maybe," I say. "I just have to hope they'll cooperate first. And we need to find them, that too."

"And we don't have any ideas about that," said Garrus. "Maybe something else for Liara to look into?"

I nod. "Maybe," I say, crossing my arms. "I need to get down to the engineering deck to talk to Isaac. You guys do whatever you have to."

Miranda and Garrus nod. Without waiting for them to vocalize it, I exit the briefing room, walking straight through the armory. I spare a brief glance at Jacob, Tidoses, and Gregor before I quickly exit that, making my way straight for the elevator.


	13. Chapter 12

_A/N: Okay, and now we've got our krogan princess. And with that, crazy things will happen. So yeah, the crew manages to escape the STG again._

_So yeah, crazy times are had with that. And now, we have a chapter of people just chillin', talking about stuff, and preparing for the next piece of stuff._

_So without further ado, let's get this thing going!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 12: Talking Points<p>

When I get down to Zaeed's old quarters, I knock softly. Well... I don't want to get on Isaac's bad side before I have to drop a bombshell on him, so... Here goes.

"It's open," I hear from the other side of the door. Isaac's saying it almost... like he doesn't really want to say it.

Hm... Yeah, I can tell this is going to be so overly friendly it's not even funny. Yay.

I open the door soon after, looking at Isaac Clarke as he sits at the table. Hm... The decor of this room changed a lot. Isaac's RIG apparatus is off to the side, meaning he's only in a white undersuit that he must've picked up from somewhere not so viable. He's busy looking over a small piece of tech, his plasma cutter laid off to the side. He lets out a displeased huff as I approach, and places the thing he was looking at off to the side.

"Hey Isaac," I say. "I needed to talk to you."

Isaac shakes his head. "There's not that much to discuss," he says. "I'm here, willing to help you until we find Ellie."

I raise my eyebrows at this. "You realize that won't be for a while, right?" I ask.

"It's my fault I got her into this mess," says Isaac, turning away so his back is turned towards me. "You wouldn't understand."

I shake my head. Well, since I don't know who Ellie is... "I guess not," I say. "You act like you've seen a lot of really bad shit go down."

Isaac shakes his head. "You wouldn't understand," he says. "Nobody on this ship would." He then walks to the window. "If I told you everything that happened to me, then you wouldn't believe a word of it."

... Hm, I think I just got my angle. Thanks, Isaac!

"Really?" I ask, crossing my arms. "It just so happens that I fall under the same predicament."

This gets Isaac's attention, and he turns to look right back at me. "What do you mean?" he asks, clearly confused. "You're not... No, you're not..." He turns completely around, shaking his head. "No, there's no way you're with the Church."

I shrug. "I'm not with the Church, but I _am _aware of what Unitology is," I say, crossing my arms. "It's that little cult thing that thought that those little zombie things you fought on the Ishimura were supposed to be the next stage of human evolution. Am I right about that?"

Isaac's expression takes on one of shock as he takes a step back. He blinks, looking at me as if I've just gone crazy. And for all I know, I think I probably am. He looks at me briefly, then back at the plasma cutter on the table, and then back at me.

And then, he lunges forward, grabbing the plasma cutter from the table. He aims the thing at me, his expression shifting from one of shock to one of unbriddled anger.

"How the _fuck _do you know about the Ishimura?" he asked. "I can't find anything about the Ishimura anywhere I've checked on your extranet, nor can I find anything about Unitology! And they covered up everything that happened on the Ishimura! How the fuck do you know about those things?"

I hold my hands up as he approaches. "Relax, Isaac," I say. "I can't turn you in to the government!"

"Yeah, I'll bet it helps that you're as much of a fugitive as I am." With this, he approaches, and then his hand roughly encircles my neck. I'm suddenly pushed back to the wall close to the door, Isaac pressing his plasma cutter around where my neck is.

... Oh shit... Oh, shit shit shit shit shit! I knew he would probably flip out, but this? Shit shit shit shit shit!

"I'll give you a minute to tell me how you know any of that," he said. "If this is some massive cover-up by EarthGov..."

I shake my head. "Isaac, you don't understand, EarthGov doesn't actually _exist _in this place," I say frantically. "And the Marker? Totally gone!"

"You're not answering my question," says Isaac threateningly. "How do you know about any of that?"

Shit... Well...

I breathe in nervously, looking right at Isaac. "Let's just say... that that's one of the perks of being a fellow inter-dimensional traveler."

Isaac frowns. "And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

I breathe in... Well, here goes...

"Because just like you, I'm... I'm not from this universe either," I say. "I... I was pulled here by who the fuck knows what for some reason that I still have trouble grasping. The rest... is probably too insane, even for guys who see visions of their dead girlfriend as influenced by strange metaphysical objects."

Isaac frowns. "I was alone every time Nicole appeared," he said. "That's something I never even told Ellie, and that someone else had to figure out through inference! How the fuck do you know I was seeing her?"

Okay, here we go. "Well... That whole adventure you had on the Ishimura?" I ask. "That was a video game in the universe I came from."

And almost instantly, I'm released, with Isaac cackling maniacally. "That's not true," he says. "That's impossible! You are even more insane than I could hope to be!"

I shake my head. "Isaac, you don't understand," I say. "It's not just you. It's this galaxy that's a video game too. I've seen more shit than I care to tell you about, trust me. But I know that I'm not from this galaxy either, and that events in your galaxy as well as this one are events I've seen in a video game back home."

But the man simply shakes his head. "You really are insane," he says. "I didn't think you'd be the type, but here we are. Somehow, I found someone even more insane than me! Admit it, this is a set-up for EarthGov!"

I shake my head. "Do you think we'd be able to suddenly make up about seven completely different alien species for that?" I ask. "'Cause that would be one hell of a conspiracy if they could."

"But there's no other explanation for you knowing that, other than you being insane!" Isaac replies.

I shake my head, stepping forward. Okay, that does it.

"I'm not part of EarthGov, I'm not insane, and I can _prove _it!" When I say this, I take out Orange's little paperweight thing.

"What, with that little thing?" asks Isaac.

I nod. "Yes, with this little thing," I say. "Just hold it in your hand. You'll see why."

Keeper, I am not certain this is a good idea.

...

Oh, hello Orange. I forgot you were there for a second.

This is not a usual situation. Are you certain you have this under control?

Orange, just trust me here. I think you know by now that I haven't done wrong by you since I've showed you to some very trustworthy people.

Before she can reply back, though, Isaac steps forward. "I hope you're right," he says. "Because if you're not, I'm going to say you're an EarthGov agent, because that's the only explanation that makes any sense."

And with this, he takes Orange out of my hand fairly roughly. "Hey, watch it!" I say. "That thing is fragile!"

"Not as fragile as a plasma cartridge," he says. "I can handle it."

He then frowns, looking right at the orange paperweight he's holding in his hand. He blinks, looking right at the thing and then at me.

"What... what is this?" he asks. "This thing... it's speaking to me!"

"A female voice, right?" I ask.

Isaac blinks. "Uh... yes..." he says. "I... This is insane!"

He pauses, looking right at what must be Orange speaking. Hm, well, we're getting the appropriate reaction out of him, all right. He blinks, looking at me briefly before crossing his arms.

"And I'm supposed to take your word for it," he says. He's silent for a little longer. "But this could be just another hallucination of the Marker. I think."

I shake my head. "Except that this galaxy doesn't have a Marker," I say. "The Marker as you know it? It's gone, man. It doesn't exist right now."

"Then how does that explain...?" He pauses, no doubt because Orange is probably saying something. "What the hell is the Fade?" He's silent for a little longer as I cross my arms. He glances at the orange device, as if he's going mad even more quickly because of what we're both saying here. "So you just expect me to believe I got pulled into something because I died back home?"

I nod. "It's how I got here," I say. "I don't know, Isaac, but what have you got to lose by trusting us?"

"A lot," he says. "Now we're both probably certified lunatics."

I step forward, shaking my head. "Not really," I say. "People I've given this thing to hold in this galaxy have told me they can hear Orange too. So we're not the only ones."

"And how do I know that?" asks Isaac. "How do I know any of this is as you say it is, and that you haven't been following me, waiting to bring me in to EarthGov once you have Ellie?"

"Because I have no idea who the hell Ellie Langford is," I say. "And since Ellie was a fellow survivor as you say, then there's a huge piece of the puzzle that I'm missing. If I was an EarthGov agent, I'd probably know who she is and how she fits into events, right?"

Isaac blinks, looking at the paperweight and then back to me. He takes a few seconds, before nodding.

"I guess you would," he says. "Tiedemann would've sent out a distress signal since he knew I was coming for the Marker located on the Sprawl."

I frown. "Tiedemann? Sprawl?" I ask. "What the hell are those?"

Isaac nods. "I guess you really are missing some of the puzzle," he says, walking towards me and holding Orange out. I nod, taking the paperweight from him and storing it in my pocket before Orange can get a word in edgewise. "I... don't think I have any reason to believe your coming from another universe, but I have reason to believe you're not an EarthGov agent."

Well, it's progress. "Trust me, I'm not the only one who has secrets on this ship," I say. "And you do need to fill me in on stuff." I frown. "But not here."

Isaac frowns. "Why not here?" he asks.

"Well..." I lean forward. "There might be a group of people on this ship who know about my darkest secret that I host meetings with every so often. I... I mentioned I knew more about you than anyone else, so..." I stand back, nodding to him. "If you want to clarify where you stand on stuff, you should come to Port Observation in about... oh, I'd say two hours or so. I promise you that everything you say there will be confidential. Not a word escapes those walls. It's been like that since the cycle before us."

I nod, turning to the door. "I'd also probably speak to Madison about it," I finish. "I think you two would find a lot in common in that regard of being inter-dimensional travellers."

And with this, I open the door to Isaac's quarters, intending to head out. "When you've made up your mind that I can be trusted, I've got something I need to ask you to make for us," I comment. "You can bring your reply up to this meeting if you want. I'll see you around."

I exit the room shortly after, leaving Isaac to ponder a bit on what I just mentioned.

* * *

><p>After calling the meeting, we all meet up at Port Observation as usual. Man, the room feels kind of empty here... Oh, that's just Shepard missing. Okay, so... we of course have Tali sitting right next to where I'm standing... we have Garrus and Madison standing in the back somewhere... we have Miranda sitting off to the side... we have Kasumi sitting close to where Miranda is... Sturge and Chakwas are both sitting at the couch close to where Tali is... and Thane is standing back as well. I notice he doesn't look all that well, though...<p>

Oh, well. The gang's all here.

"So, here we are," I say. "Now that we've narrowly escaped the clutches of the Council."

"Yeah, they're probably going to be angry about that," Sturge points out. "I'm just letting you know about that now."

I shrug. "I was well aware of that," I say. "And now, Jarel is on his way to curing the genophage."

"I have to admit, I'm a little uncertain about that," says Dr. Chakwas. "Do you think it'll truly give the krogan hope?"

I nod. "I hope so, anyway," I say. "I'm sure Jarel will handle it, though. He's got good judgement from what I've seen."

"And the krogan will be a valuable asset against the Reapers," Miranda says. "It's probably better this way if we can earn their trust."

I nod. "Yeah, it would," I mention. "I just hope-"

The door opens soon after.

And when it does, we're all surprised to see Isaac standing there, looking at us. He's stepped into his armor by this point, and I see the little thing that juts out of his chest as it lights his face. Isaac glances around, looking at the bewildered faces all around him.

I look over to Isaac as he turns his attention to me. "I guess you didn't tell them to expect me," he says.

I purse my lips together in thought before nodding. "Yeah, that kinda slipped my mind," I say.

Isaac nods. "I'll bet it did," he says. "Did you forget to tell them what you knew about me?"

At this, Kasumi shifts in her seat. "No, actually," she said. "You were on the Ishimura, right?" We both turn our attention to the thief. "I have to admit, that's a pretty badass name for a ship. Art never told me what the ship was named after."

"It was named after the inventor of the ShockPoint Drive," says Isaac. "His name was Hideki Ishimura, and his name was assigned to the first planet-cracker ever constructed." He nodded. "So you know."

"Yes," says Miranda, walking over to Isaac. "Art told us you might have said we were all in that Unitology cult."

Isaac nodded. "For a second, I thought so too," he said. "But then, I don't think the aliens would appreciate it."

I frown, looking right to Tali and Garrus. "Hey, hey, we prefer to be called by other things, you know," says the turian as he holds his hands up.

Isaac glances to the side. "You probably wouldn't prefer to be called the next stage of human evolution, either," he comments. "And there you have it." He looks to the rest of us. "So Art told me he knew about me."

"If you're here, I don't doubt he did," says Dr. Chakwas.

"Yeah, people tend to come here pretty quickly once they find out," Sturge adds. "Trust me, you're not the only one on this ship who has secrets they'd like to keep secret."

I nod. "And within this circle, things don't tend to stay secret for long," I mention.

"They only become communal secrets," says Isaac. "That's what I was thinking when I saw this." He nods in my direction. "You mentioned that you didn't know who Ellie Langford was when we talked."

I nod. "Yeah, I don't know who she is," I say. "And you also mentioned a Tiedemann and a Sprawl."

"I did," says Isaac, sitting down. "Like you said earlier, what do I have to lose with trusting you?" He frowns. "I can think of a lot of things, but these are not usual circumstances. Even then, though… I'm still not sure about this."

"Then you have our guarantee that anything you say in this room will not leave its walls," says Thane reassuringly. "Barring an unforeseen issue of some kind, we shall keep your secret guarded."

"And there's no EarthGov for us to turn you in to," I add. "These are unusual circumstances indeed, Isaac, and I think you'll find that trust is the only thing that'll get you by here."

Isaac nodded. "Very well," he says. "But know that this changes nothing about how I look at you."

Well, it's the best we can do for now... "Whatever rocks your boat," I say. "So... you can start by explaining what Tiedemann and the Sprawl are."

Isaac nods. "You know what planet crackers do, right?"

Miranda leans back. "From what I understand, the planet crackers allowed a ship to remove a huge chunk of a planet so it could be strip-mined separately," she says.

Isaac nods. "Yeah," he confirms. "That's basically it." He stands there, beginning to pace around the room. "Well, the Sprawl has everything to do with that. See, in my galaxy, Titan was the first space body to be planet cracked."

Sturge frowns. "Titan?" he asked. "You mean the moon of Saturn?"

"Yes," says Isaac. "Titan was planet cracked completely, and nothing remained. In its place, EarthGov set up a space station that served as a living place for many, many people. It was formally called Titan Station, but the fact that it was huge led people to call it The Sprawl."

"So it's essentially a city in space," says Tali. "Interesting. I wonder how they powered it."

"Solar power," says Isaac. "That's not important." He leans over the couch, just by where Dr. Chakwas is sitting. "Tiedemann... He was the director of the asylum on The Sprawl."

Madison frowns. "Wait, they had mental hospitals in the twenty-sixth century?" she asks.

"Unfortunately," says Isaac. "Anyway, that's relevant, because that asylum on the Sprawl was where I was taken to when they found that I was the only known survivor of everything that happened on the Ishimura."

"Art mentioned you had been seeing visions of Nicole," adds Miranda. "I guess that didn't help your case, even if you knew major government secrets."

"It did not," says Isaac. "These... visions... they only got more intense on the Sprawl. There... He explained about the Marker, right?"

"Yeah," I say, nodding.

"Good, that saves me a lot of explaining, then," he comments. "There was a government-made Marker on the Sprawl. It... it caused an outbreak there."

I glance over to Sturge, finding that one of my eyes is twitching. The old man shrugs. "See?" he asks. "I told you to expect something like that."

"I wish you weren't always right about things. That would make my life easier." I gesture with my arm. "So it caused a second outbreak."

"Given that it was a civilian station, I guess it was a lot worse the second time around," Madison says.

"It was," says Isaac. "It was so much worse..." He looked to the side. "Basically... that's the gist of what happened on the Sprawl. I tried to find a way to destroy the Marker while evading Tiedemann, who was stopping me at every available juncture." He looks down at the floor. "I did eventually destroy that Marker, though. And I wouldn't have been able to do it without Ellie..."

I nod, looking to the engineer. "And that's who she is," I say. "She's a survivor from the outbreak on the Sprawl."

"Yes," says Isaac. "I... It's strange. There I was, with nobody to trust... and Ellie didn't betray me at all. We were two people lost on the Sprawl... and we helped each other survive in various ways."

I nod, looking to the others. "I guess you felt you owed something to her," says Miranda.

"She's the only person in the past three years who's ever come back to really help me," he says. "When I destroyed the Marker... Titan station was destroyed. But Ellie came back and told me to get onto a transport." He snorts, turning his gaze to the window of the room. "From where we're at right now, I guess it wouldn't have mattered anyway."

"But the fact remains that she helped you, and you helped her," says Kasumi.

"Yes," says Isaac. "The fact remains..." He turns to us. "And that's why I need to go to this Khar'shan. She..." Isaac shakes his head. "I don't think she'd be able to go through that alone..."

"Unfortunately, we're going to have to wait until later to take care of that," I mention. "But I promise you we'll take care of it eventually." I nod, crossing my arms. "Actually, Isaac..."

The engineer nods. "You guys wanted to ask me to make something, right?" asks Isaac.

Miranda nods, walking close to Isaac. "Yes," says Miranda. "I assume that you have looked up the properties of mass effect on the extranet?"

"I have," says Isaac. "It's... a strange science. I'm not sure I understand everything about it yet."

The former Cerberus operative nods. "I assume you understand that with our current FTL technology, we cannot travel beyond a certain distance without a mass relay," she says.

"I do," says Isaac with a nod. "Why?"

Miranda looks at the engineer. "We may need to go to a point on the galaxy map where there is no known system," says Miranda. "We know that, miraculously, there are no mass relays that go to the coordinates in question, and there are no nearby systems we can jump to these coordinates from. Logically, the only way to go there would be to develop a new FTL technology entirely."

Isaac frowns. "So you want me to design a shockpoint drive for your use," he says.

Miranda nods. "Yes," she says.

Isaac shakes his head. "I... I don't think you know what you're asking," says Isaac. "I... The ships have to be built to very specific parameters, otherwise something could go very wrong with the shockpoint warp. And I don't even know where we're going to find a vessel that we can gut to-"

"Then construct the vessel," I mention. "That'll get us somewhere."

Isaac shakes his head. "But... but the vessel could take _years _to construct!" he says. "Do you know how long it took to build the USG Ishimura? I... I can't build you a vessel anywhere near that fast."

I smirk, leaning closer. "Leave that to us," I say. "We've got our ways, Isaac. If you make the schematic, we'll get it built, trust me."

Isaac frowns, looking at me. "How?" he asks. "You're all fugitives, from what I know. You can't access any ship-yards."

I shrug. "Hasn't stopped people before," I say, glancing over to Miranda. "Look, I don't know what's going to be at that point. But I know that we need to go there for a very important reason. We're dealing with something more dangerous than the Marker itself, and something so much more dangerous..."

... You know... I just realized something... If Orange says we can look at the future from the field of visions... why don't we just use that? I mean, we can see what's waiting for us there! And that would make our lives a whole lot easier!

...

I'm asking Orange when I'm in the Fade next.

"What could be more dangerous than the Marker?" asks Isaac. "You're talking about an object that warps people into these... these _things_."

I shrug. "Try battling a race of sentient warships that kill all organic life every 50,000 years for some reason that we don't understand," I say. "Oh, and then to reproduce, these warships take an entire species, grind them into genetic paste, and make them part of their latest babies."

Isaac blinkes, then glances to the side. "Point taken," he says uncertainly. "I..." He nods. "I'll get started on the schematics soon."

I smile. "Good," I say. "So..." I nod to the others. "Since we're here... I think we better introduce ourselves to the new guy, right?"

"I think so," says Kasumi as she stands up. "Kasumi Goto. Thief and master hacker extraordinaire."

Isaac looks over at Kasumi, blinking in uncertainty at this. He doesn't smile at all, but we can tell that he means what he says afterwards.

"It's... it's good to meet you, Kasumi."

And with this, we make our rounds of introductions.

* * *

><p>Isaac nods after we brief him on the Reapers. He nods, looking to the rest of us.<p>

"And you're certain these 'Reapers' pose such a huge threat," he says.

Tali nods. "Yes," says Tali. "We had incredible difficulty killing one."

"Yeah," I say, glancing to the side. "How we're gonna kill a whole _army _of these things is anyone's guess, really." I shrug. "But, we're gonna fight anyway."

Isaac nods. "It's the only thing you can do," he says. "Fine. I'll help you when we've built the shockpoint drive. I just hope this isn't an EarthGov front."

Miranda frowns, but by now she's given up on pointing out that EarthGov doesn't exist in this galaxy. So She simply sits there, crossing her arms as Isaac stands up. "I... I guess I'm going to be involved in meetings with this... Brotherhood from now on?"

"Yep," says Kasumi. "So... you're gonna send the passcode to our omni-tools this time?"

"Yeah," I say. "And possibly to Isaac's RIG, if I can contact that."

"Yeah, that would be more convenient," says Isaac. "I still can't figure out how to operate an omni-tool..."

"You'll get the gist of it quickly," I say. "Trust me, I had to deal with the learning curve of suddenly having to use holographic interfaces too. Anyway... I think this meeting's adjourned."

With this, the various people stand up. I nod to them. "All right then," says Madison with a nod. "Garrus... I think-"

Isaac shook his head. "I'm... I'm going to need to think," he says. "Is... is there any paper here? I don't think we'll have the equipment I need to plan out the shockpoint drive digitally."

Kasumi blinks. "Well... Lemme see what I can scrounge up..."

With this, the engineer follows the thief as the rest of us sort of chat our way out of Port Observation. I look over to Tali, the two of us linking hands right as we exit.

"Okay, and with that, we-"

"Ah, Art, Tali. I was hoping to find you here."

I flinch suddenly, turning to see that Rael'Zorah is standing right in front of us. Whoah... holy shit, man...

"Oh..." I say, chuckling nervously as I rub the back of my neck with my hand. "Uh... Hi Rael! Fancy running into you here!"

Tali is rather silent at this. Uh... Wait, she doesn't seem so happy. I turn to her, right as her hand comes away from mine.

"Hello father," she says. "Where have you been all this time?"

Rael nods. "I... I'm sorry I couldn't tell you," he says. "But... I have been working on something rather large as of late, and it has required my full attention."

I frown. "Uh... what could possibly be the thing that requires your full attention?" I ask.

Rael nods, looking to me. "Do you remember what we spoke about soon after Shepard was arrested?" he says. "Where I asked you about what I was doing...?"

Wait... Hold... Oh yeah, I know what he's talking about! "That conversation?" I ask. "What the hell are you hoping to achieve with that?"

"I... I believe it may finally be the right time to show you what I meant," he says. "I have stayed in the tech lab for much of my time recently."

"And is that why you couldn't come down?" asks Tali. "Why you didn't tell us to come see you?"

"I needed to be sure my method worked first," he says. "But now... I believe I am ready to show you. Come. We need to go to the tech lab within the next few minutes."

I frown, looking over to Tali. I then look up at Rael. "If this is some kind of geth super-virus that's going t ochange the geth as we-"

"It has nothing to do with the geth, I assure you," says Rael. "Trust me."

Tali crosses her arms, looking at her father. "I guess now you explain it."

"It is better if I explain it in the tech lab." He then turns towards the elevators. "Please, come with me."

He then walks away, leaving Tali and I to glance at each other. "Well..." I say, shrugging. "I guess we've got nothing to lose. And he's telling us, which is better than nothing."

"I hope you're right," she says. "Come on..."

And with this, we follow Rael, even as I spare a glance back to see Isaac stepping out with what looks like a bunch of rolls of paper.

* * *

><p>"Okay, I don't really think I'm liking where this is going," I say. "Why did it have to be the-"<p>

"Oh. Art. Pleasant surprise. Didn't expect to see you here."

... Oh God.

I look over to Mordin, who nods to Rael. "Uh... hi?" I say. "Mordin, what has Rael been doing here in the tech lab?"

The salarian shakes his head as Tali enters behind me. "Best I not tell you," he says. "Perhaps it's better if he shows you."

I frown. "If he shows us?" I ask. "Look, if he disables Legion while we're here, then-"

"It is not about the geth," Rael reasserts us.

Uh-huh. And I'd think that a Taylor Lautner action movie would actually be decent. "You better be right about that," I say.

Tali says nothing as she comes around. "So... so what are you talking about?" she asks as the door closes behind us.

I then hear Rael's omni-tool go off with some kind of beeping noise. We're already looking at him, though, so... I cross my arms, even as he turns his back to us. Mordin steps out from around the table we're both standing at, and I look to Rael as he stops the beeping on his omni-tool. Hm... He seems pensive about stuff... I... I'm not sure I like where this is going, I'm really not. I mean... What's going on there?

And what's that...? That...

...that hissing sound. The one that was made when I removed Tali's mask any time I wanted to get...

Holy shit!

I rush forward, but before I can do anything else, Mordin holds his arm out. This doesn't deter me as Tali comes rushing right up to us too. "Father, what are you doing?" asks Tali. "We-"

But Rael holds his free hand up, setting his face mask to the side. He then opens his omni-tool, looking out at the drive core as he speaks. "Day Six of the Solus-Zorah Immunization testing period." ... Wait... Is this...? "The queasiness has passed according to Dr. Solus' projections. After an exposure lasting eight hours, I am still alive, exactly as Dr. Solus said would occur. I'm beginning to think that we have real hope for the quarian people now..."

I turn to look at Tali, my eyes widening before I turn my attention back to Rael. "The immunization seems to have worked," he adds. "After a full-body exposure lasting two hours and a face-only exposure lasting eight hours, I can conclude that it is only a manner of time before the quarian people can be free of their suits. With that, and some things I will attempt to perform when I return to the Fleet, I hope to return the quarian people to Rannoch, without shedding another tear at a lost life and without the burden of wearing a suit all our lives."

He nods. "Dr. Solus' projections say it will take at least another week until I am able to leave my suit forever," he finishes. "I look forward to that day." He nods. "I have my daughter and her hesh'alan with me now... I will speak to them now."

With this, he stops recording on his omni-tool. By this time, my jaw is on the floor. I mean... holy shit!

"F... Father...?" asks Tali.

It's then that Rael turns to us, and we see his face for the first time. Hm... He actually doesn't look too bad. His face is... considerably more kind-looking than I would have taken for a quarian admiral, with a few lines and wrinkles all over his face. I can't see any hair or feathers from where I'm standing, but... He's got green eyes. Hm...

I'll bet Tali inherited her mother's eyes.

Rael simply walks towards Tali, leaning closer to his daughter. "You said you wanted me to take sick leave so you could see my face," Rael says. "I... maybe I won't need the sick leave anymore..."

"Father, I..." Tali sniffles, even as I move to stand next to her. "I..."

I look over to Rael. "So this is your contribution to the future," I say quietly. "Making sure people can experience life outside a suit again..."

"We have suffered under the burden of a suit long enough," says Rael. "I..."

It's then that Mordin comes forward. "Spoke with Rael'Zorah about possibility of immune system therapy soon after he came to the ship," he says. "Agreed to it. Have resources, excellent tech lab, no restrictions..." He trails off there, sniffing heavily. "And guilt. Much guilt about modified genophage."

I blink before turning to Rael. "I..." I swallow, looking over at Rael. "I... I don't know what to say..."

"Perhaps-"

But before I can say anything else, Tali rushes in, pulling her father into one of the fiercest hugs I've ever seen her give anyone in my life. It's so severe that for a second I can see Rael having slight difficulty breathing. But eventually, he just encircles his arms around her, pulling her closer as Tali holds her father against him. I look at Rael, and I can see a small smile creep onto his face as he closes his eyes.

The hug is held for about a minute before Tali walks back. "Father, you..." Tali sniffs as I approach. "You... You don't have any idea what this means to me..."

Rael can only offer a gentle look at his daughter. "I won't pretend I do," he says. "But... I think now that we may be ever closer to building your house on the homeworld... you should be able to appreciate it more..."

Tali nods. "Father... I don't..." She sniffles, forced to look away for a second as I place a comforting hand on her shoulder. "This is... thank you..."

I nod, looking over at Rael. "When do you plan on telling the rest of your people?" I ask.

"When we return to the Fleet," says Rael. "Mordin has the data necessary. If we can get that to my people's scientists, we may be able to mass-produce this genetic treatment."

I nod. "Well, looks like things are finally looking up for your people, hm?" I ask.

Rael nods, and for the first time I see him genuinely smile.

"I believe they are, Art."

* * *

><p>When I settle into bed that night, I look over at Tali with a smile. "So... you'll finally be able to smell some flowers, hm?" I say.<p>

"I... I can barely believe it," says Tali. "My father... I can't believe he tested something like that on this ship..." She shakes her head. "And now, the day where our people will be free of suits on our homeworld is even closer than I hoped..."

I smile at her. "Makes you think, doesn't it?" I ask. "After more than three hundred years, you get to see your homeworld without any suit to keep you in your way..."

"It's... It's so wonderful to know that now I can return to our home," she says. "It's been a dream I've always had. What would Rannoch be like?"

I smile, shrugging. "I guess we'll find out soon enough, am I right?" I ask. "But we're not there yet. We've got Legion agreeing to peace, and Rael curing your immune system. But we need to worry about the admirals."

Tali shrugs. "I think that will be easy," she says. "Shala'Raan is part of the neutral party, and she's likely to take our position on this." Of course. "And Zaal'Koris, while he... _is _a bit... well..."

"A bit of a douche," I finish.

Tali frowns. "I wouldn't say that," she says. "But he's firmly for peace. So when we add my father to the mix, that's a majority there." She crosses her arms. "But what Miranda mentioned was correct, you know. We will need to sway the people of the Fleet."

"That we will," I say. "I trust your father will handle that, though." I smile, settling into bed next to Tali. "Well, things are looking wonderful for you, _querida_."

"That they are, my _hesh'alan_," Tali replies. "I think they'll be wonderful indeed."

I smile, holding her closer as I find myself slowly falling asleep.

Hey, speaking of that... Hm, I need to go talk to Orange down in the Fade about that whole 'prophetic visions in the Fade' thing, and why we can't just read the future and adjust accordingly. I mean, hell, there has to be some way to do that, am I right? Or am I right? Well... I'll get there when I get there.

For now, I'm just happy that Rael seems to have finally found a cure for the quarian race's immune system issues. This... Wow, this is gonna change a lot. I don't even know where I'm going to begin thinking about this. This is just sheer insanity right here...

And we're gonna be right at the heart of it. I hope.

I smile, pulling myself closer to Tali as I drift off to sleep.

* * *

><p>When I get to the Fade, I notice that it seems a little more... colorful than usual. It's not so brown right now, which is honestly kind of odd... Hm, I wonder what's up with that...<p>

I follow Lady Benezia without any words, crossing my arms as I glance over at the fallen asari matriarch. The walk over to the main hub where Orange and the others are chilling has been very quiet. Benezia just told me how Orange wanted to see me, and how it's important, and how I should prepare myself mentally for what I'm about to see.

Yeah, as if I haven't done enough of that. I dunno, this doesn't seem like it's going to get too crazy, but we'll see. I just wish...

Nah. I actually kinda like the silence down here. There's something... invigorating about it. I don't know what, but it's kinda nice to be sitting in the Fade with no other sound there. There's something eerily calming about it. I'm not sure why, but... there we have it.

After a few more minutes, though, we come on over. I look, seeing Orange looking at me with a calm expression on her face. She looks to me, stepping out of her little throne thing as Loghain bows from where he stands next to her.

"Ah, Keeper," she says. "We meet again."

I nod. "Indeed," I say. "I guess you need to talk to me?"

"Yes," replies Orange.

"Good, 'cause I've got a question I need to ask too," I say. "But we'll get to you first. What's up?"

Orange nods, walking. "Come," she says. "There is some business we must take care of in the field of visions."

...

You know, Orange, you couldn't be setting up my question better if you tried. But hey, there's something interesting going on?

Well... I guess I have to see this.

I fall into step behind the oracle, nodding to the others there. I notice Saren just stare off into space before I turn my attention back to Orange.

* * *

><p>"Okay, so now that we're here..." I say, rubbing my chin as we enter the field of visions.<p>

"Yes," says Orange, coming over as I follow her. "I trust you will be able to follow without holding my hand?"

"I think so," I say, following the prothean. "So... what's up?"

"I have been presented with a vision," she says. "A vision of things to come."

I nod, looking over at her. "That's... actually what I wanted to talk to you about," I say. "We-"

Orange cuts me off right as we get to this huge-ass sphere. Whoah... What the hell? I didn't think I'd ever see a sphere of visions that was so flippin' tall... And large.

Wha...?

"What the hell is that thing?"

Orange nods, looking at it. "This is a phenomenon that rarely occurs," she says. "You are looking at an arch-vision."

I frown. "Arch-vision?" I say. "Sounds important."

"Indeed, Keeper," says Orange. "Many visions are of specific things over a short period of time. But every so often, a vision will occur that will give a broader sense to a longer period of time. They are vague, but one can interpret them quite well."

I nod, looking up at the large vision. "So it's kind of like the prophecies of the Greek oracles where nobody ever got any specific information, but it was for a prophecy that would happen no matter what they did," I say.

"Indeed," says Orange. Her hand reaches for mind, and I let it be taken as I look up at the huge-ass vision. "Come. I wished to show you this arc-vision."

"Uh... okay..."

Yeah, my question is going to have to wait until later.

* * *

><p><strong>When I am inside the vision, I blink, looking around to see Orange and I standing in a strange kind of void. I frown as I watch several things take form.<strong>

**"Orange, what-?"**

**I then watch as a Reaper appears in the vision, circling around the area in front of me rather quickly.**

**Right, I'll shut up now.**

**I watch as suddenly, the images of three fairly large mass relays appear. They stand in three points around what looks like the galaxy, with the Reaper circling outside. The relays aren't equidistant from each other, though: there are two below the center of the galaxy map, while another appears just above where the one on the left is. I blink, looking up at the Reaper as it splits into three different Reapers.**

**Hm... Those things correspond to something on the galaxy map. So...**

**One of them comes in through a relay on the lower-left hand side, and lingers there for a while. Another then comes over to the relay on the lower right hand corner, and then I see it split off as it infects much of the rest of the galaxy from there. Hm... I then watch as the third Reaper comes in from the only remaining relay, where it then proliferates out.**

**And then, all the Reapers begin to merge over the galaxy map, until they're all one giant Reaper. I breathe in sharply, looking up as suddenly it seems to melt away from existence. Well, melt isn't the right word.**

**It's more like it explodes out of existence. That right there is actually pretty crazy, so...**

**I glance over at Orange, looking at the image of the galaxy again, watching as one of the relays explodes. It's the one on the right, I think. The other two look just fine, so...**

**What... This is all... Where is-?**

* * *

><p>Before I can gather my thoughts, Orange and I are both pulled out of the arch-vision. I blink, looking back at the prothean as she hums.<p>

"Uh..." I say. "What the hell was that all about?" I shrug. "I mean... the weird symbolism and shit... That was just... That was like nothing I have ever seen..."

"Perhaps not," says Orange. "This is a vision of what will come to pass."

I frown. "I take it arch-visions are always absolute," I say. "And that it means that... That the Reapers are going to attack the galaxy from three different points on the galaxy map, right?"

"Yes," says Orange.

I blink. "Wow, talk about the pincer maneuver from hell," I say, crossing my arms. "And that disintegration..."

"It states that there is a condition for winning," she states. "One that I assume you must carry out."

"I guess," I say, nodding. "Okay, so... it's a pincer tactic that can be broken if we do something to help out there. And then, we can regroup. And all that is supposed to happen, right?"

"Yes," says Orange. "That is what I wished to show you."

"Indeed," I say, crossing my arms. "So now, we have to figure out what the hell that winning condition is. From the way it looked... it looked like we needed to destroy a mass relay." I frown. "But how the fuck are we supposed to do that, and what happens if there are people living there?"

"That shall unveil itself with time," states Orange. "Now, you did mention you had something you wished to ask me."

I nod. "Yeah, I do," I say. "About the _other _visions that show the future."

I cross my arms, frowning slightly as I move closer to Orange. "Why can't we just look at those and figure out what's going to happen next?"

Orange looks at me with a rather odd eye. "That... that is what you wished to ask?" she says. "Keeper, I believe we have discussed this."

"Yeah, and I'm not sure it's valid anymore," I say. "I mean, we have all this information at our fingertips. Visions of things to come, right?"

Orange shakes her head. "It is far more complicated than you would believe, Keeper," she says. "It is a vision of what is to come, yes, but in the Fade the visions of what is to come is confined only to possibilities."

I frown. "So if we find a possibility, then that can allow us to change the future!" I say. "Orange, we're missing a huge opportunity there!"

"Perhaps, but it is not so certain," says Orange. "As these visions of the future only deal in possibilities, then it is as likely to happen as it is to not happen. One may never know how things have changed."

"Right..." I say, making it clear that I'm not completely convinced. "But what if we know something closer to the future? Why can't we just look at it?"

"You would not understand, Keeper," she says. "The field of visions is something that cannot be exploited in the manner you suggest."

... What? "Exploited?" I ask. "Jeez, you're making it sound like I want to auction off the future!" I take a step forward. "We're going into this thing blind, Orange. And we-"

"Perhaps it is best if you leave it, Keeper," says Orange.

I shake my head. "You're telling me we need to leave this behind?" I ask. "I mean... yeah, I wanted to go in blind, but what if there's one event-?"

Orange takes a step forward. "_Silence!_"

...

Holy shit. I think I pissed her off.

She shakes her head. "You know not of what you speak," she says. "There was a time when I conscripted myself to your thinking. But my vision came true despite what happened. And despite all of my efforts, it came to pass exactly as I saw it."

I frown. "But that doesn't guarantee-"

"You would never understand," she says. "I did everything. And in the end, it was not enough. Perhaps I did not prepare well, but..." She shakes her head. "It may make no difference. It was only a theory that the visions of things to come are only possibilities. But everything I see... Everything I have seen over the many millenia that I have been trapped here has come to pass exactly as was foretold."

I shake my head. "But it's only-"

"Leave it, Keeper," she says. "I cannot stress enough how important it is that you adapt to the situation." She shakes her head grimly. "I will... I will return from whence I came. You must think on this."

I frown. "You mean you're leaving me here?" I ask.

"You know the way back," she says. "You will find that it is much easier to travel in your own subconscious than I would have you believe. I... I wish not to speak of this further."

And with this, she walks away. I notice something grim in her step as she walks away from me. Eventually, she vanishes among the visions that surround me, and I find myself standing there right by the arch-vision blinking.

...

Oh, come on Orange. Come on!

I shake my head, throwing my arms up in a rather angry gesture. I mean, Jesus Christ on a pikestaff, I can't believe she got all defensive about that. You'd think that being an Oracle, she'd be more sensitive to that. It's just... Jesus Christ...

I shake my head. Well, she says that I'd never understand it. But honestly, I don't think she gets it. Maybe there's the one vision there that'll prove her wrong. Or something. As much as I'd like to say that she's got the wrong idea completely... She might have a point.

But for Christ's sake, at least let me see for myself. That...

You know what? Screw destiny. I'm going to take a peek at one vision of the future. One. Not even that much to make a difference with. And I am going to take steps to see what happens with it first, and how we get there. And I will do what I need to about that... If it's good, I just let it run its course.

But on the off chance that it leads to something awful happening...?

I begin to move through the field. Okay, whe-

...

Wait a minute...

I don't even know where to _start_! And that... that doesn't help me at all, because if I don't know where to start...

I frown, looking at this ball a couple paces away from where Orange and I were let out of the archvision. Hm... I guess I better just look for a random vision, and hope it can do stuff.

I walk forward towards the vision... And...

...

Wait a second.

No, hold on... If I didn't know where to start, then how did I get Liara and myself into those visions in the Fade when she went down? That's... Hey, so anyone can activate the visions! I just need to know how to tell if it's a past vision or a future vision...

Hm... I better get going on that.

* * *

><p>Damn it, no... that vision was a vision of the past too.<p>

Jeez, I've already been through something like five visions by now, and none of them have been of the future. Well... we don't have any warning about them, but thankfully I don't think Orange has noticed that I've entered visions looking for one of the future. Yet. I've just gotten out of each vision as I've seen they're not of the past. Though... it was a little odd, seeing that one vision of Captain Anderson talking to Shepard in Flux. That was kinda weird, seeing it when I know I was confined to the ship.

Well, what can I do? It was weirder watching a whole lot of other things. Seriously, visions know no bounds when it comes to being weird.

Well... Okay, there's a vision there. And you know what? Since I'm getting tired of all the hopping around in the dream world, I think that I'm going to call it quits after this vision. If it's not a vision of the future...

I settle on the orb, approaching it. Okay, vision, you better be a vision of the future. And if you're not... well, we'll figure that shit out eventually.

I bring my hand forward, reaching out to touch the vision.

And as soon as my hand makes contact with the vision, I feel the space in front of me form into a strange interstellar laboratory. I glance around. Okay... looks kind of like a lab in Noveria, except with a metric ton more windows and stuff. But it's not really that fa-

...

What the hell is that?

I turn my attention to a huge blue monolith-like object in the center of the room. Wha...? That's definitely new. What the hell is that thing? I mean... well, it looks like a piece of... of...

...

Shit, that's Reaper technology!

Where the hell is this, and when? Because I certainly don't remember seeing that kind of monolith. In fact, the only reason I feel certain that it's a piece of Reaper tech is... well... I just feel this really bad vibe from it.

I... What the hell is this?

I hear a door open from the other side, and...

...

Holy shit, that's me! I turn to face myself, watching as some woman with white hair comes walking in. I'm following her, looking up at the object in the center of the room.

...

Well, I don't remember ever experiencing this or anything like that... And I've never seen that object before...

Which can leave only one option.

I've finally hit success in this.

The doctor approaches the little object.

_"Serviceman *********, I give you Object Rho._"

Object Rho... Object Rho...

Wait.

Why's it out in the open like that?

Apparently, my future self has the same idea. "_So you're just letting a potential Reaper artifact sit there in the open?_" my future self asks.

"_When we found it, it showed me a vision of the Reapers' arrival_," says this lady. Who is she...? And why do I feel like I should know her?

_"Uh, Dr. Kenson, I hate to tell you this, but I think you screwed yourself over already,_" he says. I say. I dunno, it's so complicated seeing myself doing stuff!

"_Give it a moment, Serviceman_," replies this strange woman. "_It'll give you the proof you need_."

I see my future self nod, and I stand back, looking as I take several steps forward. Oh, dear, this isn't gonna be good...

I then jolt in shock as my future self gets electrocuted by... something, I don't know. But all I see emanating from me are these little blue sparkly things that look exactly like what you'd see glowing from a husk's body. I am brought to my knees with this, and I take a step back.

I then see the woman draw a gun to my head, holding it there.

"_I can't let you start the Project, Serviceman_," she says. "_I can't let you stop the arrival_."

The arrival... The arrival of...

The Reapers...?

...

Holy shit. This... This relates to one of the things in the vision. Stop the arrival... by destroying a mass relay... So this is part of that. But this looks like...

But... But this Dr. Kenson lady...

I'm pulled out of the vision before I can think of anything else. The Fade forms all around me, and I blink as I look back at that sphere.

...

Okay. Well... I know I have to avoid trusting that Dr. Kenson lady, because... if anything is true about what this vision is telling me, it's that she's indoctrinated by the Reapers because they were stupid enough to leave it lying around like that. Fucking indoctrination.

But there's a lot more that's confusing about this. What the hell is the Project? What does it do? I already know it's to stop the Reapers, and I think it has something to do with the archvision Orange and I saw, but how the hell will it do either of those things? And how did I get there?

Most importantly, where is there?

I shake my head. Jesus, too many questions, and nowhere to start to think about how I'm going to change this up. Hm...

Well, I guess those answers will reveal themselves in time. I'm not going to look for the rest of that vision. I mean, if I tried doing that, I'd be stuck here forever. I mean, it took me a while to find a vision of the future in this field. How the hell am I going to find the continuation in any sense of timeliness?

Ah, well. At least I've got something, and that something is certainly better than nothing.

Well, I better make my way back to Orange and the gang. They're probably wondering what's keeping me here so long, so I better head on back.

Okay... so I went this way, past this vision, and... Okay, I think I remember where I need to go now.

* * *

><p>When I wake up, I look out into the drive core. Well... There's that thing to worry about. What the hell was the Project, what the hell is Object Rho, and who the hell is Dr. Kenson?<p>

...

Well, the first two are most likely classified information, but the last one is a different story entirely. Dr. Kenson... that sounds like a name that would get you results if you plugged it into an extranet search engine. I think... Yeah, I think that'll be the way to find her. But...

I look down to Tali where she's sleeping. I can only imagine how wide the smile on her face is as she's dreaming about her homeworld. I glance to the side... Damn it, I miss being able to dream about things like that. Having the same recurring dream for years isn't going to help us in any way with that, I don't think. I just... I wish I could have dreams about other things. Ever since I first met Orange...

Well... hopefully I'll be able to have a normal, non-recurring dream one of these days. I just have to work for it, I guess.

I glance out the drive core one last time, and I nod to myself, holding my legs closer to my body as I ponder on this Dr. Kenson lady. Well... soon enough we're gonna be at Tuchanka, and then we're playing a completely different ball game.

I'll think about that when we get there. I...

I just hope that this horrible feeling I've got about this Project is just a horrible feeling...


	14. Chapter 13

_A/N: And that was that with the short interlude in our little Krogan Genophage arc. So what happens next, you might ask?_

_Well, we continue with it. As for the B Story? We'll get back to Will and the others when we finish the genophage arc, but for now... yeah._

_As for now, though, we have the return of Urdnot Wrex! So I think that's cause for celebration, am I right? And what else will happen here? Well... you'll see._

_So keep your eyes open, and let's do this!_

_(Note: This reflects an edited version of Chapter 13. I would like to thank ValentineDiverseOptics for being of huge help in this whole rewrite.)_

* * *

><p>Chapter 13: The Clan Battles, Part One<p>

"Okay... And with that, we're in the Krogan DMZ."

Joker says this right as he raps his fingers against the chair he's sitting at. He nods, sitting back as he looks on. I lean against the chair, glancing over at Miranda and Garrus as they stand right there.

"Okay," I say. "How long do you think it'll take until we get to Tuchanka?"

EDI's blue sphere avatar appears again. "_By my estimations, it should take approximately one hour to get to Tuchanka_," she says. "_However, there is always the possibility of Council ships patrolling this area, now that Jorgal Anahit is with us. I can already detect the signs of two Council cruisers within the system._"

I frown. "Well, that's great," I comment. "Now we have to play 'hide and seek' in addition to all the _other _crap we have to do."

Miranda frowns. "This isn't good," she says. "Art, do you think you can take Garrus down to Tuchanka with you?"

I nod. "Yeah," I say. "And you can keep track of things on the Normandy."

"Yes," Miranda replies. She then looks up. "EDI, activate the stealth systems and keep a close eye out on the cruisers within the systems."

Joker looks back to us. "You do know that our stealth systems won't last forever, right?" he asks. "We're going to have to touch down somewhere if we hope to stay out of sight."

"I am aware of that Joker," Miranda says. "But our first priority is to get the ground team and the krogan princess onto Tuchanka."

EDI's avatar appears again. "_Alert,_" she says. "_One of the two cruisers in this system is currently rounding around the Aralakh system's sun._"

"Shit, that means we need to hide," said Joker. His hands flew around the interface. "EDI? A little help here!"

"_The planet of Ruam should be nearby,_" she says. "_We do not have much time to get there before the Council cruiser sees us._"

"And what about the other cruiser?" asks Miranda.

"_The other cruiser is on the side of the sun opposite that of Ruam's current location,_" EDI replies. "_Statistical projections prove that the vessel is unlikely to see us._"

"Right," Joker says as he brings the Normandy into gear. His hands fly around. "I'm going right over there and staying within orbit. EDI, you let me know about anything else."

I nod, breathing in as the Normandy begins moving a little faster than normal. The ship moves pretty quickly, and I look to Joker nervously. I look outside the window and watch the ship move rather quickly before I suddenly find myself standing right next to EDI's terminal. The ship moves into position, and a few minutes later I notice that we slow down right as we reach a blue-tinted gas giant of some sort. Joker gets pretty close to it, and then slows the ship way the hell down.

"All right," says Joker. "Let's hope the stealth systems hold. I am _not _going to break my arm getting arrested."

I roll my eyes, but still feel my hand clench around the bulkhead. Wait, when'd I even grab it? "Sure," I say simply. I look to EDI's avatar as it floats there.

And then, we sit there in silence as EDI projects a radar in front of us without saying anything else. It shows where we are in relation to the other guy that's currently snooping around, and I turn to look at Miranda. She nods, and then I turn my concentration back to the radar. I watch as the dot representing the vessel we're around begins to move close to where we are, with Joker making the requisite adjustments around the planet. I swear, we move with the gas giant's orbit as Joker looks at the projection and the planet just in front of us.

What feels like hours pass as we watch the radar closely. My eyes remain glued to EDI's radar, and I just see other things out of my peripheral vision. I sit there, feeling time stretch out as it moves.

And finally, the dot moves away, and EDI's avatar reappears.

"_According to my current projections, now would be the best time to get to Tuchanka._"

I turn to Joker right as his hands start flying across the darn thing. "All right," says Joker. He then turns to me. "I think you'll want to head down to the shuttle right now," he said.

"We're only going to have a small window to get you down there," Miranda adds. "The other cruiser could come around at any moment, and I don't think the stealth systems will hold that long."

I nod. "EDI, tell the ground team to get right to the shuttle," I say. "We've got a clock to race against."

"_Of course, Serviceman,_" says EDI.

With this, I turn to Miranda and give her a brief nod. "Take care of the ship," I say. "If all goes well, we'll be able to make some progress here."

Miranda simply nods, and I take this as my cue to leave. I then quickly leave the cockpit, rushing right for the elevator.

* * *

><p>A long time later, the shuttle touches down on Tuchanka. I look over to the others in the shuttle as we drop down. Well, this is an interesting company. Tali, Garrus, Madison, and Jarel are all here, along with Grunt. Grunt doesn't look all too happy, but he's going along with whatever is going on here. Mordin also looks on, sniffing as he steps out of the shuttle.<p>

"You hanging in there?" I ask.

"I guess," he says, glancing outside.

I nod. "Good," I say. "Hang in there. A lot of krogan being in the same place will probably cause a lot of problems, so stay by us and try not to start anything."

Isaac nods. "Okay," he says, nodding as he pats his hand on his line gun.

Okay, we're good. I turn to Jarel soon after, looking at the shaman and Anahit as they shift behind the salarian. "So... you're going to explain about the genophage cure?"

"Of course," says Jarel. "I'll explain it to Wrex as soon as possible."

I glance over to Anahit. "And you'll help him with this explanation, no doubt," I say to the princess.

"You gave me a chance at freedom from that place they called Sur'Kesh," says Anahit. "It would be my honor to aid one who wishes to affect the future of the krogan in any way possible."

Jarel nods. "Good," he says. "Now we have to hope the Urdnot Clan is not busy."

I shrug. "I'm sure they've got it in good hands."

With this, we slowly sink down vertically. Isaac glances around briefly, shaking his head as Garrus nods. "Well, looks like we're here again," he says.

"Yep," says Madison, leaning against the turian. "Let's hope this isn't too difficult."

Yeah, let's hope it's not too difficult. Knowing the world, though... that's going to be a stretch to hope for that, so... We'll see what happens.

Soon after, the shuttle touches down, and then we all stand up. The door opens...

... and there's only a single krogan guard there.

... What?

I look over to him as he gives me a nod. Grunt comes out, looking at the guard. "Urdnot Grunt, you're here," says the guard. "The clan leader was about to send a summons for you."

I frown as Grunt jumps out. "Why?" he asks.

"The war council is assembling."

W- Wait, what? War council? What in-?

...

Oh, no. Wrex told me about those in a message he sent. Isn't that... Shit, that's when a clan gets together to decide to declare war on someone.

And if someone's declaring war on someone else...

...

Well, shit. Looks like EDI's projections were off…

I nearly stumble out of the craft, with the shuttle emptying out very quickly afterwards. "What?" I step towards the krogan, blinking as I walk forward. "They're going to war?" I shake my head. "War with who?"

"Each other, of course," says the guard. "There's been a dispute between clan Urdnot and a clan that hasn't entered an alliance with Wrex yet. I can't tell you anything more. I'm always stuck out here, but when Wrex tells me to get going, I'll be ready."

I frown, glancing to the others. "This isn't good," says Madison as she steps out of the shuttle.

That it's not... Oh, this means shit has hit the fan somewhere, and when that happens... Oh, it's not good.

Oh, I _have _to talk to Wrex now. Maybe if it's mentioned that someone allied with the Urdnot clan has the tools to cure the genophage...

"Can I see Urdnot Wrex at least?" I ask

The krogan nods. "Urdnot Wrex is indeed here," says the guardperson. "The war council will be held as a Crush, where no weapon can be drawn, but until then..."

I glance to the side. "Seems like these clans are setting themselves up for disaster," Garrus says from behind me.

"No kidding," I comment, turning my attention back to the Urdnot guard. "I need to go see him."

The guard person nods. "Of course," he says. "I know who you are, and I remember what you and Urdnot Grunt have done." He nods to Grunt. "It's not often that one slays the thresher maw during the Rite. I'm proud to be part of your clan."

I turn to Grunt, giving him a smile and a raised eyebrow before I turn my attention back to the guardsperson. "If you went where you did the last time, you'll find Wrex there. From what I understand, the Crush has not started."

I nod. "Okay," I say. "Thank you." I turn to the others. "Come on, let's go. We've got shit we need to figure out here."

With this, the ground team follows as I walk down the path from the shuttle to where Wrex is. As I move around, however, we see everyone's eyes on me... Hm. They seem more... suspicious, it seems. I'm not sure where that's coming from.

But whatever's going down here, I know it's something I already don't like one fucking bit...

* * *

><p>When we get to where Wrex is, we see him sitting at his throne quietly, listening as someone stands there and reads him stuff from an omni-tool. Drakus is standing there rather quietly, rolling his eyes the whole while. I glance back to Jarel and Anahit, and then back to Garrus as he follows along. I step forward, looking right at Wrex as he gives a dismissive hand gesture.<p>

"That will not help us against the Halagog Clan," says Wrex.

Huh? What's this about-?

"Maybe not, but it's the only thing we have," says the person reading him stuff.

The krogan reading stuff turns his head in my direction soon after, and then he nods. "It looks like your friends are back," he says. With this, Wrex turns his attention to us.

Almost instantly, the improvement in his expression is visible. "Art!" he said. "My friend!"

I nod, stepping forward as Wrex stands up from his throne. I smile again, noting that even as he gives a smile, he's still got some kind of anger burning in his eyes. "Wrex!" I say. "Good to see you're still kicking!"

"It's good to see you're still free," he says. "You've got a quad there, evading the Council like that and then coming to a demilitarized zone in Citadel Space."

I shrug. "Well, duty calls, you know?" I say. "And now we're back, to help you out with stuff."

"Indeed," he says. "Still, you got a quad there."

"If only Shepard were free..." Drakus adds as he looks to us

I nod. "Yeah, if only Shepard were free," I say. "I still can't believe she got arrested... And if certain things had happened differently, she would be here now, helping us." I sigh, glancing to the side sadly. "Or leading us."

Wrex grunts, turning back to the guy he was talking to before I came in. "You're dismissed for now," he says.

The krogan with the omni-tool nods, and then walks off in the other direction. I turn my attention back to Wrex, but before he can say much else, he shakes his head. "You have your own problems, I take it?"

"Just a few," I say. "But your problems take precedence for now, because by now I think the entire galaxy knows about Shepard's arrest. So anyway..."

He simply nods, shifting his posture. "You'd think that getting Grunt into the Urdnot Clan would have solved most of our problems," he says. He shakes his head, looking right at me. "It solved most of our issues for some time. Getting a perfect krogan in our clan drew people to us." He turns to me. "He came back from the Omega 4 Relay, right?"

I glance over to Grunt as he steps forward. "See for yourself," I say.

Grunt glares at me before looking right at Grunt. "My battlemaster got taken away," he says.

"I heard," Wrex replies. "You doing okay without Shepard's hand?"

I nod. "We're managing," I say. "I haven't seen any fights start to break out on the Normandy yet, anyway. I'll take that as a good sign."

The old krogan nods, crossing his arms. "And now you're here," he says. "Right as I was about to ask for your help. Why?"

I blink, looking as Jarel steps forward. Hm... Well, we need to know what we're fixing here. That's always a good thing to know for things like this. Besides, he looked pretty pissed off. I glance over to Jarel, holding my hand up.

"What did you need my help for?" I ask. "I mean, you mentioned that your issues were somewhat solved by Grunt, but that they didn't go away. And then there was the fact that the Urdnot guards told us 'they're getting a war council together'."

"The guards told you that, huh?" Wrex asks.

Drakus looks at him pointedly. "It is true," he comments.

Wrex nods, glancing off to the side. "That it is," says Wrex.

"So what happened?" Garrus asks as he comes to the front of the group.

"Some of the clans got mad at the fact that Grunt's krantt wasn't all krogan," Wrex immediately replies. "I still have a clan on Tuchanka that hasn't allied with clan Urdnot yet. The Halagog clan still hasn't allied itself with us, and they bounce that fact around as if it was a weakness on our part." He snorts. "The whelps don't understand true strength. I don't expect they ever will."

"So I see," I say. "But you're calling a war council together. That implies that there's worse stuff going on down here."

"There is," said Drakus. "It's not news that's gotten off Tuchanka since news doesn't get out of Tuchanka very fast if it ever does, but… Wrex is mobilizing for war."

I frown. "I know that," I point out. "Why?"

"Someone raided the female camp a few days ago," says Wrex.

At this, I hear a gasp, and suddenly look behind me to see the shaman stepping forward. "_What?_" she asks. "Someone attacked the female camp?"

Wrex immediately looked up at the shaman, and… wow… this is the only time I've ever seen Wrex look genuinely _shocked _at anything. "Shaman?" he asks.

"Yes, Urdnot Wrex," says the shaman. "It is I."

Wrex nodded, standing up and looking at the female shaman. "I didn't think you'd ever be back on Tuchanka," Wrex replied. "You just left."

I frown, pointing between the two of them. Before I can say anything, though, Madison steps forward. "Wait," she said, pointing at the shaman and Wrex. "You two know each other?"

"Yes," says the female shaman. "I was the leader of the females of Clan Urdnot."

I blink. "Whoah," I comment. "That's… crazy." I frown, and… hold on… "Hey, wait a minute! If you were with Clan Urdnot, what the hell were you doing in Maelon's experiments?"

Wrex blinks, before looking back at the shaman. "So _that's _where you went," he said. "You were seeking to be cured of the genophage."

"Yes," said the shaman. "I needed to take a chance for all of Tuchanka's daughters. I would have come back, but I was found by the STG and taken to Sur'Kesh."

Wrex nods. "Well, you're back," he says. "That's the important part." He looks to us. "So you went to Sur'Kesh, huh? You've got a quad."

I rub the back of my head nervously. "Well," I comment. "We were there for… _other _things. But…"

Madison steps forward. "Anyway… you were saying about the female camp?" she asks.

"Yes," said Wrex. "Some krogan warriors in black armor attacked the female camp a few days ago. We had at least five women that were killed, as well as a few children." I actually hear him growl angrily. "The cowards couldn't even face us themselves. They had to kill women and children to get their way, and without even showing their face, either."

I frown. "Wait, so you don't know who even did it?" I ask.

"No," says Drakus. "None of the survivors saw any clan emblems or clan markings to denote who did it. All the guards had been killed, and there was no corpses left that we could use to identify these clansmen with."

Wrex shakes his head. "We've got a good idea that Halagog did it, though," he says. "All throughout the unification of the clans of Tuchanka, they had vehemently opposed my reforms. They vehemently denied that they had done it when I approached them at a council yesterday. They left the delegation." He shakes his head. "I never thought Halagog Kurtek would _ever _do something like this, but he's crossed a line. And now, he'll pay with it with the blood of his warriors."

"Sounds a bit harsh when you don't have any hard evidence," says Madison from behind me. "You sure you couldn't just wait first?"

"If we did that, we risk Halagog attacking us while our guard is lowered," said Drakus. "Besides, we're hoping Halagog Kurtek will see reason."

"All of the remaining clans of Tuchanka are loyal to me," says Wrex. "Kurtek may be stubborn, but I don't think he's an idiot. He'll probably surrender when we attack."

"At least, that's what you hope," I comment.

"We might kill them anyway because of what they did to the female camp," says Wrex. "But if we do kill them, we're not killing the women or the children. Urdnot is more honorable than that." He sighs angrily. "I just wish I had something to rally the clans of Tuchanka without having to kill them all first. If I could find a peaceful solution to the Halagog clan's problems..."

I glance over to Jarel, smiling. "Well, then today's your lucky day," I say, crossing my arms. "Jarel?"

The salarian steps forward, nodding. "Hello again, Urdnot Wrex."

The krogan frowns, crossing his arms. "You again?" he asks. "I thought you joined the Spectres."

Jarel shakes his head. "That was before I found out that Tela Vasir was answering to the Shadow Broker, and before Shepard got arrested by the Council," he says. "Ironic when you think about who we answer to now." He shakes his head. "This is unimportant. The important thing is that we have something that can help you."

"Short of curing the genophage, I'm not sure that there's much that you can do to help," says Wrex.

I can almost see the krogan shaman's smirk underneath all that clothing as she shifts her posture. "Do not lose faith yet, clan leader," the shaman replied.

Jarel smirks, glancing over to Anahit as she steps forward. "Yeah, what she said," he said. "We were at Sur'Kesh to rescue this krogan here. She is the key to curing the genophage." He turned to Wrex. "So yes, we have a way to cure the genophage."

At this, Wrex's eyes widen, his attention turning to the krogan princess before looking back to Jarel. "You... You have a way to cure the genophage?" Wrex asks, leaning forward.

Jarel nods, stepping in next to Anahit as she comes forward. "And her name is Anahit."

"Anahit..." Wrex blinks. "Jorgal Anahit?"

"Yes, clan leader," says Anahit. "I know this is probably a shock to you."

"You could _definitely _say that," says Wrex. "The Jorgal clan leaders only recently told me about a princess they had that could cure the genophage who vanished from Tuchanka one day. They told me that they had kept it confidential…"

"They sought to protect me," Anahit replies. "Unfortunately, the STG had found out despite their best efforts. I do not believe it was the fault of those who tried to protect me."

"Eh, nothing escapes the gaze of _those _pyjacks," Wrex comments. "It was only a matter of time until they traced you here and got you." He looks at Anahit. "They told me it was because you were immune to the genophage."

"That is correct, clan leader," Anahit replies. "They held me there for a long time. I was recently rescued…"

The krogan clan leader nods. He promptly turns his attention to Jarel, and I notice that his eyes look like they're shining a little brighter than they were when I first came here. "And you hope to cure the genophage with her help," Wrex says.

Jarel nods, opening his omni-tool. "I have the data from Maelon's attempted genophage cure on my omni-tool, and it's backed up on three seperate terminals on the Normandy," he says. "With that and some hormone tests from Anahit I'll be conducting in the near future, I think I'll be able to help your people."

"And this time, you won't be controlling us," says Wrex. He nods, and I can see his eyes glinting in happiness. "I... I don't know what to say. We have hope. Real hope for the first time in..."

I nod, placing a hand on Wrex's arm. "Yeah," I say. "Well, we've got the Jorgal princess who's immune to the genophage."

"I'll bet it's an interesting story, how you got her out of there. Hopefully, it was full of lots of dead salarians," he says as he steps towards Anahit. "In time, I will see to it that you are returned to the Jorgal Clan. It is your birth clan, after all."

"That is acceptable," says Anahit. "I have been separated from my clan for a very long time. I wish very much to see them again."

Wrex nods, giving her a rather amused smile. He then turns his attention to Jarel, and the salarian simply crosses his arms. "How long do you think it will take to cure the genophage?" Wrex asks.

"I don't know," says Jarel. "But with Maelon's data, I don't think it will take too long."

"So I see." Wrex nods, turning to me. "This will be helpful to unite Tuchanka. Thank you, Art."

I nod, crossing my arms. "Anything for a friend, man," I say. "Now... about that war council..."

The large krogan nods. "The first meeting is in two hours," he says. "I'd appreciate it if you could be there."

"Of course," I say. "The clan meeting is gonna be interesting, I think."

Wrex nods. "Good," he says. "Until then..."

I nod. "Yeah, it might be good to catch up on what's been going on," I say, crossing my arms. I look to the others. "Come along, people, we've got some bonding to do."

* * *

><p>A couple of hours later, Wrex, myself, and the ground team all make our way to the sacred ground on which we're going to have this meeting. I see a lot of krogan seated in a circle, even as Wrex takes his place. As he does, a hush falls among the group, and Mordin comes just behind me. Okay... head count... I count at least twenty krogan in this circle at the moment. Well, no, actually, that's misleading, because there are more of them there. I just see what looks like twenty clan symbols laying around the krogan. Some of the symbols have more than one person representing them, apparently. Whatever the case, they're all represented by these flags with symbols on them. And no two are alike, from what I see. I even see an approximation of a thresher maw on one, so...<p>

Okay... So that's one clan, that's another... and Urdnot Wrex makes twenty-one. Okay, adding the Halagog clan makes it twenty-two. Okay, so there are currently twenty-two clans that could be allied with Wrex. Is this all the clans on Tuchanka? 'Cause I doubt it.

I nod as Wrex takes a seat at some throne-like chair, and then we hear a gong go off close to where we are. I instantly cup my hands over my ears, frowning. Jeez, could you keep it down? I swear that nearly made my ears burst, and I need these babies if I want to continue being a musician once this is all said and done!

The clans turn their attention to Wrex. He nods as the gong dies away, rapping a hand against the arm rest of his chair. "It is good to see you all here," he says. "I guess we better get to business, then."

One of the krogan immediately stands up. "What are the aliens doing at a war council?" he asks.

"They are here for a reason I will explain as we go," he says. "And they're with me."

Some of the other clans shake their heads. There's a murmur that goes throughout the circle.

I see another krogan stand up. "You're letting whelps decide our war council?" he asks.

Wrex frowns, looking at this offending krogan. "I've told you many times, Jorgal Krunus; these particular aliens have a quad on them." He glances around. "Besides, this is the crew of the Normandy you're speaking about."

At that, the krogan pause, even as Grunt comes forward. He stands there, looking around. "My krantt is strong," he says. "And you will not belittle their worth while I stand here."

This successfully shuts most of these guys up, and they turn their attention back to Wrex. Wrex nods, standing up. "Now, we have gathered her today to decide what to do about the Halagog clan," he says. "As it stands now, their only recourse is to have the clans of Tuchanka declare war on them."

"They have insulted the name of Clan Urdnot!" I hear a random krogan say. "You have given us nothing but prosperity!"

"He has broken many traditions to get his way, but it's true that we are better at surviving now," I hear another one comment.

Some of the krogan then begin to pipe up. It leads up to this furore of voices, and I find myself glancing back at Mordin and raising my eyebrows.

I'm about to ask Mordin about that when I hear the furore die down. I glance back, looking at Wrex as his attention turns to one of the lesser krogan around here.

"So what do we do?" asks this krogan.

Wrex crosses his arms. "I would have called for war under most circumstances," he says. "However, some recent information that has come to my attention may have influenced my decision." He shifts in his seat. "Before we go to war, I will make one last attempt to make peace with Clan Halagog."

At this, the clans of Tuchanka all balk at Wrex. "You're just going to take this insult?" asks someone else.

"The female camp has been attacked, and your women killed! Yet you wish to make peace with them?" asks another. "You have no spine!"

And before long, angry voices rise up from the rabble. Good lord, this is kinda like... well, I dunno what it is, but it reminds me of stuff I see where things go really fast. Either way, the voices get extremely loud, and I glance over to Wrex. He shakes his head.

Oh, what? I look forward. "Look, if you'd just be..." I pause, seeing it's not having any effect as slowly, the clans begin turning to each other. "If you'd just let him-!"

I hear Wrex beginning to attempt to quiet the rabble down, and I begin to hear traces of other things... and other things... and more things...

...

Oh, come on, short of making the gong sound again, which it hasn't...

...

Aw, crap. I'm gonna have to...

Yes. Yes I am.

Well, better get this over with, then.

"Hey!" I scream as loudly as I can. "You know what I just realized?" I hear the rabble going at it still. Okay, gotta make this count.

Taking a deep breath, I place one foot behind me before looking at the rabble around us.

"_I just lost the gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame!_"

I scream this as loudly as I can, holding out one of the syllables until I can't possibly hold it anymore.

The effect is almost instantaneous. Every krogan in the area is now silent, and in the silence after the rabble I can literally hear a pin drop. I breathe in, realizing how much air capacity that yell required. Still, getting the silence of everybody in the other clans?

I have no idea how I managed to scream over more than twenty different clan representatives yelling at the top of their lungs, but I did it, that's all that matters, and now that I have the floor, I need to run with it.

I shake my head, looking at the other krogan in the area. "Okay," I say. "Now that I have your _attention_, would you be so kind as to let us finish, please?" I say.

"But he's letting an insult to the Urdnot clan go unanswered!" shouts a random krogan.

"Maybe, but we can fix this all very easily," I say, crossing my arms. "You see, I just came back from a visit to the salarian homeworld."

There are a few quick gasps around the place as people look to each other. "You went _there_?" asks a krogan from far off.

"You better believe it," I say. "And we did it because there was word of a possible solution for a genophage cure there." I gesture over to Anahit and Jarel. "And with a couple things, we're on track to developing that possible genophage cure." I glance to the others.

"You... you can cure the genophage?" I hear someone ask.

I shrug. "Well, not me specifically, but we have the ability to, if we're given a little more time," I say.

"The Halagog clan would be stupid to refuse such an offer," adds Wrex.

I hear a few murmurs of agreement. Okay, awesomesauce.

I glance over to Wrex as one of the clan representatives nods. "So you plan to offer them a cure if they surrender peacefully?" asks the representative.

"As I said, the Halagog clan would be stupid to refuse the cure," says Wrex. "If they refuse, then they do deserve to be warred against."

"Works for me," I hear one of the clan representatives say.

I hear a general murmur of agreement after this. I nod, smiling at Wrex. See, there we go? Introduce potential genophage cure, and we get krogan to agree with each other on stuff. Especially on peace parties that will likely have results. Since let's face it, Wrex is right about this.

The krogan all around, nod. "Fine," says one representative. "But we'll be looking for their blood if this fails."

I glance at Wrex, nodding as he stands up. "Then it is decided," he says. "I will put together a delegation. They will go to clan Halagog tonight with their new proposal." Wrex turns to me. "Art, would you be willing to supply some of your ground team with the delegation?"

I nod, crossing my arms. "Sure," I say.

Wrex nods. "Then I call this meeting of the war council to an end."

The gong rings out, and then I see the clan representatives chatter amongst themselves. Okay, we've got this.

That was actually pretty easy once we introduced the genophage cure. The krogan really are that desperate to be cured, I think. And who can blame 'em, really? I mean, there's only so much that we can really understand about them, but... It must be good to finally see that the unborn children will finally be born.

The krogan have had that kind of assurance coming for long enough.

Now, all we need to do is-

...

Wait.

I thought I saw something. Something with that Jorgal... Jorgal... Kronus? Kranos? I don't remember, but whatever the guy's name is, it doesn't really matter that much.

No, what matters is what I thought I saw. I thought... Well, he looks like he's just sitting there, but I thought I saw something in his eyes. I mean, he's not that far away, but what I see... I see a slight twitch of his hand, as if there's something about this he doesn't like.

Hm. That's odd...

Well, maybe someone else noticed something. I'll ask the group when we're out of here.

For now, I nod to Wrex as the war council disbands. We follow him soon after, and I cross my arms as we walk away from those grounds.

* * *

><p>I nod to Wrex, crossing my arms as we move along. "Well, that certainly went by really fast," Madison comments.<p>

"It was so fast it was almost unreal, really," I add.

Wrex chuckles. "They usually go a lot slower than that," he says. "Looks like curing the genophage is a more powerful diplomatic tool than we expected."

"I knew it would be effective, but that effective?" I shake my head with an amused expression on my face. "Oh man..." I look over to Wrex. "So you're sending the delegation tonight?"

"Yes," says Wrex. "And again, I'll need some people in your ground team with this delegation."

I nod, looking over. "Okay then," I say. "Are you sure it's a good idea, Wrex? They've made their stance on aliens pretty clear."

"Well, I don't think you should send the salarians along, if that's what you're asking," says Wrex.

Well... not really, but it's better than no reservations at all. I nod over to Garrus, crossing my arms. "Garrus, if you would be so kind to go with them?"

Garrus shrugs. "Sure, why not?" asks Garrus. "It won't be the only suicidal thing I've ever done."

I roll my eyes. "Well, it's less suicidal than you might think," I comment. "I mean, here you're not in danger of being shot at with a gunship."

"True enough," Garrus replies. With this, he nods. "I'll update you when the delegation gets going," he says, sparing a glance at Madison. "Take care, Madison. I'll be back."

Madison smirks at this. "That you will," she says playfully. "Be safe, Garrus. I mean, I know you'll be fine, but..."

"Doesn't hurt to say it," Garrus agrees, taking Madison's hand. He leans forward, his forehead resting against Madison's as they both smile. "I'll be back, Madison. Help Art if he needs it."

And with this, the two of them part. Garrus and Grunt walk off, with Wrex nodding. "Well, I better show them where the delegation is getting together," says Wrex. "I'll see you soon."

Wrex follows Garrus and Grunt soon after, coming up to them and then leading the way for the two members of the ground team. I cross my arms, looking at them as the three of them walk off. Okay... Well, looks like thing are going to look pretty awesome with this.

I turn, nodding to the others, smiling. "Well, there they go," says Tali. "Do you think the delegation will succeed?"

"With the promise of a cure for our genophage, I believe they will," says the female shaman. "Wrex is correct when he postulates that people would have to be stupid to reject such a condition."

"Is it even safe?" asks Isaac.

Madison shrugs. "Well, no, but I think he'll be in… _good _company," she comments. "And Garrus is able to survive a lot more than this. Trust me, I doubted his ability to survive once." Her expression falls slightly, as she glances guiltily to the side. "It... it did not end well..."

I shrug. "It didn't end too badly, from what I've seen," I say, looking to the others. "So for now... we wait for the delegation to return, right?"

"Actually, wished to talk," says Mordin, stepping forward. "Noticed something... odd at end of war council. Saw krogan clansman. Jorgal Krunus." Ah, so it was Krunus, with two u's. Okay. "Seemed..." Mordin sniffs quite loudly here. "Perturbed."

I raise my eyebrow. "Wait, so I'm not the only one who noticed that?" I ask.

"No," says Isaac. "I was watching him too. He was sort of... detached to the whole thing. I don't know, but... I don't trust that guy."

I cross my arms. "So you guys think he's up to something," I say.

"So do you, no doubt," Jarel comments.

I nod. "Yeah, that's very true," I mention. "I don't know what, though, and it's just a feeling..."

"Except that most of your feelings have been pretty accurate in the past," says Tali.

"True," I agree. Hm... what to do, what to do... Ah! "Madison, do you think you can shadow Jorgal Krunus?"

"I'd have to find him, but I think I can," says the Journalist. "I think I'll see what I can do."

Okay. That works for our advantage, so... "Jarel, you go with her, and monitor communications between Krunus and his clan," I say. "If you managed to capture the voice clip from Tela Vasir, I think you could do the same thing to this Krunus guy and you'll be as well off."

"It could be just a feeling," says Jarel. "Still, I think it's better to get information before we act, yes?"

Not in this case, I think. "If we wait for information in this situation, who knows what'll happen?" I ask.

"True," Jarel agrees. "Okay. Let's do it then."

With this, he and Madison begin talking amongst themselves, and I cross my arms. "You think we should tell Wrex?" I ask.

"I believe so, yes," says Anahit. "This information would be good for him to know, but I suggest you keep it from the other clans as much as possible."

The shaman nods. "She speaks the truth," she says. She nods to Anahit. "The other clans might interpret this as an act of attempting to undo the Urdnot clan from within."

I nod. "Works for me," I say. "So... when Wrex gets back, we let 'im know about that. Right guys?"

"Right," says everyone else.

Okay. So... I'm not even sure if this is going to work. But as I see Jarel and Madison walk away, I realize that really, it's the only option we've got. I mean... this is serious. If we don't trust this Krunus guy, well... It could very well be that he just moved entirely the wrong way, but at such an odd instance after we've just gained a huge strategic advantage... I'm not really sure about that. Maybe it's worth thinking about, maybe not. I dunno.

Either way... He rubs me the wrong way for some reason.

Ah, well. We'll find out if my paranoia paid off soon enough.

* * *

><p>I walk over somewhere within the Urdnot camp. By now, Mordin's returned to the shuttle, making sure we still have a ride off. I'm not sure why, but... Well, we'll figure it out soon enough. Tali went with him too, presumably to talk to him about the little immunization treatment he put together for her people.<p>

Man, I still can't believe that Mordin made an immunization for the quarian people. Words honestly can't tell how crazy that is. Well, how crazy awesome it is, anyhow. The quarian people, finally able to step outside of their suits... Not only is it good for teh rest of us, but it'll probably do a huge favor for their morale too. And now... it might be a good way to get people on our side about the whole geth issue.

I think.

I sort of just sit there, overlooking the Urdnot camp. There's where the pyjacks got shot at… And there's the varren pits. I look up, thinking about Shepard again. I wonder how Shepard is doing. From the way the news was painting it, it looked as if the trial hadn't started yet. I wonder about this Will Moskas character, though… Does he really want to represent Shepard? I just… I don't know. I really don't.

I hear a rather loud stomping coming from the distance, and this jolts me out of my thoughts. When I look up, I see Grunt stalking over to where I'm sitting. He's glaring at me with a not all-together happy face, and he just looks right at me.

"Art," says Grunt. "There you are. I want to talk to you about… About that meeting." He begins pacing around in a rather agitated manner.

I look up at the tank-bred krogan, frowning. "Grunt?" I ask. "What's wrong?"

"It's that peace offering," says Grunt. He looks directly at me. "I don't think…" He shakes his head, stops pacing, and walks right up to me. "It's not right. It's not how krogan are. Our honor has been insulted, our women and children have been killed. And Wrex is thinking of answering that with _peace_?"

I look up at Grunt. "I think he's just trying to help the krogan survive, Grunt," I comment. "If there's no need to kill people…"

"But that's exactly it," said Grunt. "The Halagog clan dishonored us, and we don't even fight them about it."

I look up at Grunt, crossing my arms. "Grunt, most of us aren't even sure that the Halagog clan _is _the group behind it anyway," I comment. "For all we know, they could have been framed by someone. I mean, they never found any definitive evidence, right?"

"Yes," says Grunt. "But they violently denied it. They could have done it. And that is why we need to challenge their sense of honor. Let us see if they don't run when we come for them: at least then, we'll still know that they are real krogan." He shakes his head. "But instead, we go to them with an envoy for _peace_. That, Art, is an insult to krogan honor."

I look at Grunt. "Grunt, your species is _dying _here," I comment. "You can't cling to the past all the time in these things. If you do, your people will die, Grunt. And I don't know if your people can afford that."

Grunt leans in close. "We shouldn't have to sacrifice our honor for that," he says. "I mean… sending a _peace convoy…_" he shakes his head. "It's disgraceful. Mark my words, Art, this will lead to worse things down the line."

And with this, Grunt walks away. He walks with a little less stamp in his step, but I notice he doesn't go over to where the throne is. Good thing, too: Anahit and the shaman we found on Sur'Kesh are talking to Wrex at his throne. They're... I can tell Wrex is really into some of the stuff the shaman's talking about. I can sense something about Anahit from where I'm standing, but I honestly don't really care what it is, because I actually feel pretty good. Anahit is apparently enjoying her return to her home planet, and honestly, who can blame her? I mean... she's gone home...

...

You know, I just realized something. In all my years here, I've never thought to visit the towns where I grew up. I mean, yeah, a hundred and seventy six years into the future is bound to change a _lot _of stuff. But... I wonder exactly what has changed... And a part of me is wishing I can see how some of my old haunts changed over the centuries, and if anything is still left at the end of the day. I don't know, and maybe it's foolish, but...

Maybe if I visit Earth at some point before I return...

I'm interrupted by footsteps close to where I am. I look up from where I'm sitting against the walls of the cave-like area to see Isaac walk up to me. His helmet is down, and I can clearly see his tired expression as he looks at me.

"Oh hi Isaac," I say. "Something you need?"

The engineer shakes his head, leaning against the wall. "No, it's just..." He shrugged. "It's weird, being in a place where you don't have to watch your back all the time."

I nod. "There was no rest for you once you got off the Ishimura, was there?" I ask.

Isaac shakes his head. "No," he said. "You know that asylum on the Sprawl? I was kept there for three years while constantly being haunted by visions of Nicole."

"They only got intense around the Sprawl's Marker, I see..." I say. I frown, gesturing with my hand. "How can your visions get stronger if you're around an object that only goes up to the ceiling from where I'm sitting?"

Isaac shifts so that he's sitting next to me. "The Marker on the Sprawl was a lot larger," he said. He glances at the area in front of us. "I... I'll need to find a reference point later. For now, though..."

I nod. "Indeed," I say. "Tell me a little about this Ellie Langford."

Isaac nods. "We... we ran into each other after I had narrowly escaped some Unitologists," he says. "She was alone, confused..." He closes his eyes, chuckling. "The first time we met, she actually almost shot my arm off."

I snort. "Really?" I ask. "She thought you were a necromorph?"

"She was shooting an entire gallery of them when I met her," Isaac commented. "I don't hold that against her at all. She was a little suspicious of working with me... But then as things got crazier and crazier..."

I nod. "You became friends," I say. "And that was the state of things when you were separated."

"Yes," says Isaac. "I hope she's all right..." He looks down at the ground, shifting one of his feet. "I looked up what batarian slavers do on the extranet. None of it seems... Well. You know."

"I do," I say, my expression somber. "And she's on the homeworld, where things are supposed to be worse for everyone involved. It's kinda like North Korea, if it had a slave trade."

"North Korea?" asks Isaac. "That..." He shakes his head. "That was so long ago that it's not even funny."

I shrug. "Well, where I come from, it was a current event that Kim Jong Il was a certified nutcase," I reply. "But anyway. Yeah... It's... I hope she's all right, because she sounds like a reliable ally."

"We went through a lot," says Isaac. "And now, here I am, part of something even larger."

I chuckle good-naturedly. "You don't say," I reply. "Nothing can get quite as epic as being roped into fighting a race of sentient warships that commit galactic genocide."

"Indeed not," agrees Isaac. "Though being the survivor of two necromorph outbreaks..."

"Yeah, that's a pretty big feat," I mention. "And what do you think Ellie's doing right now?"

"If she hasn't been subjugated yet..." Isaac chuckles softly. "She'd be yelling at everyone right about now."

"I can't say I blame her there," I say. "I mean, in that situation... That's just all kinds of fucked up." I look to Isaac. "You should talk to people more often about it."

Isaac crosses his arms. "Yeah, I'm thinking I should too," he admits. "I... haven't really seen you try to screw me over yet, so..."

I nod. "We're a sort of... family, on the Normandy," I say. "We're misfits from every possible walk of life you can imagine, and yet on my time on the ship we've always gotten along very well. Well, once the warming up part has been taken care of, anyway."

"It sounds like it," says Isaac. "I've never been in an environment like this... Maybe it's time I opened up a little."

I smile. "That's the spirit," I say. "Welcome to the family, man."

Isaac nods, and our gaze turns back to where Wrex and Anahit are still going at it. Wow, krogan don't seem to lose any topic of conversation, do they? I pull my legs closer to my chest, watching as that conversation continues.

And then, I jolt as I suddenly hear my comm unit crackle to life. Isaac glances at me as I bring my ear up.

"_Art!_" Shit, that's Garrus, and he doesn't sound like he's in good hands. "_Art, come in!_"

"Garrus?" I ask, activating the link. "Garrus, what's going on?"

"_Art, thank the spirits you're there!_" he shouts. "_The delegation got attacked!_"

...

"What?" I shout, jumping up. I attract some attention as I make a beeline straight for Wrex. "What happened, Garrus? Who attacked you?"

"_I have no idea!_" shouts Garrus. "_All I know is that there are a lot of 'em, they're surrounding us, and they're all krogan!_"

... Oh, shit! I break into a sprint, running towards Wrex as he turns to look at me. "Shit, Garrus, where are you?"

"_We're surrounded!_" he shouts. "_We can't get a move on, and we can't see the targets! I don't know what they are, but from the looks of things... I don't know. I need help!_"

I shake my head. "Hang in there, Garrus!" I reply. "We'll figure out where you went, and we'll be there as soon as possible!" I rush right up to Wrex, as both he and Anahit look directly at me. Isaac stumbles after me right as I look at the two krogan in front of me.

"I... I just heard from Garrus," I say.

"The delegation got attacked."

* * *

><p>We're packed in the tomkah before we can say 'pyjak', just about. Thankfully, the guy handling the tomkahs knew exactly where Garrus and Grunt were headed, so now Wrex is rushing towards that scene. I'll say that I didn't expect the ride to be as bumpy as it is. I mean, we're more or less flying at Ludicrous Speed here, but still.<p>

I didn't even think these things could go that fast!

Mordin and Tali are both sitting next to me, as are Madison, Grunt, and Isaac. Madison jumped right upon hearing that Garrus was in danger, and literally she dropped what she was doing. Jarel's back in camp, though, and he's making sure Anahit is safe and sound over there, in addition to doing what I assume is Madison's work. Isaac looks on, a little confused by the proceedings, but I can imagine his questions will be answered soon.

"Oh, I hope we're not too late..." says Madison, gripping the wall of the tomkah.

"Garrus will be fine, Madison," I say. "He's weathered worse storms than this." Even so, I look to the driver's seat on the tomkah, watching as the krogan piloting the thing drives as fast as he can.

We barely get about ten minutes out before I feel a sudden jolt. We're pulled to the side, and I grip my seat in shock, breathing in and out frantically. As soon as I can process how bumpy the ride has gotten, it abruptly stops, and then the door opens.

The sound of gunfire is what snaps me back to reality as the krogan at the wheel turns to us.

"Here we are!" he says. "Come on!"

I blink, looking to the others. Already, Madison has drawn her submachine gun, and is checking the entrance to the tomkah. No doubt she's looking to the nearest piece of cover. I nod, looking to the others.

"Right," I say. "Isaac, if you see any krogan, use stasis on 'em," I say. "And go for the limbs. Be prepared to shoot more than once; krogan are tough motherfuckers."

The survivor nods, as Tali and Mordin come up behind me. I pull out my assault rifle as Madison dashes out of the tomkah. Isaac follows soon after, and he rushes after Madison with only a brief interlude to use stasis on some poor unfortunate soul. I make sure that my poison rounds also are turned on. Okay... and there.

And that's when I too run out. I bring my shotgun to bear, finding that Isaac has managed to use stasis on a krogan. Okay... I quickly turn to the guy next to him, firing a short burst of assault rifle fire. It won't be enough to make him freeze up, but it should at the very least cancel out his regenerative abilities. I rush off to the side, soon after, climbing behind a rock and bringing a hand up to my ear.

"Garrus, are you there?" I shout. "Do you copy?"

"_Loud and clear!_" shouts Garrus. "_It's so nice of you to get here now!_"

I nod. "Yeah, really," I say. "Reinforcements came in?"

"_Yeah,_" says Garrus. "_We were getting overwhelmed until Wrex showed up._"

Okay, so Garrus lasted this long. Honestly, I wouldn't have expected any less from him. "Okay," I say. "We got your back, Garrus! We got your back!"

With this, I come out of cover, firing some more rounds at a far-off krogan. Off in the distance, I can briefly see a turian head peek out from behind a discarded piece of a tomkah. Okay... so he's still kickin'. I'm not sure why I needed to see that to figure it out, but hey. I nod, concentrating my attention back to incapacitating various krogan.

Good, looks like we got here in time. I nod, looking on as I raise my assault rifle again. I fire it at another krogan, and before long the loud report of the krogan shotgun that Grunt carries around echoes in the area. I glance up, seeing that there's really only one more krogan. That guy goes down relatively quickly, though, and then I see a bunch of other guys come around. Judging by the krogan at the lead, though...

I nod, standing up out of cover and making my way over. Well, that firefight sure was fast. We barely got here and it just ended. I've got no idea how that happened.

Well, actually, that's a lie. I know Garrus by now, and Wrex went in a separate tomkah that went there first, so... Yeah. Superior numbers plus superior stamina equals victory. Or something like that.

I look at the wreckage of the tomkah as Madison rushes over. I walk towards the still-burning hunk of metal, barely getting close when Madison pretty much tackles Garrus to the ground. I chuckle at this, approaching the ruins of the tomkah.

Wow, Jesus. I move closer, looking at all the krogan bodies there. I see some members of the delegation gathering around Wrex, but the others... Shit, they're just laying there... dead...

... Jesus Christ. These guys died on a peace-keeping mission. Fucking hell... This is just... This is all kinds of fucked up. We try a peaceful solution, and then they get attacked! What the fuck is this bullshit? This is just...

This is all kinds of fucked up.

I glance over to Grunt, as Mordin runs over and quickly checks over the big krogan. Tali and Isaac stand off to the side, looking at the wreckage of the tomkah. I stand up, letting out a sigh. This is just wrong on so many levels. And that a krogan would do that to someone... I mean, these guys might not have known, but still. It's not cool. They go off, kill other people, and...

Well. Stuff happens. But none of it is good. I just wonder why these guys are always so violent against each other. I mean, jeez, the only reason we got them to unite was because of a fertility cure. But what happens after we cure the genophage? What then?

...

Damn it, Art, you knew the krogan weren't unified going into this whole mess. Stop it.

I shake my head, blinking. Okay... Yeah, I think I'm good for now. Maybe the genophage will make things better. And who knows? Maybe the glory they'll get from the Reapers will be a life lesson for their species or something. I dunno. Either way, I guess I just have to hope for the best.

I turn, looking over to Wrex when I notice that yes, he's walking right on over to me for some reason. I nod, but then frown when I notice his expression. It's not... really that good.

"Wrex?" I ask.

The krogan crosses his arms. "Something's wrong with this set-up," he explains.

I frown, tilting my head to the side. "Why?" I ask.

Wrex shakes his head. "This is nowhere near Halagog territory," he says. "The only reason I can think of that someone in Halagog's position would attack a peace delegation is if they didn't know." Wrex glances at the nearby tank. "But that doesn't excuse anything. We left the peace markings on it."

I frown. "And Halagog knows that," I say.

"That they do," Wrex replies. "This is not good." He glances up at me. "The only other thing this could mean is that one of the other clans ambushed this tomkah..."

I blink. "Wait, aren't all the other clans allied with you?" I ask.

"They should be," says Wrex. "I'm not so sure anymore. First they attacked the delegation. But the way it was set up..."

Wait... I frown... Oh shit! "That means they had to have known they would be passing through here," I say, rubbing my chin. "Shit, Wrex..."

"That means we might have a traitor in our midst," he says. "Someone attacked this delegation. And we need to find out who. This cannot go unanswered by the Urdnot clan."

I turn, looking to all the corpses of the offending krogan. I mean, they're all there, and they were all... of a clan... and they might have...

Identification...

Oh...

Oh no.

"We're... we're gonna have to search these bodies?" I ask.

"Of course," says Wrex. "Unless you have a better idea?"

I glance off to the side nervously. "Uh... no..." I say, rubbing the back of my head.

Wrex saunters towards the nearest dead body. "Then you start searching," he says. "Let's find out who sent these krogan to slaughter the delegation."

* * *

><p>Man, searching all these krogan bodies... Yeuch. This is actually really disgusting. This is really disgusting, and we haven't found a shred of evidence as to which clan these guys were from or anything.<p>

I close my eyes, feeling around in the folds of the krogan's armor. Apparently, they're supposed to have some kind of symbol on the inside of their armor if they're in a clan on Tuchanka. That bit kind of makes no sense why you'd have it _inside _rather than _outside_, but hey, what do I know? I'm telling you, the krogan people are weird.

Though, I wouldn't mind so much if I wasn't feeling up _dead_ people. That... That's just gross. And... Good lord...

I shake my head, looking down at the bodies. Shit, did I _really _get to the point where I'm feeling around on dead bodies? I mean, yeah, I did this a lot in _Dragon Age_, when I looted bodies for coin and shitty weapons that I could sell and all that. But having to _actually _do it... Nothing prepares you for actually doing it. Like, actual looting. And now I can see why most sane people don't loot anymore: I just feel dirty feeling up all these bodies.

But... There's something wrong with all this. I mean... Jesus, have I really been so desensitized as to not be horribly repulsed at the fact that I'm looting bodies?

I... I don't know. Maybe that's it. I've seen so much violence since this all started. Mind you, it's saving the galaxy, but still, all this violence. I've seen someone shoot themselves in the head. I've had to _actually _shoot people, I've had to yell at people over stupid shit...

Damn, did I really go through two years without stopping to think about all this? Jesus Christ...

I blink, shaking my head. No, it's no use worrying about it. If the Reapers have their way, that'll mean that everybody dies. No... Art, just calm down for a sec. This isn't really changing that much. Or is it...? Shit, I dunno anymore.

Fuck. Actually shooting people is so much different than it is in video games. And it took me _this _long to start questioning myself?

God, I really _have _become desensitized by all this exposure to violence. Even if it's necessary violence...

I close my eyes. I wonder what my family would say if they could see me now. Would they yell at me? Or would they tell me I was doing the right thing? I... I don't really know.

...

Oh, calm down. The alternative is to have all organic life get killed off, and we _really _don't want that. So...

Gah, stop thinking, Art! These thoughts aren't any good.

I shake my head, feeling my hands rest on a part of a dead krogan. I just don't know what to make of the fact that I'm searching bodies for evidence anymore. And let's face it, this is really dirty.

A chinking sound brings me back to awareness. I look, seeing that the armor of the guy I'm searching has come undone. I sigh, then... God, feeling up bodies feels so _wrong _on a certain level. But honestly? I don't think the violence is that big an issue.

I mean, look at what the Reapers are doing.

I shake my head, prying the armor off. I wince as soon as I can see the inside of the chest piece. Okay... Symbol, symbol, symbol, symbol...

"Nothing," I whisper. "That's the fifth corpse I've checked."

I stand up, shaking my head. How many more corpses are there to check here? I don't know... This is just...

I sigh, closing my eyes and shaking my head. Damn it. Well, I think I better-

"Hey! I've got something!"

...

Thank you Isaac!

I turn over to the necromorph hunter. Of course he'd have a better eye, he's been looting bodies for three years! I shake my head, running over as people crowd around Isaac. Wrex comes forward, looking at the thing Isaac's indicating with the little light from his plasma cutter. The krogan leans over Isaac's shoulder, as do I. I see Isaac twitch slightly at the contact, but he maintains his composure.

Wrex frowns, and I look at what he's looking...

...

Wait. I know that symbol.

That symbol...

"That was on the Jorgal clan representative's little flag thing, wasn't it?" I ask.

Wrex huffs. "This is hard to believe," he says. "The Jorgal clan was one of the first clans to pledge its allegiance to me, and their princess Anahit is originally from the Jorgal clan. And now they're attacking my delegation?" He frowns. "This must be a mistake."

"Maybe they heard that there was a turian there and couldn't resist the offer," says Garrus. "It could be possible."

"But we don't know that," adds Madison. "And..." She glances to the side. "Well, I don't know if it's important, but I asked Jarel to look into it while I was away."

All attention is turned towards the Journalist. "Really?" I ask. "What did you see?"

"Well, after you had asked me to trail him, I found him at the edge of the Urdnot clan's grounds," said Madison. "He was making a call on his omni-tool. I didn't quite catch everything he said, but I thought I heard a couple mentions of 'plan' and 'destroy' and a couple other things referring to the Halagog clan." She rubbed her forehead. "It's not enough to definitively go on, but the fact that I heard 'destroy' somewhere in there..."

I look over to Wrex. "This doesn't sound good," he says. "I'm beginning to doubt that the Halagog clan was behind the attack at the female camp."

"So am I," I say, rubbing my chin. "Hm... About how far out are we?"

"About..." Wrex crosses his arms. "I would say another half hour. You're not suggesting we go over there and ask, are you?"

I blink. "Not without an armed escort, but yeah," I say. "I mean, that's the easy solution, right? You go to them, tell them you've got a potential genophage cure, and then ask them if they attacked the female camp."

Wrex frowns. "They have threatened war over the accusations," he comments.

Ah, yeah. Right… "Well, you saw how the clans got when you told them we had a potential genophage cure," I say. "Maybe if we go to them and say 'look, we've actually got a potential genophage cure here', then they might look the other way." I shrug. "You said it yourself that they'd be stupid to overlook that."

Wrex nods. "That is true," he admits. "Still, it's not a good idea for a clan leader to walk directly into enemy territory on Tuchanka. It can get you killed very easily."

"Armed escort," I reply. "Here, I'll even go with you."

At this, everyone else balks at me. "Art, if you hadn't come up with crazier ideas, I'd say this was not your brightest idea," says Garrus. "You should head back with us."

I shake my head. "I don't know about that," I say. "Wrex is a friend, and I think I need to stand by him no matter what." I gesture. "I'll send you back to the Urdnot camp. Hopefully, Jarel found something."

"I'm sure he has," says Madison. "We should probably go back to the Urdnot grounds. There's no telling what could've happened there."

"And it would be simpler to go to clan Halagog to ask," Wrex admits. "It will certainly grab his attention, me wandering into the enemy territory."

I smile. "And then he'll have no choice but to address you directly," I mention. "So yeah. I'm going with you. And I think Mordin should come, since he can explain about the genophage cure."

"Would not advise that," says Mordin. "Genophage is chiefly Jarel's area of expertise. Dangerous to bring salarian to other clans of Tuchanka. Would not last terribly long. Would advise you take someone likely to provoke..." He sniffs quite loudly. "_Less _of a reaction."

I cross my arms. "Well, I mean, you're former STG, so that's not saying that much," I comment. "That, and we're actually trying to get a reaction here."

"True," comments Mordin. "Still, would prefer not to. May be dangerous. Too dangerous."

I shrug. "Fair enough," I say. "Tali, you coming?"

"Of course," says Tali, stepping right up beside me.

I nod. "Garrus, you head back to the Urdnot clan with the others," I say.

"I guess I'm in charge until you get back?" he asks.

"Yep," I comment. "Be careful around Krunus. You never know what he's up to now, I think."

Garrus nods as some of the krogan walk on over with the turian. Wrex nods, gesturing to some of the krogan to stay close. Tali steps closer, even as Wrex looks on. I glance over at Isaac, who seems stuck for a second. He then blinks, turning to me.

"Art...?" he asks.

I nod over to Garrus. "You'll be fine Isaac," I say. "Garrus'll take good care of you."

Isaac nods. He follows Garrus, albeit a little reluctantly. I nod, turning to Wrex and some of the people in the escort.

"Right," I say. "Let's go to the Halagog clan, shall we?"

* * *

><p>The tomkah ride takes a little over a half-hour, so it's just been Wrex, Tali, and I sitting there with the escort looking on. There's been dead silence since we left the site of the wrecked tomkah, and I can tell that nobody's up for meeting with Clan Halagog ourselves.<p>

Still, this is something that's gotta be done, and I'm sure that Wrex understands that better than anyone else that's with us at the moment. And I know that the Urdnot clan is gonna follow Wrex to the end, given that we have a genophage cure that can be developed. So...

The tomkah then comes to a stop as I think about this. I look over to Wrex, raising an eyebrow as the tomkah pauses.

"We're probably here," says the Urdnot clan leader matter-of-factly.

I nod. "How'll we know for sure?" I ask as one of the other people in the escort opens the hatch for us.

"You'll see," says Wrex.

He moves soon after, exiting the tomkah. Okay, so... I move forward, being the next person to swing out of the- whoah!

Holy shit! There are guys pointing shotguns at us! There are lots and lots of shotguns pointed at us!

...

I nod nervously, glancing around as Tali and the others exit the tomkah. "Okay... I think I know."

We stand there, not drawing our weapons. These guys still have their shotguns trained on us, and I don't dare move a muscle. Tali stands pretty close behind me, with Wrex standing off to the side. The rest of the escort does nothing, and we're left standing there for God knows how long waiting for something interesting to happen.

Seriously, the tension here is so thick... I mean, here I am staring down the barrel of... of... Jesus, how many shotguns are around us? Okay, uh... something like, ten? Twelve? Maybe even fourteen? I dunno. Either way, I'm looking at a ton of shotgun barrels here, and it would be enough to give Jigsaw a lot of ammo for shotgun collars if he were ever to make those again. I mean, this is just...

I blink finally when some of the krogan seem to part down the middle. I take a small breath, looking in front of me as suddenly this very old krogan walks forward. He's flanked by two guards, also with shotguns, and from the looks of things he's also very well armed. He has some majorly bad scars, such that there's a hole where one of his eyes should've been. Hm, looks like he lost it to something. That's actually a pretty badass scar there, I have to admit. His head crest is an odd shade of faded brown, and I notice that his armor matches.

He walks forward, stopping directly in front of us and giving me and Tali a hard look. The krogan looks over Wrex and the rest of the Urdnot escort with a hard eye. He's silent for some time, looking at us with his one good eye.

I breathe in slowly, not daring to do stuff. I mean, come on, he's got a lot of scars there. I'm sure he could kick my ass if he wished.

...

Yeah, I'm letting Wrex handle this one.

"You have a lot of nerve, Wrex," says the old man. "Coming onto our grounds after accusing us of something so ghastly as killing your women and children."

Wrex simply chuckles at this. "I've never been known for obeying the rules, Kurtek," he replies. "You'd do well to remember that."

"But I do," he says. "It seems you brought two aliens here." His gaze turns to me. "This one has a flimsy kind of charm. With very little trouble, I could break his little arm."

... Wait... was that? No... That can't be right. Or did he really...?

Huh. Krogan quoting Rodgers and Hammerstein lyrics. Maybe it was a coincidence or something.

Eh, it's not important.

I of course say nothing, even as Wrex takes a step forward. Several shotguns being gripped is heard soon after, but Wrex doesn't move further. "I'd like to see you try," he said. "He's not as weak as you'd think."

"Obviously not," says... Kurtek? Yeah, Kurtek. "If he's here in the middle of a hostile clan with that bucket-head..." He shook his head. "You hold him in high regard, anyway. And you're here, despite your usual judgement on these matters." He turns to me. "What do you want?"

Wrex crosses his arms. "A delegation we had sent to speak to your clan was attacked," he says. "They were attacked far outside of your territory, though."

"A delegation?" asks Kurtek. "What were you sending a delegation here for? To give us one last chance to prepare before you marched on us?"

Wrex shakes his head. "No, actually," he says. "This 'alien' here-" he gestures to me as he says this, "-managed to get to Sur'Kesh and out recently. And he may have a solution to the genophage."

At this, a sharp laugh bursts out of Kurtek. "Really?" he asks. "I don't believe it for a second."

Hm... I guess I better speak up. I mean, he is referring to me, so... Just play it cool, and you'll be fine. Hopefully. "Believe it or not, we do have a possible solution," I say, crossing my arms. "And you'd be stupid to refuse it, _trust _me."

"And how do I know this isn't some trap of yours?" asks Kurtek.

I tilt my head to the side. "Well, the entire crew of the Normandy was branded a traitor to the Council recently," I say. "And our commanding officer even got herself arrested by C-Sec. Long story. Either way, we wandered into Council space and rescued a princess who's your answer to the genophage, nearly getting ourselves arrested for treason while we were at it. Oh yeah, and we saved the leader of the Urdnot clan's females. That too."

Kurtek frowns at me for a second, before glancing back at Wrex. He then turns back to me. "And you, a human, headed this operation?"

I nod. "Well, I had help, but yeah," I say. "I'm optimistic enough that I think you've had a cure for the genophage coming for a while now." I shrug. "I think your people have suffered long enough."

"So you don't bite into all the talk of us being dangerous," says Kurtek. "That in itself is dangerous."

I shrug. "Well, I'm stuck like a dope with a thing called hope," I mention. "So it's really not that much of a stretch."

He snorts in reply. "Maybe," he says. He turns to Wrex. "And if this cure exists, you're here to offer it to us in exchange for allowing us to be your allies?"

"Yes," says Wrex. "And for anything you might know about who actually attacked the female camp."

Kurtek gives him a look of surprise. "So you finally got around to saying that I wasn't behind that dishonorable attack after all," says the Halagog clan leader.

"Well, were you?" I ask.

"Of course not," says Kurtek. "There's no honor in murdering females or pups. Every true son of Tuchanka knows that, regardless of whether or not they agree with Wrex."

I bite my lower lip. "Then you probably shouldn't have declared war on the Urdnot clan," I mention, looking to Wrex. "I mean, it doesn't help your case at all."

"Against that affront?" asks Kurtek. "I would expect no less."

Wrex crosses his arms. "I don't know, I think it was pretty stupid of you too," he says.

"And why should that be?" asks Kurtek. "First you tell us that you want to add us, despite the fact that you have violated many traditions to get to this point. Then you accuse us of doing something you know we would never do. And then you say that you would declare war on us in retaliation. You would forcibly overtake the Halagog clan and force us into your ideals, just like you did with Clan Weyrloc."

I frown, turning to Tali. W... what? That's just stupid!

Wrex apparently agrees, for he steps forward as well. "You obviously don't know your news as well as you think you do," he says.

"Yeah!" I shout, stepping forward. "Wrex had nothing to _do _with most of what happened with Clan Weyrloc! He even let the females and the children join up with clan Urdnot once all the men were killed. Wrex had nothing to do with most of the fighting that occurred." Kurtek opens his mouth to speak, but I raise my hand in the air. "And yes, I am an authority to speak about this, because _I was there_. You weren't."

"Then why were the men mercilessly slaughtered?" asks Kurtek.

Oh dear. "Well, that's a complicated story," I say. "See, they were just being stupid. They had some delusions of grandeur about curing the genophage, but when you're killing your own people to do so, that doesn't end well. And then there's the whole 'we're gonna take over the galaxy and make everyone suffer' thing. That too, which _definitely _wouldn't help anybody's case around here." I shrug. "You know how it is. We've got a genophage cure, Kurtek. You'd be stupid to just brush it off."

Kurtek looks at me. "I would," he says. "But I don't trust you yet."

"Then you have my word that he will get it to you," says Wrex. "The genophage cure is only potential, but you have my word that he will finish it."

"And how can you guarantee it?" asks Kurtek. "You know that's impossible."

Wrex shakes his head. "It's not impossible," he says. "Art and I are good friends. We fought Saren together, and he is still a good friend. And at the moment, he is on a mission that is very important."

He turns to me then. "It's also got opportunities for great fights."

That it is, and... wait...

He sounds... he sounds...

I glance at him in surprise. "Wait, you want in?" I ask.

"Of course," says Wrex.

Wait... Wait wait wait wait wait! He can't be... No, this is weird! Wrex is being all what right now?

"Wait, wait," I say, waving my arms. "You want in... with the Normandy's crew?"

Wrex nods.

... Oh, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit...

Hold it in, Art. Wrex is asking you to join the crew. Hold it in, you can squee about this to your heart's content later. _Later_! I mean, this is awesome! And it's gonna be Wrex joining us, kicking ass to-

Wait. As awesome as this is... Hold on a second! He's got about eighty different thing sto attend to!

I breathe in, looking back to Kurtek. "Uh, Wrex, you have a clan to manage," I reply. "You're just gonna-?"

"The Reapers are too important, and I need to placate the clans that will doubt you somehow," he says. "Once we bring the attackers to justice, I should be free. Drakus'll let me know what happens on Tuchanka, I will update him on the genophage. Everyone wins." He smirks. "Besides, we'll be fighting against things with big guns. It'll be just like old times."

I blink, glancing to Tali. "He does have a point," she mentions. "It will be like the old crew getting together again."

I shrug. "Well... I dunno," I say. "But I can see your point there." I cross my arms to Wrex. "I'll talk to Garrus and Miranda about it once this whole thing blows over."

Kurtek crosses his arms. "You are quite reckless, Wrex," he says. "It's good to know that despite all your breaks from tradition, you're still a krogan at heart. Walking into a ship of people I wouldn't readily trust and trusting them with your life? It's stupid, but it takes a quad to do that." He nods. "Very well."

With this, he signals to the guys aiming their shotguns at us. As soon as he gives this, they all pull their shotguns back, stashing them away. "You've gotten my attention, Wrex," says Kurtek. "Let's talk about your females."

With this, Kurtek turns around. I nod to Wrex, following the leader of the Halagog clan as we move into Halagog territory on foot.

* * *

><p><strong>*Madison Paige POV*<strong>

As soon as Garrus, Mordin, Grunt, and I get out of the tomkah, I see Jarel, the shaman, and Anahit all standing there. This is certainly new.

I nod, as Garrus comes up next to me. "Jarel?" I ask. "Did you find anything?"

"Unfortunately," he says quickly, opening his omni-tool. "I followed Krunus around. What I found was not good."

I'll bet it wasn't. I shake my head. "Is it anything definitive?" I ask.

Jarel glances to the side.

"I think you should see for yourself, Madison." He opens his omni-tool. "I'm very sure that this is all according to your hunch, but I didn't think it would be this definitive."

He then opens a few files on his omni-tool, beckoning me to get closer. I lean in, and glance at the file he's downloaded to his omni-tool. Hm... Let's see...

I frown. "This is a communication," I say. "It's addressed to Krunus. It's from..." I cross my arms. "I'm assuming that this 'Gelkat' guy is the Jorgal clan leader."

"I think so," says Jarel.

"Yeah, it sounds like it," says Garrus as he reads over my shoulder. "And it's not good."

"Apparently, these are communications..." I frown. Wait... Something's odd about this. "How'd you get these files, Jarel?"

"Hacked into a datapad in his sleeping area, of course," said Jarel. "I have no idea how I didn't walk into him."

I frown, crossing my arms. "Which is strange, because this communication is basically... Basically..." I lean closer to the text. Wait... "Jarel, did you read this before you gave it to me?"

"Of course I did," says Jarel. "And then I told Anahit and the shaman straight away."

"There is not much we would be able to do from there," says Anahit.

I frown. These plans make mention of a bunch of things. And...

This is bad... This is really bad. We need to do something about this.

I look up to Jarel. "Jorgal was the clan who attacked the female camp," I comment.

"Yes," says the younger of the two. "You're not suggesting...?"

I nod, crossing my arms. "Jarel, I've seen enough Blood Pack mercs in my life to tell you that an invasion like this… it could be catastrophic," I say. "So yes, that is exactly what I'm suggesting."

The shaman frowns. "We must prepare to fight back," she says. "With Wrex away from the camp, there is nothing stopping Jorgal from attempting to take the Urdnot grounds."

"But… but this does not make any sense, shaman," says a clearly confused Anahit. "I am on Urdnot grounds. The Jorgal clan could not possibly want to kill me as well…"

"They're probably planning on taking you in the chaos," I reply. "If they steal their bargaining chip out from underneath us, they have leverage against Wrex once he returns."

"Would be probable strategy," Mordin adds from behind me. "Get Anahit, use as bargaining chip, undo most of Wrex's work…"

Garrus nods. "Yeah, that sounds like something people would do if they've murdered women and children," he says. He then looks to Anahit. "Jarel, take Anahit back to the shuttle."

Jarel frowned. "But with the Normandy unable to pick the shuttle up…" he commented. "Anahit won't be able to go to safety."

"Tell Jenny to communicate to Joker with a secure channel as you get out of there," Garrus comments. "Failing that, there may be a place that you'd be able to camp out at while keeping Anahit safe. The main priority is to keep Anahit out of Jorgal's hands and the Citadel's hands. If she falls to either, we're doomed."

Jarel nods. "All right, then," he says, nodding to Anahit. "Come on, Anahit. Let's get to the shuttle."

"Of course, Jarel," the princess replies.

With this, Anahit and Jarel both walk away as quickly as they can. I then turn to the shaman. "And what about her?" I ask, gesturing to the shaman.

"Worry not about me," she said. "I can handle myself. I was only near death on Sur'Kesh because of my weakened immune system. My immune system has returned, however, and I wish to stay here." She looks directly at me. "Someone needs to help keep these fools in line if something happens."

I nod. "Very well," I say. I give her my pistol, and she holds it there. "It's not much, but it's something to defend yourself with. You know how it is."

"Of course," says the shaman. "And now… we wait and hope that Jorgal moves first."

I look over to Grunt as he shifts uneasily. He glances around, and looks a little uncertain of a lot of things. I simply nod to him, and then turn my attention back to what is directly in front of me.


	15. Chapter 14

_A/N: Yes, this marks the grand return of Urdnot Wrex to the crew of the Normandy. Crazy times will be had!_

_This chapter took a bit long to get going, though. I'll have to admit something right now: I got a small case of writer's block while writing this chapter. This... is a record, I have to admit. This is the first time I've ever run into the problem of writer's block while writing Mass Vexations, so I think it's something of a personal record, no? Nearly two years without any writer's block._

_That record makes me feel kind of awesome, but the block itself still kinda sucked. So yeah._

_Empeorie of the rather good self-insert guides asked me to provide some tips for budding SI authors. I was more than happy to oblige him, so if you check out the guide now you can expect something from me in there now._

_And speaking of more SI fare. Well, I happened upon another entry in the ME SI-canon that's showing off some awesomeness of its own. I can't wait to see where it goes, it's that good. So for now, have a link to_Massed Up_ by DelVarO, because he deserves the attention that he's managed to get so far: www. fanfiction s/7843952/1/bMassed_b_bUp_b Seriously, guys, check it out, because it's fun and hilarious while doing a lot of things that even I never thought about in terms of getting the character acclimated to the ME verse._

_Crazy times are had for everyone. And now... I present to you, the second part of the clan wars arc._

_Note: This represents a completely re-written version of Chapter 14. Nearly all of it has been rewritten, actually, so yeah…_

* * *

><p>Chapter 14: The Clan Battles, Part Two<p>

***Art POV***

I watch Kurtek as he moves into a seated position at the throne area of the Halagog clan's grounds. He looks right at us, crossing his arms.

"So, I take it this means you believe us," says the Halagog clan leader.

Wrex, Tali, and I all nod at the same time. "I think so," says Tali.

"Though, I don't think the fact that you declared war on the Urdnot clan helped you there at all," I add. "I mean, there you go, being accused of stuff, and instead of facing the accusations you threatened war?"

"Would anyone on Tuchanka have believed that I did not kill the Urdnot women?" asks Kurtek. "I am the only clan not allied with the Urdnot Clan: if I dared point to another, you wouldn't have believed me."

"It was still an insult to threaten us with war and destruction," comments Wrex. "I was sure you knew better, Kurtek." The krogan crosses his arms. "Seems you keep proving me wrong on that."

"Perhaps," says Kurtek. "This doesn't matter, though. There's the matter of this genophage cure your alien friends say you have."

I nod. "Yes, there is," I say. "We found someone immune to the genophage who was being kept on Sur'Kesh."

Kurtek frowns. "Immune to the genophage?" he asks. "I thought that was impossible..."

"So did we," I mention with a shrug. "But then, a reliable source turned to us and said 'oh, by the way, there's a fertile female they've been experimenting on over at Sur'Kesh who's immune to every modification of the genophage they've tried on her'. And we went in, got her out, and she's with us at the moment."

"So the solution was... a princess?" asks Kurtek. "It wasn't the legendary princess Jorgal Anahit, was it?"

I chuckle. "Well, it's hardly legendary when she actually talks to you, so..." I nod. "Yeah, it was the legendary princess Jorgal Anahit." I shrug. "Who exists for real, apparently."

"I find that difficult to believe," says Kurtek. Hm, well... I can't say I blame you there. "But I'll see it with my own eyes if I come to the Urdnot camp, I take it."

I nod. "She came down with us, yes," I mention. "Unless someone else sent her back up to the Normandy without my knowledge, she should still be at the Urdnot camp. And even _that's _unlikely."

"Let me guess," Kurtek says. "The Council ships around this system could find you."

"Yeah, pretty much." I shrug. "I'm sure she'd love to speak to you, too."

"As she would to all the clans of Tuchanka," says Kurtek. He turns his gaze to Wrex. "You are right that I would be stupid to refuse the genophage cure being laid at my feet. I still do not know about allying ourselves with aliens to get this cure. It seems like a very risky idea."

"I don't know about the rest of the galaxy, but I trust the people on the Normandy," says Wrex. "I fought with three of the people on the crew."

"Yeah," I mention. "And I may point out that there's a certain something that stems directly from me."

At this, Kurtek smirks. "What, the game?" he asks.

...

"Gah, dang it!" I pump my fist as if to punch the air in front of me. "I was hoping you wouldn't say that."

Kurtek's smirk evolves into a full-out mischievous smile. "I have to admit, I didn't think the game was a human thing, but..." He looks over at Wrex. "It seems I was wrong about that too. We will appear before the clans of Tuchanka, Urdnot Wrex."

Kurtek shifts in his throne. "I believe it is time we put our differences aside, as even I have to admit that your break from tradition has produced results for the krogan people."

"Really?" asks Tali. "And yet you refused them."

"My refusal was born out of a loyalty to tradition," says Kurtek. "The ways of the ancestors are the only ways we have known. But at the same time, our race is dying. I am not blind to this."

"I'm sure you won't blame us for thinking otherwise," I reply.

"I would, actually," says Kurtek. "But... perhaps I am wrong about this. I will pledge my loyalty to the Urdnot clan. My clan has suffered. Perhaps a break from tradition is what we need." He steps out of his throne, leaning towards Wrex. "But you have my word that if you do not deliver on your promises, Clan Halagog will break away from this alliance, and we _will _declare war on you."

"I'd be disappointed if you didn't, Kurtek," says Wrex amicably.

I smile, looking over at the two clan leaders. "Awesome," I say. "So... we've got our business covered here."

"I think it's time we returned to the-"

"_Art? Art! Come in!_"

...

What?

I bring up my omni-tool. What the hell is Garrus calling me in for now? I bring my hand up to my ear, frowning as I do so. "Garrus?" I ask.

"_Good, you're there_," he says. "_We've got a problem_."

Oh, great. As if we don't have enough problems already. "What's up?" I ask.

"_Well... you know Jorgal Krunus?_" asks Garrus. "_It turns out that he knew more about this situation than anyone here. And now the Jorgal Clan is surrounding the Urdnot grounds, and they do _not _look happy_."

... What? This... This doesn't make any-!

Wait a second.

"Oh, shit, Krunus _was _plotting something, wasn't he?" I ask.

"_Not just Krunus,_" says Garrus. "_If the communication Madison and Jarel found means anything, it's that they were planning on overthrowing the Urdnot clan from the beginning._"

I hear a few gunshots on the other end. Before long, I hear Garrus barking orders out to people. I lean forward, my eyes widening as I hear something slam against a rock.

"_They're attacking us!_" shouts Garrus. "_Get back here! Anahit is taking the shuttle away from the Urdnot grounds! We can't risk losing Anahit at a time like this, and-_" I don't hear much, as some static gets in the signal. "_Madison- Jogral cla- help- overpowering us any mi- hurry-!_"

And with this, the line dies. I blink, looking over at Wrex.

"What happened?" he asks.

Oh dear... My teeth graze my lower lip as I look up at Wrex, and then Kurtek.

"Well..." I say. "It seems that the Jorgal clan was never truly loyal to you at all, Wrex."

* * *

><p><strong>*Madison Paige POV*<strong>

I immediately duck underneath a rock, hearing a mass accelerator round pass right by my head. Shit, these krogan shotguns have been chipping away at my cover… And we haven't even started the fight yet!

Damn it, girl, come on…

My grip tightens on my submachine gun, and then I quickly roll over to another piece of cover. I narrowly dodge a shotgun blast as I do so, and then stand up out in the open. I pump a few submachine gun rounds in the krogan's face as he reloads his shotgun, and I quickly move on over to a nearby pillar.

It's just as well, for then I watch as a random steel pipe rams itself into the krogan's head. I look just past that point to see that Isaac has just retreated under cover, with Mordin holding his omni-tool out after having no doubt unleashed another incinerate out into the small group of black-armored krogan that are attacking us.

Damn it… These damn Jorgal raiders came right out of nowhere and scattered us! I know that this was going to be a difficult battle anyway, but… I guess with the arrival of Anahit they wanted to get her out of here so they could use her as leverage to get their way. If that's so…

Damn it, girl, this isn't the time to think about that! You've gotta defend yourself!

I look on the other side of the pillar, seeing another shotgun-bearing krogan rushing at me. I grab one of my flashbang grenades quickly, and toss it right out in front of the krogan as quickly as I can. I wait a few seconds, and then hear both an explosion and a rather loud yell, and then look past the cover to see that the flashbang seems to have detonated right on top of the krogan. Good thing he was actually a level below me, I guess… I brandish my submachine gun quickly, unloading a few rounds into him. Another round from somewhere else takes it down… Probably Garrus since he took the highest position in the Urdnot camp and is basically picking people off from there.

I look over to where the varren pits are, seeing a few more black-armored krogan rushing up there. I take this time to reload my submachine gun, and then look directly to my left to see the krogan shopkeeper grabbing another thermal clip and stuffing it into his shotgun. He looks right at me, and then down to where his prize varren is jumping on top of another black-armored krogan.

"And to think those Jorgal guys were behind the female camp," says the shopkeeper. "Those bastards are gonna pay!"

And with this, I watch as the shopkeeper jumps into the brawl beneath us. He fires his shotgun at another black-armored krogan, and… damn it, girl, don't concentrate too much!

I turn to the other side of the pillar, seeing another black-armored krogan there rushing up to where Isaac and Mordin are. I fire my submachine gun at this krogan as well, but before the krogan can get too close Isaac manages to freeze the krogan with his stasis. I take that as my cue to move on to another krogan, and I fire my assault rifle at a black-armored krogan who is off in the distance.

I shake my head. I then fire a few more rounds before ducking behind cover and reloading. As I do, I open a comm link to Garrus.

"Am I the only one who thinks this is going too well?" I ask.

"_Good, I'm not the only one,_" says Garrus. "_The Jorgal clan has to know that we're on to them by now._"

"Well, we never actually told them we knew what they were up to yet," I comment. "But I'm thinking this'll get worse."

"_I already tried to hail the Normandy,_" says Garrus. "_They're not answering_."

"It's those damn Council ships, I bet," I comment sourly.

I then hear a shotgun blast go off pretty close to where I am. It chips away at… shit, there's a krogan right beneath me!

I pick up my submachine gun and run, not bothering to aim behind me. I hear the loud crack of a sniper rifle, however, and turn back to see the krogan is reeling from being given a sniper shot. Not wasting any time, I plaster myself behind some rubble and fire away at him, nearly depleting my clip into the krogan that somehow managed to sneak up on me. I fire away until it keels over dead, and then quickly reload it.

I shake my head, bringing my head back up to my ear. "I don't think we're going to last too long," I comment.

"_We just have to hold these guys back until Wrex gets here,_" Garrus explains. "_I think the krogan warriors are responding promptly._"

I turn back to look at the scene before us, and I notice Grunt running around with a shotgun there. He looks less active than usual, though, and seems to be performing these actions in a more… _perfunctory _way than we would previously.

"I guess," I say. "I just wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one thinking that." I nod, reloading my submachine gun. "Thanks for the free shot, by the way."

"_Any time, Maddy,_" he says.

I smile for a brief second as the thermal clip clicks into place. I then lean against the piece of rubble I've taken cover behind, turning around to see yet more black-armored krogan run into the area.

* * *

><p><strong>*Jenny McKansa POV*<strong>

Well, Jarel's sitting there looking all kinds of bummed out. I look to Anahit as she situates herself in a seat, and deals with the shuttle rocking slightly. By now, we've left the Urdnot clan grounds far behind us, but for Anahit it doesn't look like she's entirely happy about that. I glance behind me at the body of the shuttle before I turn my attention back to flying the shuttle.

"I dinnae think we're gonna get off of this 'ere tip," I comment immediately. "I ain't riskin' those Council buggers findin' us, or the Normandy."

I don't hear any reply from behind me, though. Well, I hope they were listening to me, 'cause I don't think I'm going to tell them again about what's happening. But it really is too dangerous out there, and I don't want to get this shuttle found before we actually get ready to leave this bloody tip.

I then glance around, looking at a stretch of highway that looks abandoned for the most part. Okay… Yeah, I don't think any krogan'll be trying to get here.

I nod, bringing the craft in and landing it. When the shuttle lands gently on the piece of ruined highway, I stand up and stretch my arms. All right, now we sit here and wait.

I stand up, walking back into the body of this bloody shuttle. Jarel's sitting there all worried, and Anahit has a sour puss right about now. I nod to both of them, sitting next to Jarel.

"Well, here we are, mates," I say. "I'm settin' down here unless some krogan come 'n' get us."

Jarel nods. "Thanks, Jenny," he says.

I look to our krogan princess… Mm, she looks like she's been given a kick in the bollocks…

"Ya okay there, Anahit?" I ask. "Ya're not gettin' sad about stuff, are ye?"

Anahit sighs. "I cannot see why the Jorgal clan would plan something such as this," she says. "I simply cannot understand it."

Jarel looks at Anahit blankly. "The Jorgal clan didn't know you were coming, Anahit" says Jarel. "I mean… it's been more than thirty years since you were last here on Tuchanka."

I shrug, looking at Anahit, the poor dear. "Ya never know, mate," I comment. "I dinnae think they'll go in like a bunch o' bloody Muppets an' kill 'em all. If they hear o'ya…"

"That is what frightens me," says Anahit. "I… I do not know what the Jorgal clan leader is thinking. I wish I knew who the Jorgal clan leader is. I cannot know anything about this situation as being certain unless I know who it is." She looks up at me. "And the act that the Jorgal clan has committed of murdering females…" She shakes her head. "I cannot imagine the heart of darkness present in such a person."

Jarel nods. "Who knows?" he asks. "We can't think about that right now. What's important is your safety, Anahit." The salarian then promptly stands up and walks to the side of the shuttle that Anahit is sitting on. He sits right next to the krogan princess, placing a hand on Anahit's shoulder as she holds her hands together in front of her. "Even if the Jorgal clan is planning to take all of Tuchanka's clans as their own, we'll find a way to stop them, and to stop the infighting among the krogan clans. I promise you that much, Anahit."

She nods, but doesn't look any less uncomfortable. "Perhaps," she says. She then looks up. "Perhaps if I spoke to the clan leader, we could avert this war from happening in the first place. I do not know, but perhaps if I went to the Jorgal clan willingly."

I frown. "Ah, no," I say, waving my arms in front of me. "Cop on, mate. We dinnae if that'll stop 'em."

Jarel nods. "She does have a point," he says. "We don't know if the current clan leader of the Jorgal clan really just wants power. From the looks of the scenario so far, that seems to be the case. We can't risk accidentally giving them a way with which to give them what they want."

"Of course," says Anahit. "However… I have another fear I feel I must say now."

"What's up, mate?" I ask, leaning in. This oughta be craic.

Anahit sighs. "I have a feeling that the Jorgal clan is not the only one of Tuchanka's sons and daughters that wishes to undo the efforts of the Urdnot Clan..."

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

I pile into the tomkah next to Wrex and Tali. Kurtek sits on the opposite side of us, and he looks at Tali and I with a rather curious expression on his face. When I glance to Wrex, I notice Wrex looks rather peeved. Well, who the hell can blame him? He just found out some of his clan friends weren't as loyal as any of us thought. Like that clan was Iago to his Othello or something. I dunno.

I look right back to Kurtek as he looks at us curiously. "So you're the one who introduced the game to the krogan."

…

I roll my eyes. "Well, thanks for making me lose it," I comment. I then shrug. "Yeah, I did. I think we already talked about this, though…"

"I just find it interesting," Kurtek comments. He looks over at Wrex. "I never thought of Wrex as the kind to go along with something."

I shrug. "I… _may _have helped him get back the Urdnot family armor at one point when we were dealing with Saren," I comment. I then glance to the side. "It's… _not _an experience I'd ever like to take part in again."

Kurtek simply looks at me curiously. "What, too much battle?" he asks.

"That's not it at all, actually," I comment. "Actually, when it came down to it, I was the guy who fired the shots first, so…" I shrug. "Again, I don't like to talk about it."

Wrex simply shakes his head. "Trust me, it wasn't pretty," he says. "He shot his way out of there before it got _really _disgusting."

I nod. "And then I had to scale a building on the Citadel," I add. "_That _was quite welcome after what happened before."

Kurtek frowns, however. "I can tell there's something you're not saying," he says.

"Well, it's embarrassing!" I comment. "Why the hell would I—?"

And then, I suddenly hear a boom from outside of the tomkah. I jolt, but two seconds later I suddenly hear the boom again, looking right to Wrex. Holy hell, this isn't…

I glance over to Kurtek to see that he's just as surprised as Wrex and I are, and I immediately feel Tali's hand clench around mine. I blink suddenly, and hear a third boom. Wait… three booms… and if I'm right those booms are probably…

"Shit!" I shout, undoing the restraints on the tomkah's seat. I quickly grab my assault rifle, with Tali, Wrex, and Kurtek thinking to brandish their own weapons.

Kurtek bangs on the wall behind him a few times, and in response the door opens immediately. With this, the four of us jump out, looking around to see what is happening.

And that's when I suddenly hear an explosion go off behind me. I immediately feel myself fly into the air, feeling my body sting a little bit. I fly about three or four feet in front of me, feeling almost lightheaded as all sound seems to suddenly vanish from the world. I can catch brief glimpses of Tali, Wrex, and Kurtek flying away before I suddenly hit a rock outcropping close by.

I then find myself sprawled on the ground, feeling like… Fuck, I think I cracked a rib. Or two. Or some… ow! Motherfucker, ow!

I briefly look up to see that our tomkah is on fire, though I can't see the others anywhere. Ow… Fuck… I look there right as I see a bunch of black-armored krogan come rushing right in. I'm… Ow, motherfucker, ow…

I barely catch a glimpse of Wrex appearing within my vision, however, and I watch as he goes running around with his shotgun. I see him shoot some black-armored krogan, with Kurtek following rather quickly behind. Wow… for some reason there are a lot of these black-armored krogan, but—

Ow, mother_fucker_!

I look up one more time before suddenly hearing footsteps. I look up to see Tali there, already opening her omni-tool. She looks directly at me before I feel something soothing travel all over my torso. The world suddenly becomes just a little clearer, and I find I can breathe without it hurting.

Almost immediately, Tali helps me to my feet. "Art!" she says. "Are you okay?"

I look to the side, noticing that the rock I must've hit… Ow, that actually looks like a concrete pillar. "I'm…" I breathe in, feeling a little numb around the ribs. "I think I need Dr. Chakwas down here."

Tali shakes her head. "Unfortunately for us, she's not available," she says. She then lets go of me, and I find I'm able to stand. Thank the Lord for medigel. "So for now…"

I nod, taking out my pistol. "I'll try to take it easy," I comment. I look around, hearing the pounding footsteps of a ton of krogan. "Let's give these guys hell, yeah, Tali?"

She nods, brandishing her shotgun. No sooner do I see this when I see her rush into the fray. She quickly turns around and gets a black-armored krogan that was heading for us right in the face. She moves on to another krogan, but I raise my pistol and shoot the krogan in the face a couple of times.

I then find myself leaning against what looks like some kind of collapsed billboard of some kind, with whatever it was advertising having faded a long time ago. I then see another krogan come out of nowhere with a shotgun, and I shoot at him too. The krogan seems pretty angry at this, so he rushes right towards me brandishing his shotgun. I fire a few more shots at him, quickly moving behind me to create some space between us. Right as I do this, though, I see another black-armored krogan rush up to where I am right out of the corner of my left eye.

However, before this krogan can do much else, I see Wrex come right out of nowhere, firing his shotgun at the krogan I was shooting at. I watch as that black-armored krogan falls, right before I turn my attention to the other krogan. I turn my pistol to him, and—

Ow! Shotgun butt to the face!

I fall to the ground as soon as I feel this, dropping my pistol almost immediately. I raise my head to look up at the krogan, but before he can shoot me in the face I watch as he gets kicked away from me. I look up to see Wrex with a snarl on his face, brandishing his shotgun and firing it almost immediately. I only know that the other guy is down when I hear his body fall against the ground.

I very slowly stand up, looking at Wrex and nodding. He then turns around, and shoots at another black-armored krogan as he runs towards us. However, Wrex simply turns around, and shoots that guy. It doesn't put him down, but by then I've already picked up my pistol, so it only takes a few more pistol shots for this krogan to go down.

And as soon as this happens, the dust settles and I notice that all is silent around us. Good Christ…

"We got attacked and kind of owned," I comment.

"Looks like it," says Wrex as he stows his shotgun away. I place my pistol away, feeling the numbness in my ribs start to go away. "You alright?"

I shake my head. "I think I probably cracked a rib or two there," I comment. "Goddamn exploding tanks."

"These whelps looked like they carried rocket launchers with them," says Wrex. "Took out all the other tomkahs." He then growls. "Only found one krogan from another tomkah."

I frown. "So these people were trying to exterminate us," I comment. "Good Christ on a pikestaff, is there any low these Jorgal guys _won't _sink to?"

Wrex gives me a blank look. "They killed women and children," he replies bluntly. "It's stupid to think they still have some honor."

I shake my head. "But why the hell would they even do this?" I ask. "Control? What do these people want?"

"That's not important," says Wrex. "We're going to stop them."

"What, with no tomkahs?" I ask. "We're not gonna get there at all!"

Wrex gives me an odd look. "Don't you have your shuttle?"

I nod. "I do," I say. Hm… "Gimme just a second."

With this, I bring my hand up to my ear, looking directly ahead of me as Kurtek and Tali both come over. With them is a krogan who looks to be limping, but is moving on the best he can. I can't see his face given the armor over it and all, but… I don't know.

I bring my hand to my ear, and look up. "Hey, Jenny?" I ask. "You there?"

I hear some static from the other end, but after a second or two it dies away. "_Well, 'ello there, Art,_" she says. "_Lovely time for ya to talk to us._"

I nod. "Yeah, look, we're kinda stranded in the middle of nowhere right now," I reply. "We need some pick-up, you know?"

"_Yah, mate,_" Jenny comments. "_There's just a wee little problem, though._"

I raise an eyebrow. "And what's that?" I ask.

"_We're trying to stay away from the Urdnot camp for now_." Hey, wait, what's Jarel…?

…

"Things went to shit over there, didn't they?" I ask.

"_Well…_" I can almost hear Jenny sitting back in the pilot's seat of the shuttle. "_The last I heard of yer mates, they're all in deep shite._"

* * *

><p><strong>*Madison Paige POV*<strong>

My trigger finger squeezes the trigger as hard as it can squeeze, but I know almost immediately from the clicking sound and the subsequent steaming I hear that I'm all out of ammo. I look out to the area of the Urdnot Camp around us, and… damn it, there are too many other krogan here.

Okay, girl, think. There's gotta be—

Whoah!

I then watch as a krogan who I notice standing next to me turns his shotgun directly towards me. This krogan… Hold on a second. Isn't that…? Yes...

I thought I saw him at the summit. But it's not Jorgal Krunus… Wait, hang on, wasn't he…?

"Aren't you with clan Nakmor?" I ask.

The krogan smirks at this. "Good, you're not just a stupid whelp," he says.

Why, that—!

No, girl, calm down, he's got a shotgun pointed at your face. Getting angry now won't help. I glance to the side, seeing that there are other krogan that are sort of surrounding us.

…

Wait, if there are this many unarmored krogan…

"You're in league with the Jorgal clan," I comment.

"It is an _alliance _with the Jorgal clan," the krogan in front of me corrects. "There are other clans. We outnumber all the warriors within the Urdnot camp, and the other clans of Tuchanka are… _occupied_."

I frown, looking behind me. "So this is the part where we all get taken hostage, is that it?" I ask.

"Your friends have something that _we _want," says the Nakmor clansman. "We intend to get it back. Your alien _friends _would probably do anything to give them to us." He then gestures to me with his shotgun. "We're rounding up the others as we speak. Get to the center of the camp!"

He then pokes my ribs with the shotgun. I take this as a cue to begin walking backwards, with my hands held up in the air. I briefly notice that my submachine gun is still in my hand, but me against what looks like more krogan guards… Yeah, that won't end well. Just stay calm, girl.

I'm corralled back right to where the varren pits are. I quickly glance around… okay, I'm not the only one, but… some of the Urdnot warriors are here too, it looks like. I catch sight of the shaman and Grunt as well as Garrus… wait, they had already gotten Garrus in there? Huh. I see Isaac nervously glancing around, standing right by Garrus as he tries to get Isaac to calm down however he can. I'm slowly nudged forward, and then I find myself standing right next to Garrus. I look to the opposite side of Garrus and see Mordin standing there.

As soon as we're close to each other, I end up gripping his hand. "Welcome to the party," he says. It sounds like a joke, but his subharmonics…

I shake my head. "I didn't think I'd ever be in a krogan mosh pit, but here we are," I comment.

"Mosh pit?" Garrus asks.

"It's…" I shake my head. "Never mind." I look around. "I'll tell you later, Garrus. Right now…"

Garrus nods, and I watch as more krogan with shotguns come running around. I look at all these damn krogan around us… Holy mother of God, they're everywhere…

Okay, just remain calm. Just remain calm. You've faced _much _worse situations than this. I mean, you're just being rounded up here. I wonder, though…

How many clans are involved in this, anyway?

I look up right as the krogan masses around us seem to part in a certain place. I notice it's the same place where the meeting grounds were where we had that war council earlier. I watch as the immense crowd of krogan parts right there in the middle. When I look up, I subconsciously grip Garrus' hand tighter, watching as a rather old-looking krogan man walks forward, attended by several others. He looks like he's rather well-adorned in armor, and I notice… that's the Jorgal clan symbol…

…

Oh, shit.

The krogan man stops directly in front of Garrus and I. I can almost reflexively feel Isaac twitch through Garrus, he's so nervous. I briefly look behind me to see that the shaman, Mordin, and Grunt have all stepped just behind me, though they're careful not to…

…

Wait, how'd they even get Grunt here, anyway?

I don't get time to ponder this, however, for then this man walks right up to us, and looks us over. His eyes are fixed in an eternal half glare, and he looks over Garrus, Isaac, Grunt, and myself with a gaze that causes a chill to run down my spine. I notice there's a rather nasty-looking scar over half of his face, and it doesn't look like the other eye is functioning if the fact that it's slightly grayed out says anything. He simply looks at us, stepping back and showing us a majestic green crest that is only marred by the scar. He then snorts, and I can tell from his good eye that he's looking on in derision.

"So _these _are the rats who tried to fight us." The krogan snorts in distaste. "I shouldn't be surprised that they're here now."

I breathe in, clenching Garrus' hand tighter for just a second before easing the pressure on it. "And yet you didn't just kill us," I point out.

"Not yet," says the old krogan. "But if you don't get my princess over here, then you will be dead."

Garrus frowns. "So you're holding an entire clan hostage just to get your hands on Anahit?" he asks.

I look up at the old krogan as he stands there. I look at him directly, watching as something in his eye…

Whoah!

I barely step to the side before the old krogan's head rushes forward. I hear a rather loud thud, and then Garrus is on the ground, gripping his head from where this strange krogan just headbutted Garrus. I immediately kneel by Garrus' side as we both look up at the krogan.

"To you, she is a _princess_," the krogan says. "You are _not _worthy of saying her name."

I frown. "You _do _realize that we're technically the ones who saved her, right?" I ask.

"You are still not worthy," says the krogan. "You are not krogan. You would not understand!"

I breathe in, glancing over to Isaac briefly as I find myself biting my lower lip. I then look up at the krogan. "So?" I ask. "We don't understand. That doesn't mean we're not going to try helping the krogan."

"Empty words," says the man. He then kneels down to my level, though he somehow still towers over me. "I am the clan leader of the Jorgal clan. Our clan was the first to meet the salarians. They promised to help us, and give us a great fight. And we were uplifted." He then stands up and walks away from me. "And in return, they _neutered _us. They _killed _our babies." He then turns back to us. "They doomed us all forever."

He looks directly at us. "And you think you know something about the krogan," he says. "About _honor_." He then shifts his foot slightly, and I imagine he would be spitting in my face if this were any other situation. "You lie."

I frown, standing up and pulling Garrus to his feet. He wobbles a little bit as I look at him. "Yeah, there are _some _krogan here who don't seem to understand that concept themselves," I comment.

"Kurtek will get what is coming for him," says the Jorgal clan leader. "And Wrex insists on making _peace _with that coward."

I frown, looking at him. "You're one to talk," I comment. "What are you playing at, Gelkat?"

Gelkat looks at me in surprise. "You know my name," he says.

"Who wouldn't?" asks Garrus. "I think we know who the _real _person behind the murders of the females of Clan Urdnot is."

I shrug. "And I'm looking at him right now."

There. We brought it up. Maybe these people will—

Jorgal Gelkat throws his head back, and lets out a _long _scoff at this. I literally feel my shoulders freeze up as I look at Gelkat, and then he lets out a long, bellowing laugh. I look at some of the other krogan there, and they slowly begin joining in with Gelkat's laughter.

"Are you _really _so out of options that you will resort to cheap accusations?" asks Jorgal Gelkat. "This, friends, is amusing!"

And all the krogan surrounding us begin laughing. It's a strange sort of bellow rather than a laugh, but it is still mocking. I look at all the laughing krogan…

No… Gelkat must have convinced them Kurtek was responsible. There's no way this many krogan would unite behind Gelkat if they knew the truth. But… Shit, Jarel didn't give me a copy of the communication he picked up between Gelkat and Krunus, and now… If I tell anyone about the communication, they won't believe us.

Damn it… we have to get Jarel back here somehow.

I look over to Garrus, and I can tell that he's kind of thinking the same thing.

Before I can ponder anything else, however, Gelkat suddenly leans in close. "You know where the princess of my clan is, right?" he asks. "You are to get her back within the Urdnot clan's grounds in two hours. If you fail this, I kill all of you." He then looks beyond me. "Grunt will be the only one who remains unharmed."

I glare at Gelkat. "And what, you're just going to take over Tuchanka like that?" I ask.

Gelkat shakes his head. "I will bring the krogan to a golden age," he says. "I am the future of the krogan. Wrex is _weak_. He will not to usher in Tuchanka's golden age." He gestures to himself. "But I… I am the future of the krogan. And my princess is key to that." He then looks directly at Garrus. "Nobody is coming to help you."

"Except maybe Wrex," I hear Isaac comment.

"We're taking care of _that _as we speak," says Gelkat. "I would not expect Wrex to come and rescue you. Nor would I expect the other clans to help you, as they are currently… _occupied_ for their allegiance with a weakling." Gelkat shakes his head. "I must say, I didn't expect things to turn out like this, but now that they have… I must thank you for coming and bringing the princess back."

He then looks to us. "She will be returned to us immediately," he says.

I look over to Garrus. Well, on the one hand, that would be giving him what he wants. But then, Jarel's there, and _he _can prove that Gelkat is the one who's guilty of these things…

Garrus nods, and then eases up just a little. "Yeah, we'll get right on that," he says.

He then brings his hand to his head, and I look back to Grunt. Grunt stands there, giving me a dark look. However, he then turns his attention to the krogan that are surrounding us, and I can just tell that he is not happy about this situation at all. I raise my eyebrows at him, though it doesn't seem to do anything to calm him down.

And then, I turn to Garrus.

"Jenny? Come in, it's Garrus."

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

"_Yah, mate, they're still there, battlin'_—"

I then hear some more static come in at the other line, with… Hold on, what? I pause where I'm packing, looking back at Tali, Kurtek, Wrex, and our krogan friend as they sit by the tomkah.

"_Wait, hang on, 'ere…_" Jenny immediately pauses, and I can tell she's looking through other things. "_Garrus is callin' me_."

I frown. "Wait, Garrus is calling?" I ask.

"_Yah, mate,_" says Jenny. "_Hold on just a minute 'ere, I'll get ya connected to the peeler in… there we go!_"

"_Jenny?_" asks Garrus. "_Are you—?_"

"I'm actually here, Garrus," I comment. "Your call couldn't have been better timed. What's up with you?"

"_Well… Jorgal isn't the only clan that turned on Wrex,_" says Garrus. "_There are at least… eleven other clans I can count that are here, just by looking at the symbols._"

I frown. "Eleven?" I ask. "Jesus Christ on a pikestaff…"

"_That was… not my reaction, but it was close to it,_" says Garrus._ "They've all got different insigna, and they've mentioned that the clans really allied with Wrex are… busy. They've also got us cornered right by the varren pits._"

I facepalm immediately. "Shit," I say. "God damn it, that's not good."

"_I didn't think it would be,_" says Garrus. "_It's exactly as we suspected, too. They want the princess over here now, or they'll kill us. And they said they were going to take care of Wrex._"

I frown, but before I can say anything I hear footsteps on metal. "_I knew it!_" says Jarel. "_They're just after Anahit, and they also want Tuchanka for themselves!_"

I clench my fist, glancing back at Wrex before looking back to the vast expanse of Tuchanka. "Take over the world. Of course," I observe. "But… do you think it's likely those clans don't know what happened with the whole 'the Jorgal clan was really behind it'? Why not just tell them?"

Garrus pauses immediately, and I sense… Oh, dear, they got laughed at, didn't they? Ah, hell… "_We don't… ah… have proof of that._"

I nod. "So Jarel has the proof that the Jorgal clan was involved with the attack on the Urdnot women, right?" I ask. "So Jarel just needs to get over there."

"_But that would mean we drag Anahit with us_," says Jarel.

I frown. "Jarel, I don't think any of us can afford to take a risk on that," I comment. "Look, pick us up on the way to the Urdnot clan. We kinda got stuck thanks to the Jorgal clan's antics and all that. We'll just confront the Jorgal clan leader ourselves, and with Wrex in tow. And then, you just show the evidence."

"_But that would mean—_"

I then jolt when I feel a three-fingered hand place itself on my shoulder. "Let me guess," Wrex says almost immediately. "Jorgal Gelkat wants Anahit, and he's taking hostages."

I look at the krogan, blinking in surprise. "Wrex?" I ask.

"I heard enough," he says. "I think I know what's happening here."

"_Is that Wrex_?" asks Jarel.

"It is, whelp," says Wrex. "You don't want to give Anahit the Jorgal clan either."

"_Not like this,_" says Jarel.

I then see Wrex smirk, looking at me with a fire in his eyes. "Then I've got a _better _idea," says Wrex. "And I think it's one that'll do just as much to reveal Jorgal Gelkat as revealing the evidence we already have will."

* * *

><p><strong>*Madison Paige POV*<strong>

I look up at Garrus as he nods.

"All right," he says. "Yeah, I got it. Now let's just get this out of the way so we can all go home."

After a few more seconds, he nods, and then looks at Jorgal Gelkat. "Anahit is on her way," Garrus says. "With any luck, she'll be here in a bit."

Gelkat smirks at this. "Reasonable aliens," he says. "That's not something you see every day, especially coming from a _turian_." He looks up. "She should be here soon."

I look at Garrus, raising one of my eyebrows. He glances at Gelkat as he walks past me to where Grunt is, and when Gelkat isn't looking he holds an index finger up. I glance at his eyes, and see them glinting mischievously…

Yep, I'd know that face anywhere. Garrus is definitely up to something.

"Now…" says Gelkat. He then pauses in front of Grunt. "I believe that the time has come for a decision."

Before Gelkat can step any further, the shaman suddenly stands in front of the female shaman. "You shall not ask that of him," says the shaman immediately.

Gelkat looks at the shaman. "He is young," says the Jorgal clan leader, gesturing to Grunt. "He is also quite naïve. He has followed Wrex's leadership blindly."

"Not really, actually," I comment. "He was following Shepard's leadership for a while."

"An alien, then," says Gelkat. He leans forward. "And you believe that he has been brought up to represent the best that the krogan people have to offer?"

"I'm pretty sure he also killed a thresher maw," Garrus asks. "I don't know how strong that makes you, but—"

"Yes, he did kill a thresher maw," says Gelkat. "He did not do so alone, but even with help it is rare to see a krogan defeat a thresher maw." He then looks at Garrus. "And from what I hear, Grunt fired the killing shot. Any help he received is moot." Gelkat looks to Grunt. "I know an honorable krogan when I see one. And yet, I think he has been led astray by the corruption his… _human _friends have been practicing on him."

Grunt looks at Gelkat. "What?" he asks.

"I believe you have been mislead, whelp," says Gelkat. "The human has corrupted you."

Grunt frowns immediately, and before I can say anything he leans right in Gelkat's face. "You dare insult my battlemaster?" he asks.

Gelkat, instead of acting as if this annoys him, looks directly at the rest of us. "Your battlemaster?" he says. "That is exactly my point. You know that there is no alien that can be a battlemaster."

"I don't believe you for a second," he says.

"Well, she's not standing here, is she?" Gelkat asks immediately. "That… _Shepard_… I heard she was arrested on the Citadel. If that was allowed to happen, then she must not be as strong as she has led you to believe."

Grunt immediately places his foot down, and I can tell from the way he glares at Gelkat that he is angry. "You _dare _insult my battlemaster!?" he asks again. "You know _nothing_!" Grunt then points at Gelkat's face. "My battlemaster was not taken down by being weak. She was taken down by deceit!"

I look at Grunt in surprise, turning back to Garrus. I… what? Why would Grunt think that? I think we all knew that Shepard—

"You come to me making offers of clanship with your clan," says Grunt. "And in the same breath, you tarnish the name of my battlemaster. She may not be krogan, but she is far more of a krogan than some of these whelps will ever be." Grunt leans forward. "And if you insist on belittling my battlemaster, I _refuse _to join your clan."

Gelkat frowns. "You would refuse a place in the honorable Jorgal clan over some statements about a simple _human_!?" he asks.

The female shaman immediately steps forward and in front of Grunt. "I do not believe you understand honor yourself," she says. "You have opted to keep us as hostages to achieve your aims, and have subverted Wrex's entire leadership." The female shaman leans forward. "I hardly think you are one to judge another group of people over what is honorable and what is not honorable, Jorgal Gelkat. You are quick to judge, and yet you yourself have displayed very little honor."

"Are my actions any less honorable than your clan leader going to the Halagog clan with a peace offer?" asks Gelkat. He then turns to the other krogan. "The Halagog clan murdered the Urdnot women and made Wrex seem weak and unable to defend his females, and yet your clan leader _insisted _on seeking a peaceful solution even as his allied clans were prepared for war? Are you _truly _telling me you consider that man more honorable than the one who would fight for what he believes?"

With this, Gelkat leans closer. "Some of the clans around you were reluctant to join my cause," he says. "They remained reluctant. That changed when Wrex decided to send a peace envoy to the Halagog clan." Gelkat almost immediately leans away. "I am actually fighting in the interest of honor on Tuchanka. You will eventually come around."

Grunt simply frowns, and I notice that his posture is now rather resolute. Gelkat steps away from the two krogan, with Mordin peeking out from behind the female shaman as the Jorgal clan leader turns to the other krogan around us.

"He refuses to join us!" says Gelkat. "But he shall see the error of his ways yet, my fellow clansmen! He shall see how Urdnot Wrex's actions are not honorable!"

The other krogan roar at this. However, when I turn to Grunt, I look at him to see that he is already looking at the female shaman. There's a fire in his eyes, and I can tell by the way that his fist is clenched that he's frustrated.

I see Grunt say something to the shaman, but whatever he says is drowned out by the crowd around us. From the way he glances at Gelkat spitefully, however, I can tell that it's definitely not something Gelkat would like to hear coming from him.

I simply look back to Garrus, leaning close to him so that I'm whispering in his ear. "You've got a plan, right?" I whisper.

The krogan continue yelling even as Garrus nods.

All right, I thought he'd have a plan! Okay, this may turn out in our favor after all…

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

I look over to Wrex as the shuttle hovers over us. It comes to a stop in front of us, with Kurtek hmphing behind us.

"Nice shuttle you got there," he says. "Where's the ship?"

"Evading the Council's ships," I reply. I look over to the only remaining krogan as he walks up to where Wrex and I are. "You okay there, man?"

"I'm fine," says the krogan. "I _could _be naked and lying in a Jorgal prison, but I'm not."

I frown, looking at the krogan as he casts me something that's not quite a glare but is still kind of suspicious. "Uh… _yeah_," I comment. Yeah, the last thing I need is an image of a krogan man sitting there manacled to the wall… his dick erect… waiting to be—

Gah!

I end up biting the tip of my tongue. Damn it, Art, those are _not _wholesome thoughts! Out! Out with them!

Okay… Okay, here we go.

"Yeah, that was a weird comment," I add. I shake my head, looking up at Wrex. "And you're _sure _this plan of yours will work."

"Hey, Gelkat was a pretty sneaky whelp," Wrex comments. "If he thought he could've taken me down directly, he would have done it instead of circumventing my authority like _this_. I think it's time we forced him to get what he wants by hismelf."

I nod. "So bring out the true coward he is and do stuff with that," I comment. "Yeah, that sounds like a good game plan." I look to him. "I just hope this works."

The shuttle lands a few seconds later, and then I look to Anahit. She looks directly at the five of us as we step onto the shuttle, and I notice a rather miffed-looking Jarel who's nevertheless going along with this. I'm one of the last people to step on, stepping on after Tali, Wrex, Krunus, and the other guy. We all step in, and look around, sighing as we sit back on the shuttle.

"All right, mates, hold on ta yer seats," Jenny says from the front of the shuttle. "We're gonna be goin' ninty to the dozen 'ere."

And with this, the shuttle takes off.

* * *

><p><strong>*Madison Paige POV*<strong>

After a few minutes, I hear the Normandy's shuttle roar overhead. I notice Gelkat smile with glee as he motions for everyone to make room for the Normandy's shuttle. We suddenly get pushed towards the varren pits, and the shuttle sets down rather lightly directly in front of Wrex's throne.

I spare a final glance at Garrus. He nods, and then I turn my attention back there. Grunt is of course looking pretty angry at this development, though I don't really know what else to make of his expression there. Bakara simply looks on, and I turn my attention back to the shuttle as it lands not a few feet away from where Jorgal Gelkat is walking up to.

Damn it, girl, what if this doesn't work? We could all die right here and now.

No… No, don't think like that. You'll see what happens with this soon enough. I watch the shuttle intently. Come on… just, come on…

The shuttle lands unceremoniously. And then, I watch as the shuttle door opens.

The gasp of shock that is given by every krogan in the vicinity—and myself—is quite loud. I turn to Garrus, and… Well, there's Garrus giving his shit-eating grin.

I glance back to Urdnot Wrex as he's revealed by the opening of the shuttle door. Well, looks like this _is _part of the plan. I think I've got what they're trying to do, but—

I turn my head back to the proceedings just in time to see Wrex headbutt Jorgal Gelkat so hard that the Jorgal clan leader is sent sprawling on the ground in front of Wrex. Wrex simply stands there, watching Gelkat as he stands up.

Oh, boy, Gelkat looks pretty offended.

"And where is the—?"

"I am here."

And with this, Anahit steps out of the shuttle. She remains standing behind Wrex however, and I notice that she looks like she's… Yep, she's definitely glaring at Jorgal Gelkat. I instantly notice that Gelkat melts under Anahit's glare, and that he's suddenly not so sure about what's going on. At least, that's what it looks…

Hey, there's Art and Tali! I don't know who the other two krogan are, but… they must be friends.

Gelkat looks back at Garrus before turning his attention to Wrex. "I… I didn't realize you were still on your way back," he says, acting a little surprised.

"Save it, whelp," says Wrex. "I didn't think you'd go this far, Jorgal Gelkat. I always thought you might double cross me one day, but to see _this_!?"

"You have no honor!" Gelkat replies, regaining his earlier confidence almost _too _quickly. Hm… I hope I'm not the only one who caught that… "Making _peace_ with _him_ debases you!" I watch as Jorgal Gelkat points at one of the two krogan that... Oh. Oh. That must be the Halagog clan leader. "You have no honor!"

"And you are more honorable, hiding behind a mask and engineering as much as you have?" asks Wrex. "If you had a problem with me, you should've been direct. You instead killed tens, if not hundreds of krogan to get your way." Wrex leans forward. "If you ask me, that's not honor."

I watch as Art crosses his arms immediately. "And what do you hope to accomplish with this?" asks Jorgal Gelkat.

"It's clear you have a problem with me." Wrex looks up at all the other krogan surrounding us. I guess he's taking note of the clan symbols on most of these guys' armor. "I guess you managed to wring the rest of these idiots when I extended the offer of peace to Halagog Kurtek." He then turns to Gelkat. "I'm not going to challenge them. Instead, I am going to challenge _you _to a one-on-one duel on the proving ground!"

My eyes widen at this, looking at Garrus before turning back to what I'm seeing. What…? Wrex is…?

Before I can think about this further, though, I watch as Gelkat lets out a loud bark of laughter. "A duel? With you? Hah!" Gelkat now smiles. "Duel an honorless one such as yourself? You are beneath me, Urdnot Wrex!"

At this, Art shakes his head. He then walks right toward Gelkat, even as Wrex looks directly at the Jorgal clan leader. "I wouldn't be so sure of that," says Wrex. He then looks to Art as he walks right up to Gelkat.

I then watch as Art leans close to Gelkat, staring the Jorgal clan leader directly in the face. I watch as Art whispers something to Gelkat over the course of a half a minute. I frown in confusion at this, but then I turn to Jorgal Gelkat and watch as his expression shifts from one of cocky self-assuredness to the look that I have seen on people when they know they have been backed into a corner and only have one option left. The scowl on his face... It's almost like he's being…

I look to Garrus almost immediately, smirking almost in delight as he turns to look at me. The turian simply winks in my direction, still maintaining that shit-eating grin as he turns to watch what happens down there.

I then turn back to the proceedings, watching as Art steps back. "So what's it gonna be, Gelkat?" he asks. "Are you really going to be so blind, or are you going to uphold that tradition that you don't refuse anyone a duel no matter what you think of them?"

Gelkat then sighs, his hands clenching into fists. "I accept the challenge, Urdnot Wrex."

I watch as Wrex and Art both smirk at the same time. "I knew you were a smart man, Gelkat," he says. Wrex then looks at the rest of us.

"I think we have a proving ground to get to," he says. "Let's get to that, shall we?"

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

As soon as the tomkah gets to the proving ground, I see that there are a lot of krogan gathering around. I look over to the center of the proving ground, where Wrex and Gelkat are both preparing. I notice that Wrex is now just in the bodysuit that's underneath his armor, with Gelkat in similar attire. I look down at Wrex, taking my place in the crowd immediately.

As I get there, I look directly to Garrus and Madison. Tali is standing with them, as well as Isaac, Mordin, and Grunt. Anahit is standing with the female shaman and Jarel off to the side, just a little closer to where the action actually is. Yeah, they all took an earlier tomkah here while Wrex and Gelkat were both getting prepared. And from the looks of things, Gelkat didn't try anything.

Okay, good. So far, it's all going well.

I turn over to Madison, shrugging. "I just hope this works," I comment.

"I _still _can't believe you blackmailed him into this duel," says Madison. "Why didn't you just reveal the evidence you had of that?"

I shake my head. "Wrex wanted to see if Jorgal Gelkat actually did believe in krogan honor," I reply. "The fact that he is in this duel now… that implies that Gelkat might actually believe half the shit he says." I look at Madison. "Wrex just wants to be sure, first. 'Cause that'll determine how he goes about with this once the duel ends."

I look down at the two krogan as the crowd around them begins to back away. I drum my fingers against the railing as the arena suddenly becomes quite wide. The crowd of krogan around Wrex and Gelkat is still pretty thick, though, so I don't think they'll be escaping the crowd any time soon. I watch as Gelkat and Wrex begin walking around each other in a circle, holding their rather elaborate knives at their sides as they eye each other menacingly.

"And how do you know this won't backfire on us?" asks Madison.

I shrug. "Wrex is a force to be reckoned with," I comment. I then lean out, watching as Wrex suddenly crouches down. "Trust me, this is as much to regain Wrex's honor as it is about testing Gelkat."

Madison looks over at me. "You still think it's not sneaky that you had to blackmail him into this duel?" she asks.

I shake my head. "Gelkat knows what's at stake," I comment. "And he knows what's going to happen if he loses this duel." I look at Madison. "Trust me, Wrex told me to be brutally honest with him, so he knows what the stakes are." I look down. "Wrex has got this, I'm sure of it now."

Yeah, and to think that I doubted that this plan would work when I first stepped onto the shuttle!

I then turn my attention down at Wrex and Gelkat. They both eye each other, the one seeming to dare the other into moving first.

It's Gelkat who rushes at Wrex first, letting out a loud krogan roar as he raises his knife arm in the air. Wrex holds his ground, and when the time is right he lowers his upper body and tackles Gelkat to the ground. Gelkat doesn't lose his grip on his knife, though, and so when Wrex is able to force Gelkat to the ground Gelkat swings it.

Wrex releases Gelkat and leaps back, narrowly avoiding the knife-point. This allows Gelkat to get back onto his feet, with Gelkat attempting to press the advantage. Gelkat swipes at Wrex again, but this time Wrex catches Gelkat's knife arm. With this, Wrex slashes the knife at Gelkat, and I watch Gelkat roar in pain as he stumbles back, some orange blood now freely flowing from a gash right at the center of his torso.

The crowd of krogan cheers at the sight of first blood, but Wrex does not appear to be paying much attention to them. Wrex looks right at Gelkat as he stands back up. Gelkat grimaces, but I think he knows that this wound is actually pretty negligible as far as krogan wounds go.

And I think Wrex knows it too, for Gelkat goes rushing at Wrex again. However, before Wrex can leap out of the way, Gelkat punches Wrex in the face, making the older krogan flinch. This gives Gelkat enough time to bring his knife to bear, and he slashes right at Wrex's chest, around where a human heart would be. Wrex stumbles back at this, but regains his footing even as his wound starts bleeding. Another loud cheer is heard, but neither combatant seems fazed by this.

Shit… Come on, Wrex, you can do this… Just don't get cut up too badly and you'll be okay. Yeah, you'll be fine, just do what you have to.

Wrex lifts his knife arm again, glaring at Gelkat. Gelkat takes this time to circle around Wrex, with Wrex holding his position there. Neither of them look all that willing to back down.

And then, Gelkat lunges yet again. He brings his knife down, but Wrex deflects the blow and takes the time to kick Gelkat a good distance away. Gelkat barely gets any time to catch his bearings before Wrex leaps at him. Gelkat, for his part, is able to deflect the oncoming knife blow, and then the subsequent one that Wrex sends at him.

Gelkat then manages to punch Wrex in the eye. This sends Wrex back only a step or two, and it actually gives Wrex enough time to deflect another knife blow from Gelkat. Gelkat immediately goes for another blow, however, and this one gives Wrex a pretty _nasty _gash on his right arm. I cringe as I watch Wrex step back, but the old krogan does not look fazed in the least.

With new determination, Wrex slashes his knife at Gelkat. This time, I watch as the knife cuts into Gelkat's crest, the younger krogan roaring out in pain. By now, the krogan crowd around us has started to go wild, but I only find myself gripping the railing. When I glance down, I barely register that my knuckles are white, and that I can kind of feel the metal kind of bite into the skin of my hand. C'mon, Wrex… you can do this…

I take a shaky breath in as Wrex and Gelkat circle each other another time. Come on… just end the battle now, damn it!

Before I can think of anything else, Wrex lunges forward. Gelkat thinks he sees what's coming, but is thoroughly unprepared for the fact that Wrex's knife sinks all the way into his gut. I watch as Gelkat's eyes widen in surprise, but before he can do much else I see Wrex draw the blade out of Gelkat. As the Jorgal clan leader sinks to his knees, I watch as Wrex sticks the knife into Gelkat's crest, right at the angle that…

No… You're kidding. He's not going for the 'rip off the crest' angle, is he…?

With a sickening rip, I watch as Wrex removes Gelkat's crest. Gelkat lets out a scream of pain that is immediately drowned out by the cheers of elation from the krogan around us. Wrex then removes the knife, and then I find myself cringing as Wrex stabs Gelkat repeatedly. Eventually, Gelkat's cries are too soft for even me to hear, and the din of the crowd overtakes the whole thing.

I feel a nasty feeling crawl up my digestive tract, but I swallow, doing my best to keep from vomiting. Wow… I didn't think a krogan crest removal could ever be so brutal… I guess it's a good thing Zaeed refrained from mentioning that part of the story to me. Just… I didn't think Wrex would do that…

I don't like this, but I guess brutal deaths are still honorable for a krogan. I don't know.

When I get my bearings, I see another krogan there that steps forward. He points directly at Wrex, and the crowd goes _crazy_.

Okay, good, this means that Wrex is the winner. Thank Christ. I look over to where Jarel is standing, with Wrex turning his attention to Jarel. I glance briefly at Gelkat, noticing that he's bracing for whatever it is that Jarel will inflict on him.

Wrex then addresses the crowd. "Clans of Tuchanka!" says Wrex. "Jorgal Gelkat would have you believe that he is innocent of many things! He would have you believe that Halagog Kurtek was responsible for the murders of the female clan!"

Almost immediately, the cheers are silenced, though some of the krogan around us don't look as sour as they did before this point. I glance back down at Wrex, seeing that he is looking at Gelkat. "I have proof that this man has misled you!" He then turns to Jarel. "I believe this salarian has more information on that."

All eyes are suddenly on Jarel, but he doesn't flinch as he opens his omni-tool. I then hear the voice of Jorgal Krunus begin saying a few things, and then I watch as Jorgal Gelkat just hangs his head in defeat. I think Gelkat knows that he has been outdone, and that all his plans are for naught.

So I simply watch Gelkat, and tune out of Jarel and Wrex revealing everything. I think I hear the krogan crowd react accordingly, but I simply watch Gelkat's corpse. He actually looks… kind of content for some reason. I don't know, but… Wrex _was _trying to preserve some measure of Gelkat's honor by giving him the opportunity to fight for his life and his honor. Gelkat also knew that we'd reveal him whether or not he actually won the duel, but… I think he realized pretty quick that going out on a display of strength was a better way to go out than being torn to shreds by an angry krogan mob who would think of him as a cowardly bed-wetter and not as a warrior who, even if he did a lot of sneaky shit, was still a true krogan to his dying breath.

Hm… I guess Gelkat did actually have some honor in him, even if that wasn't very apparent with the way he completely circumvented Wrex's authority to try to take over Tuchanka.

I only hear the crowd cheer wildly as Wrex finishes explaining why he challenged Jorgal Gelkat to a duel. I hear Wrex announce a few more things, but I don't really pay much attention. I simply turn to Grunt, looking at the young krogan as he blinks in surprise. He looks a little confused, though when his gaze turns to me it turns into a half-hearted glare.

Shrugging, I turn my attention back to Urdnot Wrex, and feel a little better at the fact that the kind of honor that serves others as well as oneself is the one that'll probably prevail on Tuchanka after all of this.


	16. Chapter 15

_A/N: Well, I think I can call a case of there being some old bullshit, Bioware._

_So I got ME3 on launch day at the midnight release. And what happens? Well, despite the fact that my laptop can run ME3 on minimum requirements according to every source I've checked, and that I can run the demo, I still had framerate issues up the wazoo. Mind you, I tried_ everything _I could to make it work, and still nothing. And that's not cool, since it breaks immersion greatly. So y'know what? Forget it. I'm trying it on PS3 now, because I can't take these frame rate issues any more. It's just... ya know?_

_Oh, and that ending? Oh, I haven't even gotten two hours into the game before it got spoiled by a friend._

_And all I have to say about it?_

_Well... you better hope those fan theories that are floating around about those final five minutes or so being some kind of fever dream/hallucination/indoctrination side effect are correct, because otherwise those are the shittiest endings ever. And if they are a fever dream/hallucination/indoctrination side effect, well... frankly, it sounds like that bit could've been established a lot better, so it's still a kinda shit ending._

_Makes me kinda glad MV3 isn't following canon strictly in terms of what goes down during the Reaper wars._

_Anyway, here we go. Let's get going with this, shall we?_

_(Note: This reflects a version of this chapter that has undergone a rewrite. I would like to thank ValentineDiverseOptics for being of immense help during this process.)_

* * *

><p>Chapter 15: Tyrannosaurus<p>

When we get back to the Urdnot clan grounds, I look over to Wrex. He is currently taking his place back at his throne, with the shaman and Drakus both standing just a little behind him. Kurtek gives a polite bow, nodding to the female shaman as he rises to his feet. Behind me are Jarel and Anahit, both of whom are here just to get a little air cleared up with stuff.

"Well, I'm glad this is well and done," says Kurtek. "I have to say, Wrex, it was a stupid thing to do, giving Gelkat the chance to fight for his honor. But in the end…"

Wrex nods. "He died a good death," he says. "I almost feel sorry for the backstabbing whelp."

"Indeed," says Kurtek. "I will return to my clan, then." He then looks at Drakus. "I will contact you when I am done."

Drakus nods, and then Kurtek leaves the throne area. As soon as he does, Wrex stands up, looking to Drakus.

"Wrex, are you sure about this?" asks Drakus.

"We need to make sure that someone is developing that genophage cure," says Wrex. "And if I do it, it'll get all the rest of these whelps to shut up about it." He nods. "I think you can handle it."

"I hope so," says Drakus. He looks over to the shaman. "Unless, of course…"

"Tuchanka's sons are in need of guidance," says the shaman. "I will stay here."

With this, Anahit steps forward nervously. "Shaman, does this mean…?"

"Unfortunately, we must part, my child," says the female shaman. "My duty is to remain behind. I know not what Tuchanka's sons and daughters will do now, but they need guidance."

Anahit nods. "I think you will do a good job with that, shaman," she says. "But… I will miss your company."

"Just make sure that Jarel manufactures that genophage cure," the shaman replies. "And if you should ever return to Tuchanka during your travels, then you should not call me shaman."

"But that is what you are, is it not?" asks Anahit.

"It is," says the shaman. "But things change, Anahit. If you ever return to Tuchanka, then know that Urdnot Bakara shall await you here."

I blink. "Urdnot Bakara…" I mutter to myself as Wrex stands up. I look over to Jarel, watching as he rubs his chin. I then turn to Anahit and Bakara as they eye each other with respect.

"Very well, sha—Bakara," says Anahit. "I will return to Tuchanka eventually. And when I do…"

"You shall return to us," says Bakara. "Now go. Fate has much in store for you."

With this, Anahit nods, and then turns to Wrex. She looks at the much older krogan for a few seconds, and then nods.

"Let us go," she says. "If we tarry any longer, the Council may find the Normandy."

I nod. I then bring my hand up to my ear. "Okay, Jenny, we're basically done here. Get the shuttle ready, and let's get back to the Normandy."

"_Ya got it, mate_," Jenny replies in a rather perky manner.

I then look over to Wrex as Anahit walks over to where Jarel is. The four of us then head for where the shuttle currently is, and I find myself smiling rather broadly. "Well, here's hoping this new peace on Tuchanka holds."

"Let's hope these short-sighted fools don't give me a reason to come back here early," Wrex replies.

And with this, we continue on to the shuttle.

* * *

><p>Well, that was certainly interesting, I guess. It was short, though, which worked for us because hey, we need to get out of here before the Council catches wind of us being there.<p>

And now that Joker is flying as far away from Tuchanka as fast as he can, we're stuck in the briefing room. Grunt's not in the room at the moment for some reason I can't discern. When we asked him about it, all he said was that he needed to think about something. In his place, Wrex stands, looking at the rest of the assorted crew of the Normandy. He gives a few curious looks around the room, shrugging as he slowly makes his way towards where Garrus and I are standing.

"Well, this place got crowded fast," says Wrex. "I almost can't believe how many people there are myself."

"Yeah, neither can I," I comment. "This is gonna get crazy somewhere down the line."

"In a certain sense, I believe it already has," says Thane from where he stands at the side of the table. "Do we have our next step prepared?"

I shrug. "I don't know for sure," I say. "And we won't know for sure until we get out of here." I look up to the ceiling. "Are we out of the system yet?"

"_Getting close to it_," says Joker. "_The Council ships don't seem to have noticed that we were ever here. Just remember that the next time we do this, you're getting me some beers._"

I nod. "Then I think Miranda should be back here."

The door opens almost immediately, and then I watch as Miranda walks into the room. "Already here," she says, walking up to where Garrus and I are.

"Okay," I say. "That settles that." With a curt nod, I look to the others. "We still have a bunch of people to deal with, and we still have places we need to go, but since we just got off Tuchanka…..."

I see Carhon lean forward, some of the others shifting as Miranda leans forward. "EDI, has the Normandy received any messages while we were gone?"

EDI's avatar appears, and then I can see Wrex blink in a very small amount of shock. "_While you were away, a message was sent to Rael'Zorah from the Migrant Fleet._"

W-what? "Really?" I ask. "What's the message about?"

"_I cannot say,_" says EDI. "_However, judging by Rael'Zorah's reaction, it may very well be that it is news of their homeworld. I believe they may attempt to take Rannoch back now._"

I blink. "Can you make sure of that?" I ask. "Because if that's what's going down, we're there."

"_One moment_." With this, EDI blinks out of existence.

Wrex is quick to lean towards us. "Is that an AI or something?" he asks.

"Came with the ship," says Garrus. "We didn't exactly have a choice in the matter."

"That we did not," I mention with a shrug.

The krogan chuckles. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were _trying _to get yourselves arrested by the Council," he says. "First, you recruit a geth..." He glances at Legion as he says this. "...and then you have an AI running the ship."

I snort, shaking my head while smirking. "Oh, trust me Wrex, we're not," I say. "We're totally not trying."

"Still," he says. "You better hope neither of those things stab us in the back."

Miranda turns to Wrex pretty soon after he says this. "EDI has stood by us in everything," she says. "She won't betray us. Not now."

"And Legion has turned out to be pretty reliable," says Tali. "I never though I'd say this about a geth, but I trust it."

At that moment, EDI's avatar returns. "_It is as I thought_," she says. "_Rael'Zorah's message is about the quarians going to Rannoch to take the homeworld. However, in anticipation of Rael'Zorah's return, they have held off voting on a course of action, and whether they should go to war or attempt peace._"

Immediately, Legion snaps to attention. "We cannot say we calculated this outcome," he says. "We did not think there would be a debate about that subject in the Fleet."

I shrug. "Well, Legion, they were arguing about that when Tali got tried for treason, so..." I shake my head. "Kinda sucks that the only guy who wants peace between the geth and the quarians is kind of a dick."

"We have gathered intel on Creator Zaal'Koris vas Qwib-Qwib." At this, I hear chuckles go around the table from various people. I myself can't hide a smirk. "Our consensus is that it is good that he believes in peace with the quarian people."

"As do the rest of us, Legion," says Tali. "I'd want nothing more than to be able to take the homeworld without losing another quarian life."

Legion stands still. "We cannot accurately calculate something, however," says Legion. "Creator Rael'Zorah is the only other Creator in Migrant Fleet who believes peace would help us, and he was difficult to convince. We are not certain how the remaining Creators on the Admiralty board will be convinced."

"We'll figure something out," I mention. "I mean, Zaal'Koris is also there, so that's going to help, but then we also have Shala'Raan, who's likely to take Rael or Tali's side into consideration. If we can convince her that the geth mean no harm, then that's going to mean that we'll have the votes in the admiralty board to do stuff with."

"We find a success rate of 34.59%," says Legion. "We will seek further consensus from the geth on this matter."

"So for now, I'm assuming our next course of action is to go to the Migrant Fleet?" asks Miranda.

"I think so," says Tali. "If father doesn't return to the Fleet soon, they will vote without him, and then we lose our chance to present a more peaceful solution to my people."

"Then it's settled," I say. "EDI, did Rael tell you where the Fleet is?"

"_No,_" she says. "_I will ask him for the coordinates of the Fleet's current location, and I will plot a course to that location immediately_."

I nod, crossing my arms. "Excellent," I say. "So... anything else we need to bring up?"

"Anahit is on this ship, yes?" asks Wrex.

Garrus nods. "You'll find her in the tech lab most of the time," he says. "Jarel's making sure she stays there while he does all these tests on her. Curing the genophage and all."

Wrex nods. "And where is there a large, empty space on this ship?"

"_The hangar bay is quite spacious,_" EDI adds. "_I would not recommend shooting things there, however. I would also recommend you find someplace with a sleeping pod._"

"Eh, I slept with my back against the lockers on the original Normandy," says Wrex. "I can survive just fine without one of those pods."

I nod. "Hangar bay it is," I say. "Just be careful, Wrex, we do have people that go down there from time to time."

"They won't be a problem," says Wrex. "I'll make sure of it."

Okay, so that takes care of that. "Right," I say. "So... is there anything else we need to bring up?"

I look around, seeing heads shake all around me. Okay... "Then this meeting's adjourned," I say. "We'll be down to speak with most of you on our own time soon enough, m'kay?"

I see a bunch of nods, and then people start filing out. I look over to various people as they leave, all of them leaving a glance at either Miranda, Garrus, or myself. As I watch them all leave, I turn to look at Wrex, who simply smirks.

"Well, here we go again," says Wrex. "It'll be just like old times."

I smile at this. "May they return once again."

With this, Wrex takes his leave of us.

As soon as Miranda, Garrus, and I are the only ones in the room, I look to EDI. "Does the Shadow Broker have any updates?" I ask.

"_No,_" says EDI. "_She did not say if she had anything she wished to speak with you about._"

I nod. "Right," I say. "Well, I've got stuff I need to speak to the Broker about, so if you would be so kind..."

EDI's avatar disappears, and soon enough we see the same old comm thing. Miranda turns to me, crossing her arms.

"Is this about the rachni?" she asks.

"Oh yes," I state. "This is totally about the Rachni. We're not gonna be able to do stuff with that if we don't know where they are, right?"

"He brings up a good point," says Garrus. "We're going to need to find them if we want them to build this thing."

"Of course," says Miranda. "No, I was just confirming that we're all thinking of the same thing here."

I nod. "Then we're all on the same page here," I say. "Wonderful. Now..."

The link opens up, and then I hear some shifting. "_Art._"

... Oh, dear...

"Liara, you can cut with the deep voice now," I say. "It's just us again."

I hear some stuff being cancelled out on the other end, and then hear a sigh. "_Sorry._" Ah, there's the Liara we all know and love. "_But you know I can't take any chances with that._"

"True," I concede. "True."

Miranda steps forward. "Has any progress been made finding the things we asked you about?"

"_It's slow, so unfortunately, no..._" says Liara. "_Especially in reference to the information you requested I look into for the Hegemony. Most of our agents that have been given this assignment have never been able to report back, as my intel suggests they get themselves killed._" She pauses, and I can hear her typing away at something. "_I've also tried using the Shadow Broker's citizenship on Khar'shan, but my clearance isn't high enough._"

I nod. "Keep at it," I say. "Something's gonna turn up eventually."

"_Don't worry about that,_" says Liara. "_I plan to. I didn't really have anything else, so..._"

Garrus steps forward as soon as she says this. "We actually had something we were going to ask you to look into," he says. "Do you remember about the rachni?"

"_Of course,_" says Liara. "_I figured you would ask that eventually, so I've already taken it upon myself to start looking into that. I have several agents scouring the galaxy right now. I can't promise anything as we don't even have a clue to work off of, but..._" She pauses, and I can just see her turning to me. "_Art... This... 'game' that you mentioned..._"

I blink. "Yeah?" I ask.

"_Did it mention anything about the Rachni_?"

I turn to look at Miranda, shrugging. Hm, I should've expected Liara would ask about that. Well... I should just tell her. I mean, it's not like it'll be a detriment to her or us, right?

I look back to the projection in the CIC. "Well, now that you mention it, there was this asari on Illium in the game that Shepard could bump into," I say. "Apparently, she was saved by the Rachni, and is now kind of an... ambassador, of sorts." I shift my weight on my feet. "I don't know where she is now, though. She left when Shepard talked to her, and according to her she was never to reappear. So it might not be much."

"_It's more than what we had before,_" Liara replies. "_And that means something. Difficult to find asari... did she say what her name was?_"

"If she did, I don't remember what it was," I say. "But she did have a message from the rachni queen that she can probably tell you about."

"_Then we have something,_" she says. "_Very well. I'll keep you updated on what I find with those things as I find them. Unless you have something else you want to mention..._"

"No, that's everything," says Garrus. "Busy?"

"_Kind of,_" says Liara. "_I'm keeping track of Shepard's trial. It still hasn't started..._"

Miranda places one of her hands on her hips and shifts so that her weight is on her left foot. "They'll have to get it started soon," she says. "It's been too long already, and we've proved to be a little too elusive for them."

"Ain't that the truth?" I comment, crossing my arms. "I'm sure we'll find out more about that on our own, though. I mean, it's galactic news at this point: any news about progress in Shepard's trial is going to reach us at the same time it does everyone else."

"_That is true, but I'm keeping track of that for a different reason,_" says Liara. "_You'll know my influence when you see it. Until then, stay safe..._"

I nod. "You too, Liara."

The link cuts soon after, and I glance over at Garrus and Miranda. "Well, that takes care of that," I say. "So... speaking of stuff to do..."

"Are we going to go to the ball tonight?" asks Garrus.

... Hey, that's _my_ line!

"Well, yeah, but aren't you worried it's gonna get bombed out?" I ask.

"I wouldn't worry about that," says Miranda. "We have an angel on our side, and with him nothing really bad can happen to us."

I shake my head. "I'll go get the glass slippers," I mention. "Seriously, though, Garrus, _I'm _the only one who says that kind of line!"

The turian shrugs, and I notice all too late that he's smirking. "And steal all the thunder from the rest of us?" he asks. "Yeah, I don't think so. Do you want Wrex in on it?"

I look over to Garrus, and frown. "Of course!" I say. "I'm not gonna leave Wrex out of something like that! I mean, he's here now, right?"

"Yes," he replies. "Well... we should get moving."

I nod. "I'll see you guys in about two hours," I say. "I'm gonna go talk with people until then."

"Whatever suits you," says Miranda. "We'll be there."

That you will, I'm sure of it.

We all make our way towards the door of the CIC. Hm... Well, I'm wondering. I watch as Miranda and Garrus go through the tech lab, even as I stand at the door to the CIC. Hm... Well, I haven't really spoken to anyone here in a bit, but... Eh, we'll see.

Y'know what? I think it's about time I talked to Tidoses. She looks like she could use someone to talk to.

With this, I head towards the armory, opening the door to find the turian Spectre standing at the work bench. She's holding some kind of power tool, with which she's going to work on one of the shotguns on the Normandy. She glances up ever so briefly as I enter, but otherwise she doesn't acknowledge my presence as she goes right back to weapons modifications. I guess.

I step forward, nodding to her. "Hey Tidoses," I say. "What's up?"

The turian shrugs. "A bit," she says. "There's this shotgun mod I've wanted to apply to one of our weapons for quite some time."

"So you took care of that while you were here," I say as I walk up to the table where she's working.

"Yes," she says. "I can't believe half of us were down there, Art, especially given some of what we saw. Curing the genophage? That's risky, but if it's a huge middle finger to the Council I'll take it."

I lean forward, my forearms coming to rest on the table out of the way of where Tidoses is doing her thing. "So you don't like the Council," I say. "This is odd."

"Well, I don't like the Council," she says. "But I _hate _Councillor Sparatus."

I blink. "That's even crazier," I comment. "It's weird to see a Spectre who doesn't like the Council. I mean, I want to be happy that someone else gets it, but at the same time I just can't believe it..."

Tidoses shakes her head. "I didn't always hate them, you know," she says. "There was a time where I would answer to them willingly. But now, knowing what some of them have done..." She taps a talon against the table, quickly using that time to switch the tool she's using for the weapon modification. "I'm not so sure I want them ruling the galaxy anymore."

"So I see," I say. "Well, after betraying the Normandy, I'm not too keen on them being in our good graces again unless they wisen up."

"I doubt that'll happen," says Tidoses. "They prefer to pretend that huge threats to everyone don't exist until it's too late." She shakes her head. "I'm telling you, it's maddening."

"I totally know what you mean," I say. "So... you getting acclimated to the Normandy?"

"Yeah," she says. She then looks up sadly. "All that time being trapped in a slaver pod, and then on a slaver ship..." She shakes her head. "It's terrifying. Now I really get why most humans aren't fond of batarians. If that's what they do to all of their slaves... then I can understand why there is so much trepidation against them."

I nod. "I've never seen it myself," I say. "But there were some people I've heard about." Like Talitha. Oh, poor, poor Talitha... "It's certainly terrifying. But with people like Carhon and Dsrondo, that might change soon."

"Dsrondo is actually pretty well-spoken, which I wasn't expecting from an ex-Hegemony politician," says Tidoses. "He doesn't like these slavers, and that's fine by me. Carhon, on the other hand... He likes to be mean, but I imagine he's one of those guys that's all soft once you give him some time. He seems like a good man, though." She glances to the side, as if making sure someone isn't there. She then turns back to me. "I think he's getting quite soft on James Vega, if you ask me."

I smile. "Well, that's good," I say. "The Alliance guy and a batarian getting along? That's a good sign for all of us, I'm telling you."

"I'll bet it is," says Tidoses. "I'm guessing it'll be even better once things on Khar'shan are taken care of."

I place my hand on my chin. "I take it you're interested in what goes down with them?" I ask.

Tidoses nods. "It's a long story, but I'm interested in what happens with the batarian people," she says. "Childhood experience."

"Interesting..." I lean forward, smiling. "What was up with that?"

"Well..." Tidoses places some of her weapon modification tools down on the table. "I grew up on the Citadel mostly. Around the time when humanity had just come in, and right before things happened with the Skyllian Blitz and all. I was actually just about to enlist in the turian military at the time. And, well..." She smiles. "I met this one batarian boy who was in my class."

Oh. Oh dear. "So basically, a batarian was your first crush."

"Pretty much," says Tidoses. "He was pretty adorable. Never really spoke to anyone, never really participated much, but when he did, you _noticed_." The turian Spectre smiles. "He was my first crush. I didn't see anything wrong with it, really. My father, though..." She glares at the ceiling. "He was a different story entirely."

I shake my head. "Lemme guess, he's xenophobic?"

"To the core," says Tidoses. "He doesn't even like salarians all that much."

A turian who doesn't like salarians? Whaaaaa? How does that even make any sense? That's just like...

"For the life of me, I can't figure out why he would even be on the Citadel if that's the case," I mention.

Tidoses simply chuckles. "Not even my grandmother can figure it out, and she can figure most people out after one conversation," she says. "Anyway, I had a crush on a batarian as a teenage girl about to enter the military. It was crazy, actually..." She looks up. "He agreed to be my... my... whatever it is. That thing you're supposed to be for someone else in that one human holiday where..." She frowns. "That one where you give cards and candy to whoever you like most?"

I raise my eyebrows, before smirking. "_You _participated in _Valentine's Day_?" I ask. "I didn't think a turian would celebrate that so soon after the First Contact War!"

Her smile only intensifies at this. "Well, it was celebrated by the school, so there you go," says Tidoses. "He turned out to be really sweet. Not at all what you'd expect out of a race of slavers." Her expression falls, even as she shakes her head. "That was actually the last time I ever went to that school. My father flipped out when he found out that I had not only celebrated a human holiday, but had celebrated it with someone that wasn't a turian. He couldn't have pushed my enlistment papers through fast enough." She sighs. "By the time the week was out, I was already packing my bags on my first deployment. And then, the Skyllian Blitz happened about a month or two later."

I nod, my smirk falling and giving way to a slight grimace. "Ouch." I say.

"Yeah," says Tidoses. "It sucked quite a bit." She sighs. "When I contacted one of my old classmates just after the Blitz started, she said that he ended up going with his family when the batarians all retreated to their homeworld. Sometimes I wonder what happened to him..."

"Who knows?" I ask. "It's interesting to hear about how you were before, though."

"Yeah," says Tidoses. "I always thought they were exaggerating all those tales of slaver cruelty." She glares to the side. "Shows what I know."

Well... "You never can know," I say. I purse my lips together. "Sometimes, you don't know what something is like until you actually see it, ya know?"

"Yep," says Tidoses. "Well, I should get back to this shotgun mod."

I nod. "I'll leave you to it, then," I state. "Stay safe, Tidoses."

"You too."

With this, Tidoses turns her attention to the shotgun she was modifying. I decide now's as good a time as any to leave her to her own devices, and so I walk out of the door to the Armory. Hm… Well, Grunt hasn't been up and about since we left Tuchanka, so… Maybe I'll go downstairs and talk to him. God knows that this conversation has been long overdue, anyway.

* * *

><p>I step into Grunt's quarters, and immediately notice that he's kind of just standing there looking out the window into the hangar bay below. He looks a little uneasy about something… wait, Grunt? Uneasy? Hm…<p>

Maybe I can talk to him about that.

I walk over by the window, and look to Grunt. "Hey, Grunt," I say. "You okay?"

The young krogan remains silent as he looks down at the shuttle bay. Out there, I can see Jenny and Gregor both talking up a storm, with Gregor looking increasingly animated as he talks to Jenny.

Finally, Grunt sighs. "I'm confused," he says.

I nod. "What about?" I ask.

"Why should you care?" Grunt asks. "Shouldn't you know that?"

I shake my head. "I'm not omnipotent, Grunt," I comment. "And besides, you've been looking a bit… _distracted _as of late. Not to say you are, but you seem to be thinking a lot." I lean against the wall. "What's up?"

Grunt looks out the window for a few seconds, his eyes lingering on some point in the hangar bay that I can't see. Finally, he turns away from the window, walking towards the tank and looking at it with an expression I can't read. He walks up to it, and then places his hand on it silently before looking back at me.

"That… shaman," he says. "I thought she was weak. Her suggestions of allowing bedwetters to do whatever they wished were…" He pauses, patting the tank and turning to face me completely. "I thought they made her weak. And I was… _angry _at my clan leader. How dare he violate the krogan need to fight. How dare he allow an insult like someone murdering his females to go unanswered. Shepard would never let such a thing go unanswered. And yet…"

He glances down at the ground, and I step forward. "And yet things didn't turn out the way you thought they would," I comment.

"It was not the Halagog clan that were the real culprits," Grunt replies. "The Jorgal clan was the cowardly clan. And we should have given them retribution." He then frowns. "But he allowed Jorgal Gelkat to die an honorable death."

I nod. "So you're not sure what's up with krogan behavior and what 'honor' means to the krogan anymore," I reply.

"Yes," says Grunt. "I need some… guidance."

I cross my arms, looking at the krogan. Okay… Yeah, he's just confused, is all. "I know that krogan honor is about glory in battle and other things like that," I comment. "In some ways, there are cultures in humanity where honor was also determined through battle." I look up at Grunt. "But the thing about them was that most of them had… limits, let's say. I think you already recognize limits, though, 'cause you thought that murdering women and children was wrong."

"It _is_ wrong," says Grunt as he glares at me. "There is no 'thought'."

I nod. "Then you understand limits," I say. "Well… in some places, there was a limit in place that you couldn't just rush into a fight. Like, recklessly start a fight for whatever reason."

"We were justified, though," says Grunt.

"And you were ready to go to war with a clan who ended up wrongly accused," I comment. "Nobody truly knew who the black armored krogan were, right?"

Grunt frowns. "I…" He pauses, and then stalks away from the tank. "I don't think so."

"Then going to war with the Halagog clan would've just been stupid," I reply. "And I think Wrex knew that when he went to go make the peace offering to the Halagog clan. I think he wanted to be certain that he was not killing the wrong clan before acting." I look to Grunt. "Sometimes, caution like that is a necessary part of honor. And honor… in many human traditions, it's also about knowing who you _shouldn't _kill just as much as it is about who you _should_ kill. And I think that's an idea that Wrex recognizes." I look at Grunt. "It's the same thing at play here, whether it was giving a chance for the Halagog clan to clear their name or it was allowing the Weyrloc clan's females and children into the Urdnot camp."

Grunt nods. "I see…" he says, keeping his gaze away from me. "I have something to think about now, but… it's not so confusing anymore." He nods. "Thank you."

I nod. "Anytime, Grunt."

All right, that went pretty well. Now… I wonder what else is new…

I walk to the door of Grunt's quarters. Hm… maybe now might be a good time to—

"Did Shepard really give you that order?"

I pause almost immediately, my hand hovering right over the door control right as Grunt asks this. I blink, looking back at Grunt. Well, he's turned to look at me, so it seems…

"Yeah, she did," I reply. I sigh, turning to Grunt. "Why do you ask?"

Grunt looks at me. "It wouldn't be the first time you lied about something to get somewhere," he replies, and I notice that his tone of voice is kind of… barbed?

…

_Well_.

I frown at Grunt, crossing my arms. "Grunt, that's not the same," I comment. "That's implying ambitions I don't have. Just because I lied about my past doesn't mean that I'd lie about the Commander, and it _definitely _wasn't because I wanted to be in this place. I was placed here because the Commander trusted me."

Grunt eyes me briefly. "She shouldn't," he says. "How do I know you're not lying about this too?"

"Shepard would tell you that herself," I say. "Apart from that… you can ask Thane. He's got perfect memory, he'll tell it to you as it happened. But I am telling you the truth when I say that Shepard placed me in this position because she saw no other option. Please, Grunt. Trust me."

The tank-bred krogan simply crosses his arms, leaning against the wall for a few seconds. "If you screw up, I'm telling the Commander 'I told you so'."

I nod, turning to the door. "Fair enough, then," I say. "I have some things I need to do. You stay safe, Grunt."

And with this, I leave Grunt's quarters.

* * *

><p>Hm... Well... I think Wrex is busy checking on Anahit up at the med bay. I mean, it would make sense, given that Anahit would be in need of surveillance from Wrex. Well, that, and the fact that Wrex needs to check in with Jarel too. Fun times are had for that, I hope.<p>

Still, Rael's in there too, as is Mordin, so maybe I should check in on the both of them. It's been a bit since then, so...

I walk around the CIC, nodding at Kelly from where she's working at the terminal in front of the galaxy map. She nods back, giving me a smile before I walk over to the door of the tech lab. I enter the tech lab, and-

...

Oh my… Don't stare, Art, don't stare, whatever you do don't stare at the bulging pectoral muscles…

I blink in surprise. There, I see Wrex sitting on a tab table. His armor is off to the side, and he's just sitting there. Thankfully, he's got a sheet covering his lower half, but that does _not _stop my imagination from-gah, there it goes again!I shake my head, stepping forward as Wrex crosses his arms. I see Anahit standing there, watching as Jarel takes some tissue samples from Wrex. Rael is standing by the window that looks out into space, holding his face mask in his hands as he looks on at Jarel. Huh, he's not wearing his suit. This must be one of those full-body exposures... though thankfully, he's wearing some kind of outfit. It looks like Rael borrowed it from Thane or something. Either way, at least he's not naked like my krogan friend on the table there. I turn, looking at Mordin as he types frantically away at a nearby terminal.

"This is... quite an awkward thing to walk in on, no?" asks Rael.

I blink, shaking my head. "You don't know the _half _of it," I mention as I step towards Wrex. "They're taking tissue samples from you too?"

"Apparently, taking them from the perfect krogan wasn't enough," says the krogan. "We need samples from myself too." He glances over to his armor. "It's no real loss. That armor can get a bit tight at times, honestly."

...

...

Must... not...

Say...

...

"I imagine it can," says Rael. "A man of your stature would have a difficult time fitting into certain things, I suppose."

... Dagnabbit, Rael, you're making it worse! Must... not... think...

"It serves its purpose," says Wrex. "It's been good over the years. Always good for extra protection."

Yes! Thank you Wrex for saying something I can't _possibly _make suggestive! "I'll bet," I say. "So... we're all crowded here, why, exactly?"

"Running multiple experiments at once," says Mordin. I turn to him, noticing he's still concentrating on the terminal. "Rael taking part in another full-body exposure, with Jarel taking samples from Wrex. Also, finishing final schematics for our little... dream project."

"Dream project?" asks Anahit. "It sounds quite... strange."

I shake my head, walking over to Mordin. "In more ways than one," I say. I look over his shoulder. "Are those the schematics?"

"Have... finishing touches that need to be made," says Mordin. "Will take another day or so, when there is less clutter in the tech lab."

"As it is, there's too much going on in here," says Jarel. I turn to look at the younger salarian as he picks up another syringe, bringing it over to an area that I imagine is above Wrex's crotch. "Stay still. I don't want this needle snapping on your skin."

With this, I watch the syringe sink into Wrex's flesh. Wrex looks like he's trying really hard not to throw Jarel halfway across the room, though I imagine it's less out of anger and more because of the way his eyes are shining… Yeah, he looks like he's in great pain. Wrex seems to relax rather quickly, though, as Jarel extracts some strange whitish-orange material from Wrex's body. Wrex then lets out a breath I don't think he knew he was holding when Jarel extracts the needle, looking at Jarel as he gets as much tissue as he wants.

"Is that the only reason?" asks Wrex as Jarel extracts the needle.

"Well, let's also say that you would've lost your ability to reproduce if I had botched that," says Jarel.

Oh dear, Jarel was extracting semen, wasn't he? Oh, boy... "Ouch," I say, cringing slightly. "Yeah, that would _not _be good. At all."

Wrex frowns distastefully. "It's dangerous," he says. "But if it will help my people..."

Rael steps forward. "It is so strange, seeing another man here attempting to do what is best for his people," he says.

"You're telling me," says Wrex. "I have a lot of respect for a man who's willing to risk coughing to death if it'll help his people."

Rael chuckles as he holds his mask in his hand. "It is not so bad now," he says. "I believe that I am adapting to the immunization faster than Dr. Solus' projections have told me I would, actually."

I raise my eyebrows. "Really?" I ask. "That fast?"

"Yes," says Mordin. "Odd thing. Must have miscalculated slightly." He shakes his head. "Not important. What is important, is that immunization works."

"And that is very much the important part of that," adds Jarel as he places the syringe. "Those are all the samples I need, Wrex. You can put your armor back on."

"Eh, I can probably take my time," Wrex replies. "I'm sure the young one here would appreciate it."

...

I suddenly feel my face heat up considerably. Before I can control myself, I hide my face in my hands, shaking my head as Wrex chuckles.

"I may remind you that he _is _seeing my daughter now," says Rael.

"I'm aware of that," says Wrex. I part my fingers slightly to see Wrex stepping off of the table. As he grabs whatever that mesh is that goes over his body, I shake my head, taking my hands away from it. "Still... You have to admit, it's fun poking fun at him for that."

I shake my head. "No," I say. "No, it's really not." I shake my head. "In all seriousness, though, I didn't think the first thing you'd be asked to do here was to strip down."

"It's for the genophage cure," says Wrex. "I'm not quite at the stage where I risk coughing to death every minute of the day, but I'm willing to do it for my people."

I nod. "As are we all," I say. "This is gonna be interesting, seeing you all gang up on the tech lab so often..."

"Well, what can we do?" asks Jarel as he looks at each sample of tissue he took from Wrex. "Remember, Wrex, I'll be seeing you up here again in about three days."

Wrex nods. "Sounds good enough for me," says the krogan. "Let's hope it produces some results."

Jarel nods his agreement as Rael and Mordin turn their attentions to Wrex. "Let us hope indeed," says Rael. "I have faith in Jarel. He has some very fine facilities to work with, and on a ship, no less. Such a tech lab being within our disposal is... quite a boon."

"Yeah, I'll bet it is," says Wrex as he finishes pulling the weave onto his body. He picks up pieces of his armor, and begins fixing them to his person. "Well, I guess I have nothing else to do."

I shake my head. "There may be more stuff," I mention, crossing my arms. "Stuff that can get you more acquainted with this ship."

Wrex looks around. "That would be good," he says. "The crew is very different, I can tell. I'll have a different vibe here."

"I figured you'd say that," I comment. "C'mon. Once you've stepped into that armor, I'll introduce you to everyone."

Everyone else in the room just watches Wrex blankly. Finally, though, he slaps on another piece of armor, and grabs his chestpiece before he can do much else.

"Just so long as I don't have to make you lose the game."

* * *

><p>The elevator door opens, and Wrex and I step out. I look right at the door to Life Support, and I gesture for Wrex to follow me as soon as we step out of the elevator.<p>

"Well, this is certainly different already," says Wrex. "Cerberus did most of this, right?"

"With a little help from dock workers at Illium a couple months apart," I mention. "I wasn't... well, that's a lie, actually, I was expecting the slight increase in size just a little bit."

"The first time they rebuilt it, no?" asks Wrex.

"Yeah," I comment. "It's so weird to actually see it, though."

"I'd be surprised too," says Wrex. "This is the new crew deck, I take it."

"Well, new-ish," I say as I walk out to the mess hall. "We've had it for a while, so it's really not that new to most of us."

"So I see," says Wrex as he crosses his arms. "Well, it looks a lot bigger than when I saw it last. That's gotta count for something."

"That it does," I say as I lead Wrex into the mess hall. Ah, good, Sturge is there. He looks like he's seasoning stuff, as he usually would. I nod to Sturge as he turns his attention to us. I gesture for Wrex to follow, and the krogan does this as I walk up to Sturge's workstation.

"Oh hi Sturge," I say.

"Oh hi old timer," he says. "I see Wrex is here."

"That he is," I comment.

"And this time, I'm here for quite some time," says Wrex.

Sturge nods. "Good, good," he says. "Maybe now Carolyn and I won't be the only old farts on this ship."

I roll my eyes. "I keep telling you, Sturge, sixty isn't that old anymore."

"Sixty?" Wrex asks. "That's old in human years?"

"Was," I correct, shaking my head. "Not these days, of course, but back then..."

Sturge shrugs. "No, I'm telling you, Art, I'm really fascinated by all the things that a hundred and seventy four years have done to human technology," he says. "And especially to medicine. I mean... I'm floored by some things." He shakes his head as he sets something to the side. "I never thought that genetic therapy would carry us so far, and yet here we are."

I smile softly as Sturge pauses to pick up a knife. "I'm telling you, it's a crazy age we live in now." He points at the ceiling, frowning. "Though, I think now that we're here, the next step in everything has _got _to be putting together an interracial _Ring _Cycle."

I burst out laughing at this, shaking my head as I lean against the counter for support. I'm pretty sure Wrex is giving us both an odd look, but... well... I raise my head, smiling at Sturge.

"Oh, how did I _know _that you were going to say that eventually?" I ask. "Oh, man..."

"Interracial ring cycle?" asks Wrex, his tone very clearly betraying his confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Sturge shrugs. "I'm talking about opera," he says. "You mean you haven't heard of the-?"

"Unfortunately, he hasn't," I say, raising my hand to give Sturge some reason to pause. "No, he's referring to this group of four operas that were written by this one guy whose music he really loves."

"Right," says Wrex, who clearly doesn't look that interested. "Should've remembered that you're not the type for the battlefield."

"If I was, I wouldn't have stuck behind fighting wars I didn't want to fight," comments Sturge. "Nah, I'm more of the kind of guy who would stay back at camp cooking all your meals. Honestly, I don't think I can go to battle, especially not at my age."

Wrex nods. "Well, at least you're not stupid," he says. "I'd say you're weak, but being weak _and _stupid is practically begging to be shot in the face."

Sturge turns his attention to what's immediately in front of him, and begins cutting things on a board that's laid out in front of him. "I'm not even going to address that," he says.

I shrug. "This is a conversation for some other time," I mention. "Sturge, you got the notification, right?"

"Yeah, I did," he says. "Is Wrex coming in too, since he knows?"

Wrex frowns. "This is about the Brotherhood," he says.

"Yes, it is," I say, turning to Wrex. "I was actually kind of hoping you'd come in on this meeting."

The krogan looks at me oddly. "You're going to try to get me involved, are you?"

"Oh yes," I comment. "You know about me, you're a close friend, so I thought 'hey, why not include him in that?'" I shrug. "It... It kinda feels wrong to do otherwise after hiding what I knew from you for two years..."

"Maybe," says Wrex. I see him shake his head. "You know, I still don't know why you didn't tell someone that Shepard was going to die."

I breathe in. "You're still mad?" I ask. "Even after all the good will we had?"

"I'm not angry." The clan leader takes a step back from me, crossing his arms as he does. "I've gotten over that. Now all that I feel is this... confusion."

I shake my head. "Would you have believed me if I had told you that before Shepard's death?" I ask. "Clichéd as it sounds, it's true that you wouldn't believe me. And I don't think anybody else would have believed me, either. Barring Tali, of course, but I'm not sure there's much she can do about that."

"True," says Wrex. "Well, it better be worth it. I'm not joining something that stupid just so I can be made fun of by my clan when I return to Tuchanka."

I nod. "Good," I say. "I was hoping you'd join in, because we've got a _lot _we need to update you about."

"And it'll be good for all of us," comments Sturge. "We need more old people in the Brotherhood! I feel outnumbered there sometimes!"

Oh, Sturge, again with the 'old fart' line. "You've got Dr. Chakwas," I comment.

"She doesn't balance it out enough, I'm afraid," says Sturge. "No, we need someone who's thousands of years old."

Wrex frowns, and I watch as he looks to me. "I don't know if I should take that as a compliment, or if I should punch him in the face," he says.

"I'd take it as a compliment," I say. "I'm sure that if we could live to be a thousand years old, Sturge would take that chance without a heartbeat."

"Oh. Well, _that _explains a lot about humans." Wrex uncrosses his arms, nodding to Sturge. "I'll be there. You can count on that." He turns to me. "Now, there was more of the ship you needed to show me?"

"Oh, yeah," I comment. "Come on. If Madison and Garrus aren't busy calibrating right about now, we can probably tour the gunnery bay at our leisure."

And with this, I walk towards the front of the ship. I turn briefly to catch Wrex and Sturge exchanging a look. I don't know what that look has, but Wrex is simply looking at Sturge. The old human shrugs, and then gestures to me.

That's when Wrex follows me to the gunnery bay.

* * *

><p>Right as we leave the gunnery bay, I notice Thane just leaving life support. I blink, looking at the drell as he pauses where Wrex and I are standing.<p>

"Ah, Art," says Thane. "I see you are still..." He lifts a hand to his mouth, and gives a rather loud cough. "...all right, after what happened with Grunt."

I pause, looking at Thane. "Thane?" I ask. "Is everything okay?"

Thane takes a deep breath, nodding slowly. "It is nothing," he says.

I shake my head. I'm sure Wrex is looking on in confusion right now, but I've got bigger concerns at the moment. "Thane, you've got a terminal illness that has no known cure and no known treatment," I say. "Are you sure everything's all right with you?"

Thane's second pair of eyelids nictates, and then he looks at me impassively. "My cough has been more... intense, as of late." He shakes his head. "I am still up to my best physically, but I find it has become more difficult to conceal my cough lately."

W-what? N... No, the final stages shouldn't be setting in already! That's just... "Thane, that's not a good sign," I say. "Have... have you checked in with Dr. Chakwas about your Kepral's lately?"

"I have," says Thane quietly. "She says that it is getting worse, but that my mission performance should remain uncompromised. I shall still be physically able to perform my duties."

I shake my head. "Thane, your illness... It's still getting worse," I say. "I just don't know why-"

"I shall be all right," says Thane. He looks to Wrex. "I assume you must be confused."

"Not really," says Wrex. "I was told about your sickness after Grunt's Rite."

Thane nods. "Ah," he says. "She must have told you when you when I was not present." Yeah, I didn't think he would be so confused. "I am afraid I may not draw breath when the cure for Kepral's is discovered."

I shake my head, stepping forward. "Thane, you-"

"I understand your trepidation," says the drell. "I shall be fine."

"Thane, you're _not _going to be okay," I say. "The disease is catching up with you, and... Well..." I throw my hands in the air. "I don't know, Thane. It just seems stupid to me to see that you're dying of a disease that nobody can cure because the hanar take centuries, and then you saying that you're fine with it. I mean, _Christ_, Thane, we have the resources to tackle it! Hell, Mordin and Rael developed that quarian immunization together up in that tech lab!"

"That is not our place to tamper with," says Thane.

I shake my head. "Then maybe there's something else we can do," I say. "Hell, maybe we could drag Mordin and Jarel away from their respective experiments long enough to get ourselves to Kahje, maybe help them out." I shake my head. "Thane, you're dying, and I don't know if-"

"Art, calm down," says Wrex as he places a hand on my shoulder. "He's not dying yet. He'll be fine."

I sigh, looking at Thane. "I'm sorry," I say. "I just... I got another reminder of your mortality. That's something I don't think I need right now."

"We will not speak of it further," says Thane. "Now, I believe we had a Brotherhood meeting to look after. We should head to it, no?"

I nod. "Yeah, we should," I say, gesturing to Wrex. Thane comes up to me, and the three of us step inside Kasumi's quarters.

Well, the group's mostly all here. Chakwas and Sturge are sitting off to the side, Kasumi's off at the bar pulling out what looks like a couple of beverages, Tali is sitting where I normally sit, Miranda's standing behind Dr. Chakwas while nursing a martini, Garrus and Madison are sitting off to the side, and-

"What's he doing here?"

I turn to Wrex, noticing that he's pointing to Isaac. The CEC engineer is standing by the window, looking at the stars. Well, he _was _looking at the stars, until Wrex mentioned it. Isaac turns to look at Wrex, jolting slightly when his gaze falls on the krogan.

Immediately, Isaac turns to me. "He knows too?" he asks.

I nod. "Yep," I say, crossing my arms. "Well, about me, anyway. Not about you."

Wrex looks right at me. "You mean there's something on him too," he says.

"Kinda," I say. "It's a long story. Let's just say for now that he's in the same boat that Madison and I are in, and we'll leave it at that."

Wrex grunts. "Another dimension-hopper?" he asks. "I see. What's your story?"

"Well..." Isaac looks over to Kasumi. "You're going to say it regardless of whether or not I want to, aren't you?"

"Well, he's gotta get it somehow," says Kasumi as she comes on over with a glass of wine for herself and something else. "Besides, secrets within the Brotherhood don't tend to stay secret long once someone else comes in."

Isaac shakes his head, taking the glass from Kasumi. "Well, I might as well say it then," says Isaac. "I survived two seperate zombie apocalypses caused by the same thing. I was the sole survivor of the first apocalypse, and... well, I must have died at the end of the second one, because here I am."

Wrex blinks. "_Two _zombie apocalypses?" he asks. "I may not know what zombies are, but I know what an apocalypse is, and if you can survive _one _and go through a second one almost unscathed..." Wrex chuckles and gives the necromorph hunter a broad smile. "I like you already."

Isaac blinks, looking at Miranda as he indicates Wrex. "How can he like something so horrible?" Isaac asks in disbelief.

Miranda shakes her head, walking forward. "It's a krogan issue," says Miranda. "The krogan are naturally drawn to displays of great strength. I think now we can count 'survived a zombie apocalypse' as one of those displays."

The CEC engineer shakes his head. "Lots of people died, though," he comments. "There's nothing to be celebrated about it."

"Maybe not," says Wrex. "But you survived. That's impressive enough." He looks at the others. "Anything else anyone wants to mention?"

"Even if we did get started, we would never finish," says Tali as she stands up. I walk up next to her. "We have plenty of secrets that need to be talked about, but not as much time to say them as we'd like."

"Yeah, that's usually how it goes," says Madison. "Welcome to the Brotherhood, Wrex."

The krogan nods, and looks over to the rest of us. "Seems awfully empty without Shepard here," he comments.

"We make do all the same," says Thane as he takes a place by Dr. Chakwas.

"Yep, looks like it," says Wrex. "So... I guess we just sit around and exchange tales and stuff?"

Garrus nods. "Yeah, that's mostly what we do, I think." He shrugs. "There might be something else thrown in there, but we haven't really seen the need to do much else."

Wrex nods. "Works for me," says the krogan.

And with this, he steps further into the room, standing right by the window behind where Isaac and Kasumi have just sat down.

* * *

><p>"And then, I received a message from Aleena. 'Better luck next time'."<p>

I chuckle, smirking as some of the others in the Brotherhood lean closer. I see the others looking at Wrex with vested interest, though that depends on who it is. Miranda and Isaac both look wholly indifferent about that, while people like Sturge and Kasumi seem to be eating it all up. At this, I watch as Tali leans closer.

"So that was the end of your time with Aleena?"

"Yep," says Wrex as he leans back. "If she's still causing chaos in the galaxy at large, I would not be surprised at all. She wouldn't be happy with anything else." He looks over to the rest of them. "So that's something on me."

"Well, it seems as if it is not terribly sensitive information," Thane comments.

"It's not, but it's part of my past," Wrex replies. "Anyway, that's mostly all from me." He then looks to the rest of us. "Anything else you want to know?"

"I think that tale is good enough," says Miranda as she sips the last of her martini. "Seems like something you would not quite catch on a record. Well, maybe that you and Aleena knew each other, but not to that... _extent_, so to speak."

I nod. "So I guess it's my turn, then," I say, looking at the others. "Something that's going on in my life, or something that happened in the past that isn't exactly common knowledge. Let's see..."

I glance to the others as they nod. Hm... I look to the others, thinking... Well... We've been going around the circle talking about that kind of thing. There have been quite a few revelations about that, some that were even surprising. I think there were a couple things that I already know about, but there were some that were surprising. Garrus, for example... well, apparently his mother is under the weather right now. We had to pause for a while after that to comfort Garrus, particularly Thane. I glance over to the turian, and I nod. He looks a little better after having said that to us. I think it's good he got it off his chest, because that kind of thing _really _sucks. Apparently only Madison knew, but now that we know... well, I think he's got some kind of support group in the event that his mother dies. So if that happens... well, we'll be there for him.

I glance briefly to the others. Some of them had some very interesting stories, actually: Isaac talked a little about a tender moment he once shared with Nicole. It was a sweet story, but compared to the thing that Sturge mentioned about his brother? Oh, that was pretty fun, even if I have heard that story before. Kasumi had a pretty sweet anecdote about Keiji, and though she did get a little misty-eyed talking about him it was clear that... well destroying the greybox was for the best, really. So... Should I go with...?

No. I've got a more pressing issue I need to bring up. And that's...

Shit. I can't have Orange listening in on this. Crap... Well, she can't talk to me unless she's in direct contact with me, but what if she can hear my thoughts even without this thing? Gah… what the hell…

God damn it. Well, if she can hear you regardless of whether or not you're handling the paperweight, you can at least say you tried.

I shake my head, reaching into my pocket. I pull Orange out, and before the Oracle can say anything I've placed her on the table next to me.

"I do have something I need to say," I say. "And I can't have Orange listening in on it."

Wrex frowns, looking right at me. "You mean that thing that can speak in your mind?" asks Wrex.

"Yes," I say. "Let's just say... I _may _have broken one of her rules of being in the Fade."

The others all look at me curiously. "What did you do?" asks Miranda as she crosses her arms.

I look to them. "Well, I explained about the stuff that's down there, right?" I ask. "The field of visions, the subconscious plain, all that jazz?"

"Yeah," says Sturge. "Though I still can't wrap my head around all that. I mean, how does a field have visions of the past, visions of the present, and visions of things to come?"

"Long story," I say. "But that's not the point. Orange..." I glance to the orange paperweight before continuing. "She's expressly forbidden me from looking into the field to seek a vision of the future."

Madison frowns. "Really?" she asks. "Why?"

"I agree," says Garrus. "We could get valuable information that way."

"Yeah, that's what I said," I say. I then raise my arms in displeasure. "But no. 'It's only possibilities. Oh, wait, they may not be possibilities, because the one time I tried to stop something it happened anyway!' That's pretty much what Orange said." I shake my head, lowering my arms. "Well... I..." My expression becomes serious again. "I took it on myself to watch a vision of the future. And the results of that..."

I shake my head. "I think I just need to talk about them somehow, because I have this _terrible _feeling in my gut that the possibility I saw is going to have a very unhappy ending for everyone involved..." I close my eyes, leaning forward as I do.

"What did this vision contain?" asks Thane.

I sit up. "I was... walking through a corridor," I say. "I was following this lady. Her name was Kenson, or something like that. She was doing some kind of Project, and... well, she had found Reaper technology."

I look at the frowns that form all around me as I say this. "Kenson?" asks Miranda as she leans forward. "This vision had something to do with Dr. Amanda Kenson?"

I jolt. Wait... her name's _Amanda_? This is... "You know someone by the name of Kenson?"

"Not personally, no," says Miranda. "But I know who she is. Dr. Kenson is a human scientist who specializes in the science behind the mass relays."

"From what I hear, she's been doing a _lot _of research on the mass relays," adds Kasumi. I look right at her in surprise. "Most of it's speculative, though, especially recently. She published some findings that suggest that the mass relays are a _lot _older than everyone thinks."

I blink. "So she'd be invested if she found Reaper tech..." I look at Kasumi. "And she looks into mass relay technology."

"Yep," says Kasumi as she leans back. "All par for course."

Oh my God... This is getting crazier with each thing I hear. I mean... The archvision preordained that the mass relay would have to be destroyed. Is the Project supposed to destroy a mass relay? It's the only thing that makes sense, now that I know Dr. Kenson specializes in that. And if the Project is supposed to destroy a mass relay, and I have to kill an entire team of indoctrinated scientists to activate it, then that's part of the vision realized. So that's that, and that's when we fulfill a third of the archvision.

Okay, this is relieving. No matter what happens, the Project will have to be activated to end one of the prongs of the Reaper invasion. But if I can change the circumstances... Maybe if I'm not alone when I go to confront Dr. Kenson...

Yeah. That's one solution to deal with that.

So why do I have this feeling in the pit of my stomach that this just got uglier?

"That's... actually really helpful. Because some of the stuff they talked about..." I shake my head. "I really don't like where it goes."

"What happened?" asks Tali as she places a hand on my shoulder.

"Well, I don't know the context, but I think I had met up with her somewhere and she had told me about this Project she's doing," I say. "So then I followed her into this... this room. It was big. Giant. I dunno. There was this... this strange object there. It looked kind of like a giant blue flame..." I glance over to Isaac. "It almost looked like the Marker, actually."

Isaac squirms in his seat. "It wasn't the Marker, was it?" he asks.

I shake my head. "Too short and too fat to be the Marker," I comment. "That's not the important part. It must've been Reaper technology, because when I was brought forward I mentioned something about Reaper tech being left in the open. I... I then walked up to the object and it gave me some vision of... of..." I shake my head. "God knows what it was. And then, when I was taken out of the vision, I watched as she put a gun to my head and told me that she couldn't allow me to stop the arrival."

"The arrival of the Reapers?" asks Sturge. "That sounds bad."

I nod. "Oh, you wouldn't believe how badly I want it to not happen," I comment. "But that's not so bad by itself." I look at Kasumi. "Now that you mention that this Kenson lady is a specialist in mass relay science..." I shake my head. "It makes the whole thing even crazier."

"Why?" asked Tali.

"Because of what I saw before I saw this vision," I comment. "Orange had shown me another vision within the Fade, one that detailed the Reapers' strategy."

Everyone leans forward almost simultaneously at this. "She did?" asks Garrus. "Why didn't you say that before?"

"Because it's not the thing at the front of my mind," I say. "We can talk about that later, but for one thing... it mentioned that there would be three prongs to the Reaper attack. One of them..." I shake my head. "One of the prongs would be thwarted by the destruction of a mass relay according to this vision." I look to Kasumi. "And since you mentioned that this Dr. Kenson lady is into mass relay science..." I shake my head. "I think I've just figured out what the Project is supposed to do."

"Oh, this is bad..."

I turn to Tali as she says this, and I look at her in confusion. "Tali?" I ask.

"This is... Art, if we eradicate a mass relay..." she says. "Then that means that the mass relay will destroy the entire star system."

I jump back in my seat. I feel the blood drain from my face as I look frantically to the others. N... no, that can't be... No, there's no way-!

"W... You mean...?" I ask. "We... we could risk...?"

Miranda shakes her head. "Nobody knows how a mass relay _can _be destroyed," she says. "But according to every projection from scientists working in the field, the results would be catastrophic."

"The entire star system would be obliterated," says Dr. Chakwas. "And if there is any life in that system, it would be obliterated too."

Oh my God. Oh my fucking God...

No. This can't be true! This isn't possible! How...

I could... Oh my fucking God oh my fucking God oh my fucking God...

Oh, this is just _wonderful! _How could...?

"Are... are you serious?" I ask, standing up abruptly. My breath begins to speed up as I look to the others. "That's... Oh my God! _Terrible _doesn't even _begin _to describe that! That can't be real! You're telling me that we could be killing an entire colony?"

"Calm down, Art," says Sturge. "It's only a possibility. For all we know, we could get lucky and wind up in a system that doesn't have any life in it."

"And how the fuck do we know that?" I half-shout. "Sturge, if that possibility is wrong and we have to destroy a mass relay in a system with people on it, we'll have a hand in _genocide_, _especially _if it turns out that we have to blow up a mass relay in the proximity of a fucking _homeworld_! I..." I shake my head, pacing around the room quickly. "And I don't even know half of the shit that leads up to that point! I don't even know _where_ it is, for crying out loud! And if it turns out that it's in a system with even a fucking _colony _on it..." I shake my head, stopping right by where one of Kasumi's stolen paintings hangs. "What the fuck am I supposed to do? I don't even know half the planning up to that fucking point, except for the fact that I was alone, and-"

Tali stands up abruptly. She walks towards me and puts a hand on my shoulder, stopping me from pacing as she looks me in the eyes.

"Art, calm down," she says quickly. "We know who it is, what it involves, and what could happen. That's enough."

I shake my head. "It's not enough," I say. "If... What if we're too late? What if we don't plan well enough and the whole thing ends with us killing hundreds of thousands, if not _millions _of people?"

"I'll go ask the Shadow Broker to look into it," says Garrus. "This sounds really bad, Art, I'm not gonna lie."

"I know!" I say, waving my arms desperately. "It's just... I don't know..." I shake my head, sitting back down. The goosebumps are all over my arms right now, and only Tali putting her arm around me is able to warm me up.

"Whatever shall happen, shall happen," states Thane impassively. "At least we can affect the future."

"And that might not be enough," I say. "I... I'm afraid. What if we change it up, but it isn't enough?"

"We'll cross that hurdle when we get there," says Madison as she leans forward. "Trust me, Art, we'll get around it. That's what we do, you know?"

"I... I guess so," I say. "But still, man, this is..." I breathe in and out. "I wish I could go back to the Fade, get another vision. But Orange usually has at least one pair of eyes on me when I'm down there. I can't sneak away from those eyes, or she'll know something's up. I just... I don't know, guys. This is..."

"Bad?" asks Kasumi. "I think 'bad' is understating it."

I nod. "You and me both, Kasumi," I say, shaking my head. "Good God..." I look to Tali. "Tali, I hope you've got something that can help me take my mind off of that, 'cause I-"

"I'll try," says Tali. "But after a revelation like _that_..."

I nod. My God, this is... "Just say something," I say. "Anything."

She nods. "Very well," she says. "As you know... I was born on the Fleet as the admiral's daughter..."

* * *

><p>"Well, that was interesting."<p>

I step outside of Port Observation with Wrex and Tali at my side. I've been quiet since the revelation that... well... Damn it, Art, don't think about it! I mean, jeez, just the thought of it is making my skin tingle.

"I'll bet," I say. "Those were some interesting tales there. I'm still worried about... well, you know..."

Wrex nods, placing a large hand on my shoulders. "Trust me, I know how it is," says Wrex. "You don't seem like the type who'd want to decide on genocide, if you could help it."

I nod. "I don't know..." I say, my voice trembling a little. "The thought... it terrifies me. It's worse that I have no choice at all in the matter, you know? That relay _has _to be destroyed, and... well..." I shake my head. "I can't stand the thought that I might have to kill a ton of innocent civilians who have no idea why they're... You know."

Tali's hand is on my shoulders before I can say anything. "Art," says Tali. "You'll find a way. You normally do."

"That's the problem," I say. "If I do find a way... what if everything that I do isn't enough? What if I do everything I can to keep people from dying, and there are still people left behind? I just... I can't see myself making that decision..." I shake my head, leaning against the wall close to where the door to my living space is situated. "I wish Shepard were here. She'd know how to deal with this."

"Knowing that you might cause genocide in advance?" asks Tali. "I wouldn't think so, my _hesh'alan_. Maybe Sturge is right. Maybe there is a chance we will see it in a star system that has no life on it."

I shake my head. "Knowing our luck, I can't count on that," I reply. "I... I wish I could somehow escape Orange's eye or something, maybe sneak in a vision. But it's not easy. It took me a while to find that one, and I don't think I can get away with it twice. And Orange certainly won't do it if I ask, so... Oh, if only I could see another vision so I could know where it's going to go down and how to help there!"

"We'll figure it out, trust me," says Tali.

"But right now?" asks Wrex as he leans forward. "This is _not _how Shepard would want you to think about this."

Shepard... Yeah, Shepard wouldn't freak out about this. She'd be worried, yeah, but she wouldn't be freaking out like it's the end of the world as we know it. No... I nod, taking a deep breath and standing back up.

"Yeah, she wouldn't," I say. "I'm still worried, but... maybe. We'll see what happens." I shrug, pursing my lips. "After revelations like _that_..." I breathe in deeply, moving towards the mess hall. "I dunno. I think I need to eat something."

"Perhaps," says Tali as she and Wrex follow me. "Come on. Maybe Gardner has got something for us."

And so, the group of us moves into the mess hall. And now, the crew's more or less dispersed at the moment. I see Carhon, James, and Dsrondo talking animatedly off to the side about something over some plates of... hm, looks like chicken or something. I blink, turning my attention elsewhere. I also see Liselle sitting on a table all of her own, looking at a datapad. She glances up at us, eyeing Wrex briefly before turning her attention back to the datapad.

I think Wrex noticed, though, because the next thing I know he turns to Liselle while crossing his arms. I briefly catch something in Wrex's look that's kind of piercing, but I don't quite know what it is. When I blink, he's broken the look, and he turns to me.

I shrug, turning around and looking at Gardner as he nods in my direction. Tali's already there getting some stuff for myself. Hm, I wonder what-

"You want something?"

...

I turn back to face Liselle and Wrex. Wrex is looking at the young asari tentatively, as if he's analyzing her for something. Liselle is giving a similar look to Wrex, though... I'm not sure what's going through their minds, so...

"I thought you looked a little familiar," says Wrex. "But that could just be me. I've fought hundreds of asari before." He shrugs. "I guess they all look the same after a while."

Liselle frowns, taking this time to shift in her seat as she places the datapad she had been reading on the table. "Well, that's hardly a compliment," she says. "And what of the krogan? I can say they're all kind of the same. Big, scarred..." Liselle smirks. "And _quite _colorful, if you ask me."

...

Was that a pass at Wrex?

The krogan chuckles, stepping towards the table. "Colorful?" he asks. "That's not a word I would've used. Actually, it's not an adjective I've _ever _seen anyone use on a krogan."

"Consider yourself lucky then," says Liselle. "That's the first time I've admitted it to anyone. I've known... a _few _krogan." The suggestive lilt to the phrase seems to say all we really need to about that. "You meet quite a few interesting personalities on Omega."

At this, Wrex looks intensely interested. "Omega?" he asks, quickly sitting across from Liselle. "Heh. I've heard all about most of the asari that go to that rock. I'm surprised that there's an asari from there who_isn't _a stripper."

Liselle scoffs, waving her hand in the air. "You'd be surprised," she says. "I guess you haven't kept up with Omega."

Wrex shakes his head. "I stopped doing mercenary work in the Terminus systems nearly three hundred and fifty years ago," he says. "I haven't exactly kept up."

"That explains it, then," says Liselle. "Let's just say that Omega now has a queen, and that she's someone you do _not _fuck with."

"And I'm guessing she's an asari," says Wrex. He sits back, his hands splayed on the table in front of him. "Interesting. Who knew Patriarch would get tossed out eventually?" Wrex leans forward. "Is that old bastard still around?"

"He's being kept as... a _trophy_, you could say," says Liselle. "So yes."

I briefly feel a tap on my shoulder, seeing Tali standing there with a tray of... oh. Oh! I nod, taking the tray of food from her and moving towards Wrex.

"So I see." Wrex leans forward. "Patriarch never seemed to be the kind to be overtaken so easily. This asari must be quite strong if she could take down Patriarch like that."

Liselle's smirk only intensifies. "You _could _say that," she says. "I was there to witness it, after all."

I take my seat next to Liselle, looking over to Tali as she sits there and pulls out a tube of nutrient paste. Aria's daughter looks over to Tali and I as we take our seats, and offers a nod in greeting.

"Art," she states plainly. "And... Tali, was it?"

"Yes," says the quarian. "Hello Liselle."

The asari places her hand on the datapad, pulling it away from us as she gives us some kind of look. I'm not sure I can read it all that well, but... well, she seems rather bemused. "It's been crazy, the things we've done on this ship," she continues. "Even I didn't think that I would be signing up for this."

Wrex shakes his head. "This ship's crew has seen stranger things," he says.

I nod rather quickly. "Yeah, we have," I comment. "Did we ever tell you about the time when we were on Feros and a bunch of zombies tried to kill us?"

"Art, they weren't really zombies," comments Tali. "Not in that sense, anyhow."

I shrug. "Well, it's the closest comparison, so..." I look back to Liselle. "We had found this sentient plant on Feros, and it had these... _thralls_, for lack of a better term. I'm telling you, Liselle, those were some of the nastiest things I've ever seen." I look over to Wrex. "It's kinda too bad Wrex here wasn't with Tali and I when we were there. He could've kicked a _lot _of ass like that."

"I'll bet," says Liselle. "They sounded dangerous."

"They could spit acid at us if they got close enough," says Tali. "Thankfully, they never did."

"Yeah," I comment. "I think the crazier thing about that was that I almost fell to my death when that happened." I shake my head. "The other thing about the thorian was that it was spawning all these clones of this one asari lady. Shiala, her name was, I think. And these clones were fully capable of biotics. And green, for some reason."

Liselle snorts at his. "I have a tough time imagining that," she says.

I shake my head. "Well, one lucky biotic toss sent me flying over the edge," I comment. "I literally almost feel God knows how many feet to my death that day. I only survived because I managed to grab onto the thorian itself."

"Really?" asks Liselle. "That's... strange."

I smirk, looking over at Wrex. "It was strange, but... well, compared to some other things we've seen here on the Normandy, that's only the tip of the iceberg," I say.

"And there's a lot more where that came from," adds Wrex.

Liselle crosses her arms, leaning back. "I haven't heard all the tales of the Normandy," she says. "I'm interested in hearing more..."

Wrex nods. "Then we've got a lot to talk about," he says. "Let me tell you about what happened with my family armor."

I sit still, suddenly going pale. Oh, damn it... This is gonna _suck_...

* * *

><p>I stand at the foot of the bed in my quarters. I'm still kinda flustered after Wrex told Liselle about that... And after that, well, it was kinda like 'I should go'. I think Wrex is still sitting across from Liselle, but... well... Frankly, I'm kinda tired, anyhow. I need sleep.<p>

"You really don't like it when that story is mentioned, do you?" asks Tali as she settles into bed.

"Yeah, I don't," I say. "Seriously, trying to seduce old turian men who are damn creepy sometimes is _not _what it's cracked up to be."

"I can imagine," she says, her voice tinged with a slightly hard edge. "I'd be uncomfortable there, too, _especially _given his age."

I shake my head as I begin pulling my shirt off. "Yep, _especially _given his age," I comment as I walk to my end of the bed. "That's the part that creeped me out more than anything, really. It would've been better if he had been quite a bit younger, you know what I'm saying?"

"Maybe," says Tali. "I didn't even think you'd agree to that."

I sit next to her in bed. "I didn't know that that would happen until I was already helping Wrex," I say. "By the time he started hitting on me, it was too late to back out. I just had to roll with it. I'm telling you, Tali, being seduced by an old creep is _not _one of my finest moments."

"So the fact that he was the same gender as you doesn't bother you?" asks Tali.

"Not really," I say. "Tali, I thought we talked about this incident."

"Not in that detail, no," says Tali. "That incident always makes you uncomfortable, though..." She turns to me, pulling her legs over the bed. "Now I can see it wasn't for the reasons I thought. I didn't think you had any interest in men."

I shrug. "Eh, it's just how it is," I say. "I lean both ways, and I just let whatever will happen occur." I then lean closer. "You're not... bothered by that, are you?"

I can tell Tali's giving me a curious look. "Maybe," she says. "A little bit." She shifts where she's sitting. "It's something we haven't quite talked about, your interest in men."

I sigh. "I know, I know, me being bad about saying things again," I say. I shrug. "I'm getting better about that, aren't I?"

Tali looks over in the direction of where I'm sure Port Observation would be, before turning her attention back to me. "I think so," she says. "Well... we waited _this _long to talk about that, I guess. I'm not going to have anything to worry about, are you?"

I roll my eyes. "Tali, if other women haven't given me problems, do you _really _think that other men are going to give us relationship issues?" I ask. I take her hand, smirking a little. "Besides, I might have a thing or two for quarians in general, and my mind is on one very specific quarian right now." I kiss her hand, smiling as I sit in bed next to her.

"Well, that's comforting," says Tali. "I think." She looks up. "I have a lot on my mind right now. I'm worried about the admiralty board. After all this time adrift among open stars... We finally have a chance to go home. I don't know what's going to happen..."

I nod, laying an arm on Tali's shoulders. "Whatever happens, I'll be as close to you as I can be," I say. "You can count on that."

Tali leans against me, our heads coming together. "Maybe we can do this," says Tali. "We've done the impossible many times before. And with father still alive and developing that immunization... Maybe we can come back to Rannoch."

I smile. "And then, we can build you a house there," I finish. "Maybe even one at the shores of a small lake or something."

Tali chuckles. "That... well... That could be nice," she says. "I'd prefer it on a plain, though."

I raise my eyebrows at this. "Really?" I ask. "Why?"

"Well, it's still, for one thing," says Tali. "And for another... Well, I can't really imagine living near a body of water."

I look up. "It's... lovely," I say. "Maybe you and I should find a lake of some kind when we can. It would make a good date."

Tali leans against me. "I'll think about it."

And with this, we lay back in bed, looking up at the ceiling as we ruminate on what's coming up with the admiralty board.


	17. Chapter 16

_A/N: And now, I have this to say:_

_That's what she said. Seriously, IRL is getting super hectic at the moment, so... that's been slowing down my ability to update Mass Vexations on the basis I used to be able to do it at. So... yeah._

_Well, last time, we concluded the krogan genophage arc, so this time... well, we're going to go off and do stuff with the B Story. So ladies and gentlemen, allow Mr. Will Moskas to enter the stage again!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 16: B Story: The Trial Part 1<p>

"Good morning, Lalia."

I nod to the asari as I step into my office for the morning. "Morning Will," she says. "I should tell you that you received a message at your terminal. The flag was... urgent, I think."

I blink, looking to her. "Really?" I ask. "Do you think they might finally be getting the trial started?"

"Maybe." She shifts where she is sitting. "They have been putting it off longer than necessary."

I shake my head, rolling my eyes. "You don't need to tell me twice," I comment. "Let me know if anything else happens while I am here."

I walk over to my office soon after. It's been a rather uncomfortable time for Shepard. Apparently, her crew decided it would be a good idea to cure the genophage. The media is blaming Shepard for it, but to their credit there are actually a few outlets that see something good in curing the genophage. They may be a touch optimistic for my taste, though, since we don't know if curing the genophage can start a second rebellions. For now, I'll hold on to the hope that it won't cause a rebellion, but one can never tell.

With these thoughts, I move to the terminal. As for how it will affect the trial... well, I can't speak for that yet. It could go either way from there. On the one hand, the Council could dismiss it as Cerberus taking advantage of its assets and attempting to manipulate things from behind the scenes. But from another, even I don't think they'd believe that. Cerberus is expressly anti-alien: what advantage would they get from curing the genophage? There's none that I can see, and I think the Council will see it that way either. They're not so unintelligent.

I open the terminal, seeing that I do indeed have a message on my terminal. It's coming from... Captain Bailey. Hm.

I open the message, and skim through it. I sit at my desk, nodding as I read the message again in further detail.

So it seems that the trial is beginning later today. We begin with opening statements, it looks like, as well as the opening arguments. We won't have the case done today, I don't think. This is probably better for my sake given that I still have to gather some parts of my case. The Horizon colonists agreed to testify on Shepard's behalf, so I have that, and I did manage to contact Samara about testifying, but there are still a few key pieces of evidence I need that I can't seem to find. Chief among them is the proof that Shepard did in fact die when she vanished. For the life of me, I'm still unsure of how I am going to get that evidence...

I don't know how I can get a hold of classified Cerberus files, but I'll be damned if I don't-

"Will?"

I blink, looking up at Lalia. She's standing at the doorway of my office, looking a little concerned. "Oh, Lalia," I say. "The trial is in fact starting today."

The asari nods. "Sorry, you were staring into space," says Lalia. "We all know how you get like that."

"Indeed," I say. "Something new?"

"There's someone who wants to speak with you about Shepard's trial," she says. "He's standing at the lobby now."

Huh? Someone wishes to speak to me about that? Hm... It's probably Bailey. "Let him in," I say to Lalia. "I have to run around to get my materials soon, but I think I have time for one person to see me."

"Very well," says Lalia. With this, she steps away from the door. Hm... I better get my files prepared. I open my omni-tool, and begin perusing through my files. All right, I have a transcript of my planned opening statement, I have my list of witnesses... Hm, this isn't very much for a court case, is it? Damn, I need to find more evidence.

I glance up briefly, and-

Oh!

I look up, seeing someone in an Alliance uniform. Well, this certainly isn't Bailey. I stand, looking at him. Hm... He seems... No, it couldn't be...

"You're not Staff Commander Kaidan Alenko, are you?" I ask.

The officer steps forward without a word. "I am," he says. He holds out his hand, which I promptly shake. "I had heard Shepard had gotten a defense lawyer. I didn't think it would be a former military lawyer."

"I didn't think I'd be back to defend the Alliance's former poster child, but here we are," I comment. "Please, have a seat."

Kaidan looks to his left to see the chair nearby. With a nod, he sits down there, and I sit across my desk from where he is. When I take my place, I nod, looking to Kaidan.

"So," I say. "I doubt this is just a housewarming visit."

"It's not," says Kaidan. "I need to talk to you about Shepard's trial."

I raise one of my eyebrows, and lean forward. "No doubt," I mention. "You were part of her crew once, weren't you?"

"I was," he says, placing his hand nervously on the desk. "It's complicated, I'm afraid. And I doubt you have much time to talk given that the trial is beginning later."

"I can make some time," I say. "Now, what do you need?"

Kaidan nods. "I..." He pauses, glancing to the side. I lean closer, seeing that the glance seems rather guilty. Hm, what brought this on, I wonder? "I was on Horizon when the Collectors attacked."

...

I blink in surprise, looking at Kaidan. "You were there when that happened?" I ask. "The colonists didn't mention anything about that."

"My presence there was classified," says Kaidan. "It wouldn't have been public knowledge. Besides, to most people on Horizon, I was 'that Alliance person'. They _really _didn't like me out there."

"Even with the fact that you were once on Shepard's crew?" I ask. "I find that difficult to believe."

Kaidan chuckles bitterly when I say this. "That, and many other things," he says. He pauses again, looking at me. "I... Shepard and I had been... _involved_... when we were chasing Saren a couple of years ago."

I raise my eyebrow. "So it's true that the two of you were in love," I say.

"Yes," says Kaidan. "Those were the happiest days in my life. I loved... _love_ Shepard very much." He looks down, and I can see the regret wash over her face. "And I blew it all, thinking that she was working for Cerberus."

"You might not like the angle of my defense, then," I say. "Because I have it as-"

"-Shepard worked with Cerberus funds because they were the only ones doing anything to protect the colonies," finishes Kaidan.

...

Well, that was... unexpected. "How did you know?"

"I... I came to that conclusion myself after I thought about it enough," says Kaidan. "It occurred to me that that's what's going on here." He straightens, sitting up. "I accused her of betraying everything the Alliance stood for when I found her on Horizon. And ever since then..." He closes his eyes, his head angling down to the ground. "I've regretted every word I said to her on the colony. I..."

He shakes his head before looking back up to me. "Maybe it's too late to get her affection back," he says. "I know that she's moved on. I deserve no less for abandoning her when she needed my support the most." He then leans forward. "But I... I still love her, and I want the best for her. And this trial... If she gets convicted and I stand by here doing nothing, then that's unacceptable."

I frown. "So you want to testify on behalf of the defense."

"Yes." The reply comes without any hesitation on Kaidan's part. "I... I can't make the same mistake again. Not for something like this." He sighs. "I already doubted her once. I don't know what I could do if..."

I nod in understanding, placing my hand on his shoulder. "I'll add you to my list of witnesses," I say, giving him a soft smile. "Trust me, I know what it's like to doubt someone you love. It's..." I glance to the side. "It's not always good."

Kaidan nods, his body relaxing noticeably. "Thank you," he says. "The witnesses for the defense are testifying..."

"Today, mostly," I tell him as I take my hand off of his shoulder. "We will have to set a future court date, though. I still have one witness over in asari space who couldn't get here in time to testify today, and I'm pretty sure that the Council will want to hear her out."

Kaidan stands. "Someone important?"

I nod, standing and walking around the desk. "To the asari people, very much so," I say. "Let's just say that her testimony might be enough to win over any asari jurors that are there."

The Alliance officer nods, and then we both walk out of my office. "That would be nice," says Kaidan. "I think it's terrible that the Council _and _the Alliance completely forgot about what she's done for them."

"You and me both," I comment. "Well... be at the trial. I'll be present."

"Of course," says Kaidan. Thank you, Mr. Moskas."

I nod. "Any time, Staff Commander," I reply.

I then watch as Kaidan Alenko walks out of my firm. He turns back, giving me one last look. I can tell that his gaze is grateful, for when he turns away, there's something about his walk that is just the slightest bit more relaxed.

I turn my attention back to Lalia, smiling. "Well, we just got ourselves another witness."

Lalia raises her eyebrows. "Really?" she asks. "Compounding all the colonists you've gotten already?"

"One more can't hurt," I reply. "Besides, Kaidan was assigned to Horizon. His word will probably be extremely valuable for the jurors, being from the Alliance and all." I shrug. "Besides, I think he wants to mend his friendship with Shepard. What better way to do that than to testify on her behalf?"

Lalia smiles. "Well, Will, I can't fault you for being such an optimist," she says as she leans back in her chair. "If you're not going to question it... I won't either. Let's just hope the prosecution doesn't turn the fact that Shepard and Kaidan might have been involved into a point against your case."

"It probably won't," I say. "Kaidan's motivation is irrelevant to the case anyway. What is relevant are the facts."

Lalia nods. "I think so too," she says. "You should get ready."

"That I should," I agree, walking back to my office. "I'll see you on my way out, Lalia."

With this, Lalia nods, returning to her secretarial duties. I return to my office, and open my omni-tool. I quickly add Kaidan's name to my list of witnesses, before I look at the rest of my office. Hm...

I should have my records on this case on hand.

* * *

><p>When I arrive at the courthouse some time later, I find a huge media frenzy surrounding the courtroom. I can briefly catch a glimpse of one of the Councillors as I step out of the taxi to take me there, and I shake my head as I look at the amount of reporters there. I... I can't actually count how many of them there are, but there are a <em>lot <em>of them.

I groan. Great, I'm taking on a case with a lot of media coverage. This is not going to help at all... I mean, granted, I was expecting the media coverage to be huge given that this is Commander Shepard we're talking about here, but the way these reporters are jumping at everyone asking questions... It seems almost excessive, in a manner of speaking.

I shake my head, looking at the reporters. Well... I better get going.

I walk forward, towards the media frenzy. I barely see someone's camera drone turn to me before suddenly I'm assaulted by Kalahira knows how many reporters surrounding me. I ignore them mostly: if they want answers from me, they're going to have to single me out elsewhere. I'm assaulted by questions on all sides, pretty much, but I ignore them all. I simply walk forward, and keep on moving.

As I get close to the edge of the cloud, I can clearly see the Council. I blink uncertainly, looking at them. I can see Councillor Udina crossing his arms, looking at the reporter and subsequently bringing his hand to his face. I can almost see him shaking his head in dismay as he turns to the other councillors. I look over to the asari councillor, watching as she steps forward. The turian councillor seems strangely detached from everything, and the salarian councillor couldn't be more excited from the looks of things.

I breathe in, pushing my way through the media circus. I leave them there without having answered a single question. From what I understand, Shepard was supposed to be here already... Well, in the courthouse, anyhow.

I move to enter through a side entrance, and sure enough, I see Commander Shepard standing there with her hands cuffed behind her back. She looks to me as I approach, and nods. I step up to her, and then nod. I hold the datapad I've been clutching the entire way here, and then I nod to her.

"Commander," I say.

She nods. "Hello, Mr. Moskas," she says. "Well, it's finally starting today. Looks like my crew proved more elusive than they hoped."

"That is certainly correct," I comment. "How do you think they're doing?"

"They're probably under a lot of tension," says Shepard. "I know them. They've got perseverance and quite a lot of determination, but I wonder just how much that'll help against the threats they're facing right now. It seems they're doing okay, but..." She looks up to me. "Well, do you think that their trial will be affected by their actions?"

"I'm sure it will be, but we haven't crossed that hurdle yet," I reply. "We'll see what happens if they get arrested." I look over to the door. "Today is mostly opening statements and some presentation of witnesses. I wasn't able to get Samara here today, but we are going to schedule another court date so we can get her to speak for you."

Shepard nods. "That's good," she says. "Anything else...?"

I... I nod. "We have another witness who was willing to testify on your behalf in relation to what happened on Horizon," I say.

She blinks. "Another colonist?" she asks. "I don't know if they'd be willing to testify, and I don't know if..." She pauses, looking up at me as realization dawns on her. "You're not talking about... about Staff Commander Alenko, are you?"

"I am," I say.

Shepard's reaction is to blink, looking to the side. Her expression isn't angry, so much as it is genuinely surprised. "He... he's testifying...?"

"For the defense," I comment as I speak with her. "Trust me, Shepard, he's... He's trying to make up for past mistakes." I pat her on the shoulder. "We'll see what happens with that. For now, we've got other things to worry about. Come on. Let's go."

With this, I nod to the people watching over Shepard. I follow the guards as they bring her into the courtroom. I briefly glance around the courtroom. The problem with Citadel courtrooms is that they always look so... cold and impersonal, I guess is how to describe it. The walls are grey, and there is almost no variation in the metallic pallor of the room. Even the galley looks grey, though the fact that people have been filing in slowly is beginning to add some color. I can briefly spot Nadeire and Lalia sitting in the galley as I walk in. I give them a near imperceptible nod as I move over to my table. The guards bring Shepard along behind me, and as I take my seat they undo her bindings. Shepard subsequently takes a seat next to me, looking around with a tough expression.

I nod, looking to her as I set my datapad on the table before me. "Now, we just wait," I say.

I look over to the prosecution's side of the galley, glancing over at the-

...

Oh no.

I blink, looking at the familiar turian on the other side of the galley. Shepard seems to notice my agitation immediately, for then I feel her leaning over to talk to me.

"Something the matter, Mr. Moskas?" she asks.

I turn my attention to Shepard. "Shepard, we may have a problem," I say, pointing to the prosecutor. "We've got _real _trouble with the prosecutor."

She glances over at the turian. "Who, that guy with the red face tattoo?" Shepard says. "What's so bad about him?"

I shake my head. "A _lot_," I comment. "That's... That is Paellix Mirani." I shake my head. "He's one of the most vicious prosecutors in the whole system here on the Citadel. He has a near-impeccable record of convictions, he's always very ambitious..." I shake my head. "And he _hates _other races."

"So?" asks Shepard. "You'd be surprised how many of those kinds of people I've had to deal with in my time as a Spectre."

"Yeah, but Paellix doesn't even like his fellow Council races..." I shake my head. "If he's here, then that means that the turian Councillor must have put him there." I shake my head. "And the timing _definitely _couldn't have been worse."

Shepard frowns. "Why?"

I nod. "His daughter was on board the _Aurigos _when it disappeared," I comment. "And seeing as how we have had no news on anyone else from the Aurigos... He's going to be pissed that his daughter is dead, and that nobody did anything. Which doesn't help us if he decides that we would be a perfect punching bag for him to take his anger out on."

Shepard glances at the turian prosecutor before looking back at me. "He's the father of a military girl?"

I shake my head. "Of a Spectre," I reply. "He's volatile. Not to the point of it being dangerous, but if things don't go his way, he has a _legendary _way of showing it. And now, it looks like we'll be its prime target..."

"So?" Shepard crosses her arms. "You forget that I've dealt with these guys before. We'll deal with it as we go, Mr. Kosmas. I don't give a damn if he gets pissed off. You keep a level head, and we'll be fine. Got that?"

I blink. Well... this is certainly refreshing. "Yes, I got it," I say. "I just hope you're right."

I glance back at the galley, to see that some of the witnesses are being brought in. Sure enough, I see Kaidan coming in behind one of the colonists. I smile as he walks in. Good, he was able to come. Very well then.

My witnesses take a seat, and then I look back to Shepard. She's looking at Kaidan with a perplexed expression on her face. I then turn my attention to the jury, which I only just realize is seated there. All right... I count a smattering of various races, with nine people in the whole jury. I can count two humans, two asari, three salarians, and two turians. Nice mix of a jury, and it's a typical racial make-up in juries these days. So we should be good.

Before she can say anything, though, the door behind the bench opens.

"All rise!"

* * *

><p>The judge, of course, was an asari. As soon as everyone is settled in, I look over to Paellix Mirani as he sits by the Council. I turn my attention to the judge as she looks directly at the older turian.<p>

"Does the Council wish to make a statement at this time?"

Paellix stands up. "Yes, your honor," says the prosecutor.

"You may proceed."

The turian lumbers up to the well. He stands in the center, placing a datapad of notes on the nearby lectern. He then turns his attention to the audience, to me, and to the judge, holding his hands behind his back.

"I... don't quite know where to begin speaking about Commander Jocelyn Shepard," says Paellix. "I think we all know who she is, and what she did for the Council over two years ago. She saved the Destiny Ascension, let our Council live, and killed Saren Arterius. I submit that these are indeed great accomplishments, for a race so young and naïve to be allowed onto the Council."

He then glances ever so briefly at his notes, raising his arms in the air. "But as you know as well, she went missing for a period of two years afterwards." Paellix is glaring at her when he says this. "We all took her for being dead. Imagine our great surprise, then, when two years later, she appears again, this time under the direct employ of Cerberus, an avowed enemy of the Council."

He looks out to the gallery. "I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, that this thing about her entire disappearance was a ruse," he says. "I submit that this person was disgruntled with our Council, and decided to go rogue. Thus, she used the geth attack as a cover to join Cerberus and leave the Alliance."

I blink. That... that has to be the most insane thing I've ever heard! "Now, some of you may wish to wonder how we came to this conclusion," says Paellix. "Well, I give you one word to support this: 'Reapers'. Ever since she killed Saren, this person has been continuously speaking about these so-called 'Reapers' that are supposed to be a threat to all organic life everywhere. We have dismissed this claim, and yet even now she continues to speak about these figments of her imagination."

He looks directly at Shepard. "So I posit that she went to someone who _would _listen to her. And so, they gave her funding, and whatever she asked for. They may even have manipulated her into working for them based on the fact that she mentioned the Reapers." I glance at Shepard, and look at her face. She sits there with a stony expression, though the way her eyes are glowing I am certain she is quite angry. "And that is how she betrayed the Council, and how she betrayed every ideal she stood for."

Paellix turns to the jury. "I will be brief," he says. "I think what Shepard has done is unforgivable, for turning her back on the Council," he says. "She even killed a Spectre that stood in her way. We all know about the untimely death of Spectre Tela Vasir. And we know that Shepard may even have been consorting with the geth.

"All of this paints a nasty picture of this woman," he continues. "She is a disgrace to the Spectres, and should not be looked at as anything more than a reason why humanity does not deserve its place in the galaxy."

I blink, and then look over to Councillor Udina. Udina does _not _look happy to have heard this, and honestly, who can blame him? His own prosecutor told an entire courtroom that Shepard is a mark against all of humanity, and I really don't think that Udina wants all of his work spit in his face. He's abandoned Shepard, but even he hasn't forgotten how far he's come, I see.

I can also see the asari and salarian councillors shifting. The asari councillor is _obviously _very uncomfortable at hearing this, and the salarian councillor seems to be nervously reaching for a glass of water. From what I can tell, the only one who really agrees with that sentiment is the turian councillor, who simply sits there listening intently.

"That is why Shepard is guilty of treason," says Paellix. "And she deserves nothing less than the worst we can give her."

I shake my head as Paellix sits down. I look over to the judge, who even I think isn't happy with that speech. She looks at Paellix, but says nothing before turning to me.

"Would the defense like to make a statement at this time?"

I turn to Shepard before looking back at the judge. "Yes, your honor," I say.

"You may proceed."

I nod, standing up. I leave my notes at the desk, taking a place at the well as Paellix shifts in his seat. His gaze is almost predatory, as if he's trying to hunt my argument for holes he can exploit. It's really too bad his argument has one pretty big hole in it that I plan on addressing extensively.

I look up at the gallery. I glance out for only a second or two, hoping that I can see people. I once again catch sight of Nadeire and Lalia from where they're sitting in the galley. I look at Nadeire, noticing his encouraging expression. I can feel my confidence bubble upon seeing that expression, and even though I turn away from it pretty quickly I know Nadeire will be holding it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I think it is also safe to say that we all know who Commander Jocelyn Shepard is," I begin. "Savior of the Citadel, the one who saved the Council, and the one who saved the galaxy." I give the Council a very unamused expression. "I won't go into how I think it is the _Council _who betrayed her, since that is entirely unrelated."

I then step forward, and before anyone else can say anything, I gesture to Shepard. "My client did indeed disappear for two years," I say. "There's no disputing that. And she also returned with Cerberus emblems on her ship. There is no disputing that either. The facts that Mr. Mirani presented about Shepard's history are solid, there is no denying that.

"However, the question of motivation should be brought up," I say. "What motivation would she have had? We all know about her deeds. We know that she sacrificed eight Alliance cruisers to save the Council, so suddenly feeling betrayed would not explain this change of alliegance."

I look over to Shepard. "I think that Shepard's disappearance was not staged," I continue. "However, I also believe that we should bring into question what she did when she finally did reappear two years later. Her actions, even with the help of a different... benefactor, shall we say, were not too far away from her actions at the Citadel a couple of years ago. I also believe that the death of Tela Vasir was warranted, for the circumstances are such that the Council would have stripped Vasir of her Spectre status due to the events of her final hours."

I take a step towards the jury, facing them. "I submit to you, jurors, that the evidence I will present in my case will show that even under the funding of a different person, Shepard's actions still defended the galaxy," I say. "Therefore, this treason case is entirely ridiculous and superfluous." I nod to the judge, and then take my seat. As I'm pulling my chair up to the desk, I look to Shepard.

Her expression looks about as pleased as it has been for some time.

* * *

><p>"And do you <em>really<em> think she had your best interests in mind when she told you to go to the ship?"

"She sent someone with us to guide us back to the ship, and to make sure we weren't shot to death before we got there. And we all arrived safely at the ship, given the same accomodations that the crew had."

An annoyed sigh was heard.

"No more questions."

With this, I watch as Paellix sits down. I can tell he's frustrated at the evidence that we're getting from Lilith's testimony. I look to the colonist in question, nodding at her as she is led off of the witness stand. The judge nods, looking to my direction. "Does the defense have any other witnesses they wish to call to the stand?"

"We do, your honor," I say, watching as Lilith is led back to her seat. "The defense calls Staff Commander Kaidan Alenko to the stand."

As soon as I finish saying this, there is a murmur within the crowd. I glance at the gallery and back at the Council to see that they are quite surprised. Kaidan is led up to the witness box pretty soon after, and I briefly turn to see someone come in with whatever holy book they use in these Citadel courts. I have never seen what happens in it. The bailiff walks over, and I watch as he makes the motions to swear Kaidan in.

I look over to the Council again, noticing Udina looking on in surprise. The salarian and asari councillors are turned to each other. I guess they're both wondering why Kaidan is there. Well... I imagine they could've turned to him for evidence on the prosecution's side of things. Well... good to see that notion got disproved fast. I look back to Kaidan, watching as the bailiff takes the book away. Kaidan settles into his seat, and I nod.

I stand up, looking over at the staff commander as he looks directly at me. He glances at Shepard ever so briefly, and I can see the regretful look he's got on his face. This only goes for a second, however, for then he takes his professional expression and looks back up at me. I stand in the well, turning to Kaidan.

I look to Kaidan. "Staff Commander," I say. "You say that you were stationed on Horizon at the time that the colony was attacked."

"That is correct," says Kaidan, looking directly at me. "It was part of an Alliance initiative to strengthen ties with the colonies."

"And possibly to fortify them against attacks such as this," I add offhandedly. "That's not the important part. You were there. You saw what happened. Is it safe to assume that it happened according to how the previous witness says it happened?"

"Yes," he says. "I myself got stung by one of the seekers that she described."

I frown. "I..." I shake my head. "I see. So you were paralyzed for most of the time the Collectors were there, then."

"Not really," says Kaidan. "I... I must have come to my senses after a while, because I remember being paralyzed for some time before I could feel movement. And all around me, I saw the colonists getting taken away. And yet... After some time, I found some feeling in my limbs. Whatever those seekers used must have worn off by that point, because I was able to move when the feeling returned." He looks out to Shepard. "I guess the Collectors must have been distracted by Shepard and her ground team before the Collectors could get around to... _collecting _me, I guess." He closes his eyes and shakes his head. I expect Paellix to object there on the grounds of that being unrelated and indirect, but for some reason, he doesn't. "It took a little time to get my bearings, but once I had them, I began looking through the colony for survivors." He looks back to me. "That's when I came across the colony's AA tower we had only recently installed as part of my assignment there."

"And that is where you encountered the Commander, right?" I ask.

"I didn't speak with her then, but yes," Kaidan replies. "She was in the middle of a firefight. I still felt a little disoriented, so I did not join this fight. But I remember what I saw there..." He looks right at me.

"And what did you see there?" I ask.

The staff commander leans back, crossing his arms. "I'm not sure how she was doing it, but somehow she had fixed a small calibration issue with the AA gun that had been plaguing us since we got there," he continues. "And she was waiting for it to charge up, holding off enemies from destroying the gun until it could start firing at the cruiser Lilith mentioned." He looks up at the ceiling of the room. "Unfortunately, it still took off with some of our colonists." Kaidan then looks back. "I won't speak for what they experienced there, but suffice it to say that if Shepard hadn't been there, I think there would have been more colonists from Horizon that would've been taken away."

I nod. "So I see, staff commander," I say. "You mentioned you spoke with Shepard on Horizon."

"Yes," says Kaidan.

"What, exactly, did that exchange entail?" I ask.

"It was... mostly me accusing her of having turned to Cerberus, I have to admit," he says. At this, I hear some gasps in the courtroom. "She denied that her employment with Cerberus was as extensive as I'm sure everybody thinks."

I frown, stepping forward. "But... how did you know that she was receiving funding from Cerberus?" I ask.

"I heard rumors that Shepard was not dead and working for Cerberus," says Kaidan. "I think they turned out to be half true."

"Did she say anything about why Cerberus was involved with the attack on Horizon, however tangentially that involvement might be?" I ask.

"She told me that Cerberus and the Alliance both wanted to protect human colonies," says Kaidan. "She further told me that it didn't mean that she answered to them."

I nod, looking to the jury. "No more questions."

I nod, taking my seat as Paellix stands up. He's of course holding a datapad in his hand as he walks up to the well. For some reason, his eyes have a confident gleam in them, as if he has found something he can use against us. I sit back down, looking at Shepard. By now, her expression has shifted. She's... humbled, I think, if the look she's giving Kaidan is saying anything. I can't see beyond that, but it must be good if she's still looking at him in that way.

Paellix looks over to Kaidan. "So, Staff Commander," he says. "You say you had been stung by this 'seeker' thing that was brought up."

"Yes," says Kaidan.

"How _did _you break out of that?" asks the turian. "I thought that Lilith's testimony suggested that it would've been impossible to move."

Kaidan shrugs. "I don't know how it happened myself," he says. "It must have worn off over time, because I had been left unattended for a while. I think, too, that Shepard might have distracted them, because even as they were pulling people into those pods all around me, I noticed that some of them were going off to another direction. I'm not sure why, but eventually they all left, as if they were being called in as reinforcements."

I notice that Paellix clutches his datapad just a little harder as he looks at Kaidan. He shakes his head. "Fine," he says. "I have many questions about this... _exchange_ you had with the defendant." He glances at me before turning back to Kaidan. "You say that you had accused her of turning to Cerberus. Why?"

"Alliance intel thought Cerberus was behind the missing colonies," Kaidan replies. "It was a surprise to see that the Collectors were behind it, believe me."

"And yet you accused her of switching sides even after you saw her fight against these supposed enemies you saw her fighting at the AA gun," says Paellix. "I find that to be suspect." He shakes his head. "That's not important. Did she bring up the Reapers?"

I flinch at this. Oh, damn, I should have thought he would turn to that angle. "She did," says Kaidan. "She told me the Collectors were working for them."

At this, I see Paellix's eyes shine a little brighter than they did before. Oh dear... "I see..." he says, trailing off. "I guess she also mentioned that she would not have joined Cerberus unless she had a good reason to."

"She... did," says Kaidan hesitantly. He looks at Paellix, and I can see a frown settling on the staff commander's face.

Paellix crosses his arms. I can tell he's quite pleased by this. "Do you think that they may have manipulated the Commander into working for them?"

Upon hearing this, I instantly raise my hand. "Objection, your honor!" I state quickly. "The question calls for speculation that Staff Commander Alenko is not qualified to give."

The judge nods. "Sustained."

Despite the fact that the objection was sustained, Paellix still looks relatively pleased with himself. "Then I have no more questions, your honor," says Paellix.

With this, Kaidan is led away from the witness stand. I shake my head. Damn... While I did make a good point with him, Paellix still got a small victory with that. Part of his opening statement has now been proved by one of my witnesses, and that's not good...

I look over to Shepard. Her expression has dimmed, but it hasn't lost any of the lustre it had while Kaidan was testifying. I get the feeling she wants to talk about it, but she dares not say a word given that we're still in the middle of a trial here. I look over to Paellix, even as he takes a seat next to the Council. He looks quite pleased with himself, but... well, I'll make sure that victory is short lived.

I turn my attention to the front of the courtroom as the judge turns to us. "Are those the witnesses you have today, Mr. Moskas?" she asks.

"For today, ma'am," I say. "I have another couple of witnesses who will be coming during a future court date."

"Very well," says the judge. "Let us continue with today's hearing, then."

* * *

><p>The rest of the hearing... well, it did not go as well as we had hoped.<p>

Paellix took his Reaper offense as far as it could go. I'm not quite sure how he did it myself, but my defense was not exactly able to do much against it. Well, it didn't help that he had turned Kaidan's testimony against us with the Reaper angle that it involved, but it was not a total victory.

What did not help, however, was the fact that somehow, he had gotten a testimony from a dock worker at Illium that had testified to an AI deck being built on the latest Normandy. And when I cross examined him, the witness seemed to be telling the truth, which made it all the thornier for us considering that the fact that Shepard had an AI installed on her ship isn't exactly doing any favors. And I can't ask the dock worker if the AI was installed with Shepard's permission, because that would be calling for speculation. No, if I want to make that point, I need someone who was working on the ship.

Still, it was not a total loss. The colonists on Horizon gave a good testimony, and they mostly managed to stay call under Paellix's cross examinations. Their stories were consistent, which does show that there was _something _happening to the colonists that the Council and the Alliance were doing nothing about. And since that forms the bulk of our defense, then we have a small victory.

And this early in one of the most publicized trials in recent years, that's as good a victory as anyone could have hoped for.

And now, I'm taking legal counsel with Shepard. She looks pretty calm as we sit in the holding cell where she's being held. It's been a couple of hours since the first session of this trial ended. There has been an absolute media frenzy about it over the past hour or so, and I have been assaulted at all turns.

It's a miracle I ever arrived here in the first place. Nadeire and Lalia both had to wait out in the lobby of this prison, with Bailey watching them for me. I sit across from Shepard, watching as Shepard lounges on the bed. She looks over to me, her hands placed neatly over her belly.

"Well, that didn't go too badly," she says. "Well, except for the AI bit."

"So it's true that there was an AI on the _Normandy_," I say.

Shepard nods. "It came with the ship," she said. "It was out of my hands. That decision had been made for me before I ever set foot on the ship."

Ah, so it was placed there without her consent, then. "So I see," I say, gesturing in the air. "Well, unfortunately, our goose is cooked with that, as we don't have any testimony to go against that. Well, unless we directly put you on the witness stand, but I'd rather not resort to that unless we absolutely have to."

Shepard nods. "Works for me," she says. "I'm surprised Kaidan testified."

"He came to see me in my office before I began preparing for the first scheduled hearing in this case," I say. "He told me he wanted to help you. He... I think he still cares about you quite a bit."

"I gathered that," says Shepard. "I'm just... surprised, is all." She looks rather glum. "He did call me a traitor back on Horizon. That... That hurt me in many ways. The man I thought I loved had just turned his back on me..." Shepard nods. "It's good to see he's come around."

I nod. "Indeed he has," I say. "So... soon enough, we'll have Samara coming in to testify on your behalf. That should clinch us the support of the asari jurors, so we'll be all set with that. As for Tela Vasir... I imagine Tela Vasir will be a major focus of the next hearing."

"There was someone who may be able to help you there," says Shepard. "When we took care of Vasir, she took a woman named Mariana hostage. I don't know her last name or how to contact her, but... I imagine if you look for her, she'll be able to tell you everything."

"Right... A Mariana on Illium." I smile. "I'll tell Lalia to look into that. In the meantime, we should concern ourselves with the two-year gap of time that was left. I don't know how you plan to prove that without some paperwork, and given that this is likely paperwork that will be obtained illegally..."

"I don't know how to help you there," the commander replies. "You may have to end up going to the Shadow Broker for that."

I shake my head. "Unless an agent of the Shadow Broker comes up to me and tells me that he happened upon relevant files, that is not an option I will take," I say. "Aside from the fact that I don't always trust the Shadow Broker, it would undermine much of our defense against the allegations referring to Tela Vasir if we were to turn to the Shadow Broker for that information."

Shepard nods. "That will be a glaring hole in our defense for some time..." said Shepard.

"Well, we're off to a relatively good start," I say. "Let's hope that this streak of good luck continues."

"Let's," says Shepard. "I wonder what-"

"Hey, you have a new visitor right now."

I blink, looking over to one of the guards. I blink in surprise. This is odd. We were due to have legal counsel for at least another fifteen minutes. And yet Shepard already has another visitor. That is... rather odd, I think. But it is also surprising. Is it...

I stand up, looking to the guards when I see someone else get...

...

"Staff Commander?"

Shepard stands up immediately, looking at the Staff Commander as he stands in front of the cell. I frown, looking to Kaidan as he stands there. "Shepard," says Kaidan, looking to Jocelyn Shepard. "I..."

"Kaidan, I didn't think you'd take it to the witness stand," says Shepard as she walks towards the mass effect field keeping us inside her cell. "I thought you..."

"I came around after you got arrested," he says. "I... I should've listened to you, Shep... Jocelyn..." He bites his lower lip. "I hope you're not affended by-"

"I'm not," says Shepard. "You... you came through for me after all, Kaidan. I thought that with the way you spoke to me on Horizon that you didn't want to speak to me anymore."

"I was angry," says Kaidan as he looked at Shepard. "It's... It was a build-up of everything. I was angry about you suddenly reappearing after supposedly being killed in action, I had watched as all of our work came to nothing, I watched as everyone turned their back on your memory..." He sighs, an obviously unhappy look forming on his face. "You didn't deserve to be the person I ended up yelling at. I... I'm sorry, Jocelyn. I shouldn't have said what I did on Horizon."

Jocelyn nods. "You came through for me in the end, Kaidan," she says. "It's all right." She looks up "I don't know if we can ever reclaim what we had, though..."

"I wasn't expecting to go back to what we had before Ilos," says Kaidan. "I know about Thane, Jocelyn. About how you've moved on."

"I did," says Shepard. "How do you know?"

Kaidan smirks. "A little bird told me," he says. "That's not the important part, though. What's important is, I wasn't expecting to get what we had on Ilos back. Did Thane treat you well?"

"Yes," says Shepard. "He's... quiet. Pensive. He's surprisingly thoughtful for someone who was raised as an assassin by the hanar, and surprisingly sweet, I find. I miss him so much." She gestures inside of the cell. "A part of me wishes he were here, though. He's dying."

"I heard that too," says Kaidan. "I... I don't know what that could be like, dating a dying man. It must be tough sometimes."

"It puts things into perspective," says Jocelyn. "Though now it's worse, given his absence. I hope he is all right."

"I hope so too," the staff commander continues. "He seems like a good man, though it worries me that he's an assassin. I am still a little disappointed that you moved on, but... I understand why you would, and I don't hold it against you." He breathes in nervously. "I was... hoping that we could at least reclaim our friendship."

Jocelyn nods. "Yes, I'd like that," she says. "My friends are diminishing in their numbers these days. It's good to see at least one of them still has my back even through all of this."

Kaidan smiles, a rather warm smile as he nods. "Well... good," he says. "I... I don't know if I can help you any more in this trial."

"Why?" asks Shepard.

"It's a long story," says Kaidan. "To make a long story short... they're considering me for Spectrehood."

I jolt, looking over to the Staff Commander. "Staff Co-" I blink in surprise, interrupting myself. "I..."

"You're being considered to be a Spectre?" asks Jocelyn in surprise.

"Udina told me yesterday," says Kaidan. "He said something about putting humanity back in good graces with the galaxy after..." He shakes his head. "I'm not going to repeat his words. I'd feel dirty if I tried." He shakes his head. "Udina was pretty blunt about how your affiliation with Cerberus damaged humanity's image."

"Maybe they are," says Shepard as she shrugs. "Honestly, Kaidan, I don't really care that much. I find it very hard to care, after the fact that they've basically turned their backs on me."

"It may not be all bad news," says Kaidan. "I met with the Council when Udina told me. From what I could tell, the asari and salarian councillors both seemed a little uncomfortable at the implication that I was replacing you. The asari councillor even mentioned that nobody could replace you as the first human Spectre, in either deed or title."

I raise my eyebrow. "Really?" I ask. "Isn't that counter to their current stance?"

"Perhaps, but it shows that at least one of them hasn't forgotten anything you've done for them," says Kaidan. "I'm not sure what it does for the case, but I thought... well... I figured you might've liked to hear that at least some of them haven't forgotten."

"I see..." says Shepard. "Well... do you feel comfortable taking Spectrehood?"

"Well, there is the slight discomfort of feeling like I'm replacing you, but other than that I consider it an honor to be a candidate," says Kaidan.

Shepard nods, leaning towards the mass effect field. "Then you should take that chance, Kaidan," she says. "Trust me. I'm not that angry about it, and..." She chuckles dryly before continuing. "Well, as much as I hate to admit it, Udina's right on this one. Your joining the Spectres could help humanity get in good graces with the rest of the galaxy again."

Kaidan looks a little confused at this. "Are you sure, Jocelyn?" he asks uncertainly. "I just don't want..."

Shepard smirks. "Do I have to make that an order?"

Kaidan stiffens, but even as he does I see his eyes brighten a little more. "No, commander," he says simply.

"Good," says Jocelyn. "You should do it, Kaidan. Trust me, if you pass this up just because you're worried about me, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"All right..." says Kaidan. He fidgets about nervously, looking at me with an uncertain glance. "I should go. I'm sorry for taking up your time, but..."

"It's fine," I say. "I don't tend to freak out about that. We've already figured out some of our next legal moves anyhow, so..."

"Then I should go," says Kaidan. "Take care, Jocelyn. I hope the odds are in your favor."

And with this, Kaidan nods to the guards that escorted him to Shepard's cell. They nod, and then I watch as Kaidan is led out of the area where Jocelyn is. I nod, watching them leave. I exhale softly, watching as he retreats out of sight.

"Good luck, Kaidan," Shepard whispers next to me. I blink, turning to face her as she looks after Kaidan. "And be careful..."

I nod as she steps back from the mass effect field. "I... I think I needed that," she says. "It makes me feel a little better that at least Kaidan has my back here. I thought he wouldn't have it, but..."

"Even if Kaidan's testimony ended up not working completely in our favor?" I ask.

"That's not his fault," says Shepard as she moves back to the bed. "Now... I believe we were talking earlier about our case?"

I nod. "Oh, yes," I say. "Do you know anyone else who was present when Tela Vasir went rogue?"

* * *

><p>As soon as I step out into the lobby, I look over to Lalia and Nadeire. Bailey is sitting close by, and he stands up at the same time Lalia and Nadeire do. I walk towards them, nodding as Nadeire comes forward.<p>

"How did the session go?" asks Nadeire.

I nod. "It went okay," I say. "I'm surprised Staff Commander Alenko stopped by."

"I might've mentioned that she was here and looking for support," says Bailey. We all turn to him. "I gave the okay to let him in. I know you were in a meeting, but I couldn't let him just sit there."

"It's fine, Bailey," I say, raising a hand as if to stop him from getting ahead of himself. "I think Shepard needed that. It's good for her to keep her morale up, you know?" I smile. "We have to find a couple of witnesses to testify for the defense, but they're on Illium." I look over to Lalia. "There was a woman on Illium who was taken hostage by Tela Vasir when Shepard took care of him. I need you to find a Mariana?"

"A Mariana?" asks Lalia, rubbing her chin. "Yes, I think I can do that. A Mariana on Illium." She nods. "I'll take care of that as soon as I head back to the office."

I nod. "Thank you, Lalia," I say. "Bailey, I think we'll be going now."

Bailey nods. "I'll keep an eye on her for you," he says. "Nothing'll happen to her unless I see it first."

With this, I turn to Lalia and Nadeire. They both say there goodbyes to Captain Bailey, and then the three of us exit the facility. I look over to Nadeire, even as he smiles.

"You did well today, Will," says Nadeire. "Even if not everything turned out the way we would like, you did well."

I nod. "Well, there are always the other court dates," I say. "Hopefully I can keep the defense strong until then. I don't know if we'll ever get past the AI question, though. You can't deny that it is a pretty big hole."

"That we cannot," says Lalia. "Still, we'll make do with what we've got. I'll be heading to the office now. I'll try to contact Mariana."

"Very well," I say. "I won't be returning to the office, Lalia. Would you close up for me?"

"Of course, Will," says the asari. "You take care." She smiles, looking over at Nadeire. "You too, Nadeire."

The drell smiles. "Be well, Lalia," he says. "May Amonkira aid you in your search." He pauses, shrugging as his smile turns into a smirk. "Just be careful not to kill the person you are trying to find. That would not be good."

Lalia chuckles. "Indeed not," she says. "Goodbye."

With this, she walks over to the rapid transport terminal, ordering up a cab, no doubt. I turn to Nadeire, smiling as his hand entwines itself in mine. "Well, I guess we're walking home today."

"I see no reason to take a cab," he says. "Perhaps not today. It is rather early anyhow."

"That it is," I say. "I'm glad you were able to come today. I almost thought you would not be able to come, given your work and all."

"They understand," says Nadeire. "Besides, they have enough people that work at the lunch shift anyhow. I am certain they could do just fine." He looks over to me. "Unfortunately, I might not be there for the rest of the trial."

I nod. "That's unfortunate, but you do have to maintain your job there," I say. "I doubt you'd be allowed to come to my trial after this."

"I doubt it too," says Nadeire. "You handled yourself well in the courtroom today. As did Paellix, but given what you've said about him before this point..."

"I'm expecting his rage will come out," I comment as I look ahead of me. "But until then, he's actually being surprisingly calm. Media scrutiny does strange things to people, no?"

"Indeed it does." Nadeire's smile fades slightly. "I hope it doesn't change you, Will."

"Don't you worry about a thing, Nadeire," I reply. "I'll do my best not to let this case change me. Well, not in any ways I can control, anyhow."

"Good," says Nadeire. "I worry that the spotlight may become overpowering. It has that potential to destroy people. But I know you well enough that you will abide by your word."

"That's good," I say. "Come on. You feel like getting something to eat on the way home?"

"Certainly," says Nadeire. "I was in the mood for asari cuisine tonight."

I smile. "Funny, I was just thinking the same thing. Sit-down, or...?"

"I believe we have time," says Nadeire. "I know a place that I think you'd _love_."

* * *

><p>I step into the restroom at the asari restaurant. I've had to use the bathroom for some time now, but now that we've ordered our food I think now is the best time. I look out to the stalls, situating myself in front of a urinal as I think about the day's events. I breathe in, closing my eyes as I do my business. It's been quite a day, and now, to think about all of it is a good thing, I believe.<p>

I close my eyes, wondering what Shepard must be feeling right now. She must be very relieved that the Staff Commander stood by her side during this trial. I'm certain they had some... _involvement_, and I was sure of it even when she had first saved the galaxy. I at least know it for certain, but I wonder how she feels about everything else. Counc... _Captain _Anderson was conspicuously absent from the trial, but I hear that he had gone to Earth for some reason. I'm not sure why he isn't here now, but the Alliance says it is some kind of important business that Anderson must attend to.

I don't know myself. It looks as if the Alliance wants him to stay out of their politics for fear of... I'm not certain what.

Either way, that part unsettles me slightly. It must be unsettling to Shepard, too: from what I understand, Shepard looked up to Anderson like a father figure when she had joined the Alliance. And now that he is basically completely unable to help her, there is nothing else we can do but wonder.

I shake my head, wondering what else can happen with this trial. As I zip up my pants, I turn around, and-

"Will Moskas?"

I jolt at seeing a random stranger standing behind me. W-what? What was he doing here?

"Wh-who are you?" I ask, looking at the young man. "How long were you standing there?" I shake my head, walking past him. "Why are you even hounding me here in the-?"

"Calm down," says the stranger as he turns. "There's nobody else in here right now."

"I _really _think you're missing the point," I say as I wash my hands. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm eating dinner with my husband, and I can't-"

"I have information pertinent to Shepard's trial."

I pause, looking at the stranger. I shake my head before sticking my hand under the dryer. "Then you contact me through extranet mail and set up an appointment like a _normal person _would," I say. "You don't track me down into a bathroom and stand right behind me while I'm relieving myself just so you can relay my information! That is an invasion of privacy, not to mention _much_ morethan a little bit creepy! How did you even get in here anyway? I mean, this is just-"

"You don't understand the gravity of this situation," says the other man. "I can't do that. My employer is secretive, and if any person were to find out that you knew me, we could both be in pretty big trouble. It tends to happen when you're employed by the Shadow Broker."

My limbs stiffen, almost without me commanding them to. I turn to this strange newcomer, giving him a shocked expression. "The Shadow Broker?" I ask. "You... you're an agent of the Shadow Broker?"

"Yes," says the stranger as he steps forward. "Strange, I know. Let's just say the Shadow Broker's rethought his priorities a bit and we'll keep it at that. All you need to know is that the Broker wants Shepard to be acquitted as much as you do."

I blink, shaking my head. "That doesn't make sense, though," I say. "A big part of my defense is that Tela was working for the Shadow Broker. If I take anything from you, then that part of my defense could be laughed right out of the courtroom. And I don't believe that the Broker's changed allegiances and now wants to help Shepard. That's preposterous!"

"As I said, the Shadow Broker's changed his mind," says the stranger. "That's not the important part. The important part, is this: I can get you the evidence you need to win this case."

I frown. "What?" I ask. "I... You stalked me into a restroom at a high-class establishment just to tell me that?"

"It was that, or somehow separate you and your husband in the public area of the Presidium," says the agent. "It's definitely not the most wholesome option, but it's the smartest one I can think of." He leans closer. "The Shadow Broker is having a couple of people look into some of Cerberus' most classified files. If we're lucky, we can hand you evidence that the Lazarus Project happened exactly as Shepard postulated it did."

"But... but then it'll have been obtained illegally!" I say, gesturing at him wildly. "Whatever evidence you find will be inadmissible! And that's worse than having no proof at all!"

The agent simply smirks. "Don't worry about that," he states. "The Shadow Broker himself is already working on a solution to get around that little loophole. But I'm here to tell you that you may have some new things to add to the defense." He nods, stepping away from me as he heads towards the bathroom's exit. "The second court date is coming up. When that date comes, go to the Presidium after the hearing." He opens his omni-tool and manipulates it. Not long after, my own omni-tool pings, and I lift my arm up to see that I have a new message. "I just messaged you the location. When the hearing ends, I will be there as quickly as I can be. We will meet there, and I'll give you what I have. I'll be there for one hour. If you're not there, I'll assume you're not interested, and we'll part ways."

He turns towards the door. "There is one more thing," he says. "You are to come alone. Arm yourself if you want to, but you can't bring anyone with you. And before you ask, _yes_, you can tell Nadeire and Lalia about this." He shrugs. "They're clean, and I trust that they'll keep your secret, _especially _Nadeire. I would be wary about telling Shepard or Bailey, though. The walls have ears around where you usually see those two."

I frown, stepping forward. "Wait, so..." I shake my head. Good Lord, this is confusing. "You're telling me that..."

"Yes," says the agent. "I can get you what you need. Now, if you trust me or you really want that data, you'll be there. If not, we'll end it there."

I raise a hand. "This is... really odd..." I comment. "The Shadow Broker just happened to change his mind? I don't understand."

"Some things are not meant to be understood," says the operative. "Let's just say some things are best kept secret." He nods. "If you trust me, be at the meeting within the hour after the hearing." He pauses, stopping at the door. "And if you need anything, contact Alan Day in the Zakera Ward. He's a friend of mine, and can contact me easily. I can't stay here much longer. Be well, Will Moskas." He holds a finger up. "And be careful. You never know where the real danger lies these days."

With this, he exits the bathroom before I can ask any questions.

This, of course, leaves me standing at the sinks wondering what just happened. I... Is any of this real? The Shadow Broker... No, I don't know if he is really interested in this trial, and if so in what way. I don't know... But this is strange. On the one hand, this evidence could be forged, but on the other... if this is truly the evidence that will help me more than anything, this is an opportunity I cannot pass up. I... No. The operative said I could talk to Nadeire and Lalia about this, so if I'm allowed to talk about it to at least two people, then it has to be genuine. And if it is, then it could mean that this is the evidence that will lead us to get Shepard exonerated. And since he said I could do that, I guess it also means that I can trust that he'll find a way. But at the same time... the Shadow Broker has been known to be shady, and...

I shake my head. Damn it, this is too complicated to be thinking of now. I think I'll talk to Nadeire about it when we get home.

For now, I've been in here a little longer than I intended. So with this, I turn to the mirror, lightly tapping my face with the palm of my hand and exiting. I look around the area of the restaurant, but by then the operative has left.

I wonder who he was...

Shaking my head, I make my way back to my table, ruminating on the encounter I just had.


	18. Chapter 17

_A/N: Holy shit, this took forever._

_I am_ so_ sorry, guys. Real life became a bitch to me in the last semester of school, and I wasn't able to work on this chapter as much as I usually am. It's all over now, though, so now I should have enough free time to start updating MV3 with regularity again. Seriously, all that work, and I get what was actually a pretty good senior recital to show for it. Yay._

_Oh yeah, and now I'm off to grad school, that too. So if any of you guys are surrounding Cleveland, OH in the near future, you might just be able to find me standing around there doin' stuff! Y'know how it is._

_All right, and there's another thing on the B Story. Crazy times are had with that._

_And now, after much deliberation on the legal side of things (and a lot of hectic crap going down in my life- seriously, my life got _hectic _this last semester of school), we return back to Art and the gang. And what do we see here?_

_More politics, of course. But this is politics of a _very _different brand. You shall see what happens with that._

_Anyhow, here we are with the next part of MV3. Sit tight, and let's let the quarian people realize stuff._

* * *

><p>Chapter 17: Webern: Passacaglia, Part One<p>

I stand next to Rael and Tali. Tali is standing a little further back, but Rael is standing right behind Joker. The pilot is looking outside as we maneuver our ship past the relay. It's been relatively quiet right now, but I guess that's a good thing given what's going to be happening soon. I hear the whirring behind me, and know that somewhere, Legion is standing close by.

After about a minute, I see it, one ship at a time. But still, it's difficult to mistake the Migrant Fleet when I see it. Especially when the giant-ass ship that is the Rayya comes into our viewpoint. I nod to Rael, watching as we approach.

"Well, there it is again," says Joker. "Funny how that works out, hm?"

"In a sense," says Tali. "At least I'm not being accused of treason this time."

"Yeah, that would suck if the other admirals found something to accuse you of again." Joker looks outside. "And then we'd have to go through all _that _again."

"Maybe not," I say. "Patch us through."

I look over to Rael as Joker opens a secure comm channel with the fleet. "You still nervous about bringing a geth onto the Fleet?"

"A little," says the older quarian. "Even if we aren't tried for treason on the spot, we can still get half the Fleet to be angry at us."

"We are unarmed," says Legion as he steps forward. "To maintain unit cohesion, we have also removed our omni-tool. The Creators will not be threatened by this platform."

I sigh. "Won't stop them from shooting if their trigger fingers get a bit twitchy," I comment. "We've gotta approach this carefully. Rael, the admirals should be gathering now, right?"

"Yes," says Rael. "I told them that I would return to the Fleet. I also said that the Admiralty Board would need to meet upon my return." He looks over at me. "I can take my mask off any time within the next six hours and still be well enough to continue living, so if it comes down to that, I can show that... well..."

I nod. "Well, if it'll help them out, we'll be good," I say. "Seriously, this is the closest we've ever come to getting peace between the geth and the quarians."

"We predict a small chance of unit cohesion being attained," says Legion. "This platform will say that chance of unit cohesion still large enough to attempt to make it so. Addendum: you never know until you try."

I snap my fingers, smiling as I point in Legion's direction. "That's the spirit, Legion," I say. "See? We gotta hope for the best here."

"Yeah, it's not like we can all get screwed over because we've got a machine that can cause them to mistrust us," says Joker.

EDI's avatar appears. "_Jeff, allow me to say that I don't think you are helping_," she says.

I shrug. "Well, it works for all of us, so here's hoping things go according to plan," I say.

We all nod at this, right as we hear some static on the other end of the comm line. I look up suddenly, blinking as I step back. Rael steps forward, with Legion looking over to Rael with his sole flashlight eye.

"_This is Captain Kar'Danna of the_ _Rayya._" Okay, so we're in contact now. Excelent._ "Your ship has an unknown flag. Please identify._"

I nod as Rael stands rather straight. "After time adrift among open stars, along tides of light and shoals of dust, I will return to where I began," he says.

"_Welcome home, Rael'Zorah_," says Kar'Danna over the comm. "_I will signal to the admirals that you are here. I assume we're to send a quarantine team to meet you?_"

"Our ship is unclean, yes," says Rael. "One further thing. There is a matter of great importance that I cannot speak of here. You and your ship will see what it is when we come. I must warn you now, Kar'Danna, you may not like what you see."

"_I'll be the judge of that,_" says the captain. "_Tali is with you, no doubt._"

"Yes, Kar'Danna," says Rael. "We will speak further when I return to the Rayya."

"_Very well,_" says the Rayya's captain.

With this, the link cuts, and I nod over to Rael.

"Well, we've established contact," I comment. "Let's hope the quarians don't freak out completely when they see Legion."

EDI's avatar appears again. "_I have taken the liberty to call Mordin to the airlock_," she says. "_It may be helpful to have him explain the nature of Rael'Zorah's immunization process._"

I nod. "Thanks, EDI," I say. "Anyone else you're calling up?"

"_No,_" she says. "_I will be ready in case you want someone else to come_."

"Got it," I say. I hear a door open around where the tech lab would be, and I turn towards the airlock. "Well... now we wait."

Here's hoping that they don't freak out that much.

* * *

><p>The decontamination cycle finishes, and I look over to the others. Well, we all managed to fit into the airlock. I don't know how we did it, but here we are. I feel my arm nudge against Tali and Rael's, with Legion standing just behind me. Miranda and Mordin are more towards the back.<p>

"Anyone wanna bet they'll be greeting us with raised guns?" I ask.

"Statistical analysis suggests that there is a 93.45% chance of being met with hostility," says Legion. "We are surprised this statistic is not higher."

I nod. "Yeah, I'm kinda surprised too," I agree.

"It is still high enough to say that it will be a problem," says Miranda as she looks ahead. We turn to her as she shifts her posture. "Hopefully we can diffuse this situation without having a shot get fired."

"I hope so too," I comment. The door opens on the other end, and we walk forward. "At least we-"

Right away, I turn to find myself staring down the barrels of at least six assault rifles. I stop immediately, looking at the quarians in front of us. Rael and Legion step forward, and I watch as captain Kar'Danna comes walking right up to us.

"Get that thing _off _my ship before you start an incident that makes the Ascension fiasco with Cerberus look like a small day of garbage detail!" he says angrily.

Rael steps forward. "Calm down, Kar'Danna," he says. "The geth is with us."

"So this is your doing," says the captain of the Rayya.

"I did tell you you may not like what you see for a reason," says Rael. "Trust me when I tell you that this unit of geth means no harm to the fleet."

Kar'Danna scoffs at this. "I doubt that," he says. "I don't see any weapons on him, but I don't know what will happen." The captain of the Rayya steps forward. "This is risky, Rael'Zorah. I don't know what you're trying to prove, but-"

"Rael's not trying to prove anything," I say. "We're trying to get you back to Rannoch."

Legion steps forward. "We are Legion, a terminal of the geth," he says. "We wish to negotiate on behalf of the geth collective."

Kar looks over to the geth, and I'm pretty sure his expression is a mix of disbelief and other things. Despite this, though, he's pretty quick on the uptake. "You, negotiate?" he asks in disbelief. He turns to Rael. "Rael, what is this? You trust this unit? I don't know what you're playing at, but I don't like it one bit!"

"I wouldn't expect you to," says Rael. "Legion won't cause any trouble. If he does, I'll take full responsibility for it, but I don't expect that he will."

I see the captain of the Rayya perk his head at something Rael has said. I look over to Tali, noticing that she's wringing her hands nervously. I nod to her, not daring to show anything else to the quarians surrounding us. I look over to the others, even as Miranda steps forward.

"This geth platform fought with us when we went to the Omega 4 relay," she says. "It had our backs through everything, and even _saved _Rael'Zorah's life at one point. It won't turn on us now. As one of the Normandy's commanding officers, I can guarantee that." She then looks over in my direction. "My fellow commanding officers can attest to it, too."

The captain of the Rayya shakes his head, turning his attention back to Rael. "I don't know what you're doing with a geth unit here, Rael," says Kar'Danna as he crosses his arms. "But you brought an active geth unit onto the fleet. This is extremely risky. I will take your word for it and allow it onto the Rayya, but I can't say for what will happen if more militant quarians should come across it."

He then gives the other quarians a signal. And pretty much immediately afterwards, I watch as all the weapons are aimed away from Legion. "Just know that this is because I trust your judgment, Rael'Zorah," the captain continues. "But even I think this is crazy. I don't know what happened to you between Tali's trial and your return, but I am very sure the admirals will hear about it."

Rael nods. "That is not the only thing to have transpired in that time," he says. "There's much I need to tell to the admirals."

"They're already on their way," says Kar'Danna. "I just hope that Han'Gerrel and Daro'Xen don't go up in arms about your bringing a geth onto the Fleet."

I shake my head, crossing my arms. Knowing them, they probably are.

"We'll be prepared for them," says Rael. "They may gun for war, but they are not unreasonable. Especially not Han. They will see reason."

When Rael finishes saying this, the quarians step back. We move forward, walking past the blockade and acknowledging Kar'Danna with a curt nod. It's only then that I notice that all of the quarians are looking at Legion with either a look of extreme suspicion or a look of disbelief. Some of them are running their fingers over whatever weapons they have on their person as they eye Legion, and I can actually see that some people are barely restraining themselves from reaching for their guns and shooting at Legion.

Well... I can't say I blame them. If I saw something I hated my entire life just randomly walk onto the ship, I would be wary of its presence here too. I mean, yeah, their views on the geth will most likely be trounced by what they see here today, but at least in the initial stages, I can understand. Hopefully, the bombshells we will be dropping in front of the admirals today will make some progress towards peace.

And if they don't... well, at least we tried.

* * *

><p>For some reason, the admirals got here <em>much <em>faster than they did when Tali was being tried for treason. It took Han a while to get here that time, but now they all show up at pretty much the same time. And given that 'same time' means that they got here in about five minutes, it really makes me think about things. I guess it's got something to do with the geth that's now looking at the admirals, and the fact that we are literally crowded out here. I mean, Jesus, we took it to the same place that Tali's treason trial took place, and it's way more crowded now than it was for Tali's trial! What gives?

... Wait, why'd I ask myself that?

For some reason, I can't expect this to end well. Especially not given the crowd here. I look over to Tali, who's standing just behind Legion. I look over to Mordin and Miranda from where they're standing, and turn my attention back to the admiralty board.

The admirals are standing in the exact same places they were in during the trial. Shala is of course standing up top. She's looking at the geth unit with a look of surprise. That, of course, only serves to make it more surreal when Han turns to Rael, glaring at Legion briefly before resting his hands against the dais.

"You better have a damn good explanation for bringing the geth here," says Han. "I've known you for years, Rael, but _this _is not like you at all." Han stands upright again. "I figured you would always want to go to war with the geth, and now you're bringing an active unit onto the Fleet?"

"I will admit, things did change quite a bit," Rael replies from where he's standing next to Legion. "I think you will find that this geth platform is not like most."

"Really?" asks Daro'Xen. "That remains to be seen."

Legion looks up, its head flaps moving as the crowd murmurs. "We understand the Creators' fears," says Legion. "Statistical analysis suggests a fear of the geth on the part of the Creators." He glances over at Rael'Zorah. "Creator Rael'Zorah was not receptive to this platform."

"At least, not at first," I comment.

"Hold on just a second," says Zaal. He holds a hand, looking right at Legion. "'Creators'? 'Creator Rael'Zorah'? What do you mean by that?"

I shrug. "'Creators' is his way of talking about the quarian people," I mention. "If he's referencing a quarian, he'll usually call them by 'Creator' and whatever their name is."

"It confused me a bit at first," says Rael. "But that was only the first thing in a series of incidents that caused me to re-evaluate my stance on the geth."

"So now you're saying that it would be possible to attain peace with the geth?" asks Zaal, leaning forward.

"Statistical analysis places the chances to acquire peace between the geth and the Creators at approximately 37.41%," says Legion. "This analysis does not include variables outside of our control, which can also influence the direction the peace talks go in. We believe that even despite the low percentage, it is worth trying to make peace with the Creators."

I can tell that Zaal'Koris is smiling at this. "I see," he says. "And you would be willing to bring us back to our homeworld."

Legion's head-flaps move about again, and I nod as they settle back in place. "Yes."

Han shakes his head. "And how do we know this is not some kind of trap?" asks Han. "For all we know, it could be leading us directly into a war zone."

Tali steps forward. "I can vouch for the fact that Legion means no harm," she says. "This platform fought next to us when the Normandy undertook its mission through the Omega 4 Relay. It fought alongside us, and I don't think it would betray us now."

"Legion even saved my life once," says Rael as he looks forward. "I wouldn't let him stand in front of you today unless I was certain that he had good intentions."

Shala shifts her position for the first time in this whole thing. "I see," she says. Hm, she must've picked up on the pronoun issue. "If you are certain of this, then I believe it may be pertinent to save relevant discussion on this topic for later."

Zaal is the first to speak. "I'd be open to communicating with a geth unit," he says. "This is the closest we've come to attaining peace, if this unit has willingly come here to seek that as its final purpose. I find it surprising that Rael'Zorah is the one who brought this unit here, but I won't question his judgement if it will be a step towards peace with the geth."

"I don't know what's overcome Rael," says Han. He looks over to Tali's father. "But if I know Rael, he wouldn't be doing this unless he had a damn good reason. I suppose I can put my weapons down and think about this."

"And I have no objections," says Daro'Xen.

Hey, it means... "Then that settles that," says Shala'Raan. Sweet! We at least got to the 'willing negotiations' stage! "We will negotiate with this geth unit at a later time. For now, however, there is a second thing that Rael'Zorah wishes to address."

"Yes," says Mordin, stepping forward as Legion moves to the side. "Believe it best to speak about this."

The other admirals look at each other as a new murmur takes hold of the people gathered around us. "What's the salarian doing here?" asks Han. "First a geth unit, and now a salarian? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to insult us."

"I would never dream of it, Han," says Rael. "He is here because he is important to something I have been looking into during my time on the Normandy."

"Very important thing," says Mordin. "Should not be so quick to judge. Will promise you that it will change many things." The salarian scientist turns to Rael. "Still have five hours. Should make impression."

"I suppose I should," says Rael. "You will see..."

The admiral nods, his hand coming up to his mask. The admirals see what he is doing, and I can see Han start towards Rael. However, before anyone can move towards him, Rael removes his face-mask.

The hiss that results from the face-mask being taken off is quickly overpowered by the shocked gasps that suddenly ring out throughout the area. I glance around, seeing various people in the crowd looking on in shock. Some of them are actively backpedaling, and when I look back to the admirals even Daro'Xen is looking on in shock.

Rael simply sets the face mask down on the dais in front of us before turning his attention to the admirals. "And this is the other thing I wished to bring up," he says.

"Rael, are you insane?" asks Shala. "You could get-"

"Sick?" Mordin finishes. "Main crux of second point. Have developed a way to strengthen quarian immune system." He nods. "Was asked to help by Rael'Zorah. Agreed to help, ran simulations, tests..." He sniffs rather loudly. "Was interesting."

Zaal looks to Mordin in shock before turning to Rael. "So... So you spent some of your time doing _that_?" asks Zaal. "Is this..."

"It is what you think it is," says Rael. "We have suffered enough in these suits, Zaal'Koris. I hope to return to our homeworld, and to dispose of our suits."

"Will have to reproduce immunization," says Mordin. "Have not started this phase yet; however, have compiled the data on how it works. Can forward it to quarian scientists at earliest convenience for them to begin crafting the immunization."

The admirals look at each other in awe. "This... this is..." Han can barely continue, even as he shakes his head. "I'm not sure what to say."

"For once, we're in agreement." Zaal's voice isn't sarcastic at all. Rather, it betrays some kind of wonder. "I don't know what to say..."

"This is wonderful news," says Shala'Raan quietly. "I never thought I would live to see the day where we could..."

"Neither did the rest of us," says Rael. "And yet, here we are. I assume we shall speak further."

"Yes," all of the admirals say in unison.

Rael nods. "Then I suppose we have no further business for now."

Miranda steps forward. "The Normandy will remain docked with the Rayya for the duration of the negotiations with Legion," she says. "If any of you need anything, you are all welcome aboard the Normandy. I assume the same will hold true for the Rayya?"

"It is not up to us, but I don't think Kar'Danna will say no to this," says Zaal.

"Then it is settled," says Miranda with a short nod.

It is settled indeed.

* * *

><p>I turn to Tali as we walk in a random passageway on the Rayya. "Well, we managed to get them to talk to Legion," I say. "That's a good thing."<p>

"It is," Tali agrees.

She walks closer as my eyes wander around the Rayya's hallways. It's... actually rather nice, I think I've always pictured the parts of the Rayya we didn't see during Tali's loyalty mission as a ship that's relatively run-down in comparison to its grandeur. But I must say, the ship is a lot more tidy than I imagined it would be. It's all sleek looking, I guess. In a way, I think it reminds me of the way the Starship Enterprise apparently looked in the original series well before it got all glitz'd and glamorized by that vastly overrated reboot that was directed by J. J. Abrams. Neat, with a quiet power to it, but not in the greatest condition either.

I feel her right hand hold my left arm as I turn to look at her. "Legion returned to the Normandy, right?" she asks.

"He did," I reply. "He needed to go talk to the geth collective before he did anything else. No doubt, it's to update the collective on stuff and to talk to the collective about what to do next." I look around. "So this is the ship you grew up on."

"Yes," says Tali. "I think that it's time I showed you my birth ship."

I nod, smiling. "Good thing we don't have the burden of a treason trial to weigh down on us, right?"

Tali's shoulders fall. "Yes," she says. "Keelah, was I nervous."

I nod, looking up. "I didn't help things, I don't think," I say. "I still should've told you about that."

Tali nods solemnly. "I still feel a little betrayed sometimes," she admits. "But you came through for me in the end. Plus, my talk with Shala back then brought up a few points that I like to remember."

I blink. "Yeah, that was good for you," I say. "Do you think Shala's kept quiet about my secret?"

"She wouldn't tell something like that to a random stranger," says Tali. "I've trusted Auntie Raan with secrets like that before. She has never revealed them to anyone."

I nod. "Well, if you've got confidence in her, then I don't see why I shouldn't have confidence too," I say. "So this is the area of the ship you'd sometimes stick around at as a little girl..."

"I came here sometimes," she says. "For the company, mostly. A quarian tends to be very close to their friends that they grow up with." She glances to the side. "I admit I haven't been the best about staying in touch with my childhood friends since I left on Pilgrimage, but I got caught up in a _lot _of other things."

"Weird how that works," I say. "Have you tried to reconnect with your friends?"

"It has been difficult to maintain some of my relations with my pre-Pilgrimage friends," she says. She then frowns. "It doesn't help that some of them died on Haestrom."

I bite my lower lip, nodding gravely. "I see..." I say. "At least you got to talk to them in some detail before their untimely demise, right?"

"Yes," says Tali. "At least there's that. I got to see them again at least once." She pauses, and we both stop walking. "Sometimes, I think about the people I've lost. My friends, my unit on Haestrom..."

"That's not unfamiliar to me," I comment. "I think it's natural to think about that." I look up, a thought coming to my head. "I sometimes think about what my parents would've said to the stuff I'm doing right now."

"How do you think they would've reacted to finding out you were off saving the galaxy all the time?" Tali asks.

"I'm not sure how'd they take any of it. One thing I'm sure about is that they'd feel pretty mixed about it," I say. "On the one hand, they'd probably be unnerved that I'm technically doing a bunch of military things right now. But on the other hand, I think they'd understand that I was trying to help people do the right thing, and they'd be okay with it after that." I smirk. "As for everything else, well, they'd probably be mixed about my choice of girlfriend." I smile as I get moving again. "My father would've disliked you on principle, I think."

"And what makes you think that?" asks Tali.

"He greatly disliked all my sisters' boyfriends from when she was in high school, that's why," I say. "I never really knew the first boyfriend, but the second one was this guy called Alex. He was a pretty nice guy, I have to say. I never understood why my dad didn't like him. I guess it's because... well, fatherly instinct. My mom was okay with him, though, so I imagine she would've liked you." I smile. "And as for the rest of my family? Well, Pupa would've _loved _you, I think. Anneli would've been a bit confused about the whole species thing, but I think she'd warm up to you eventually. And there is absolutely _no _question in my mind that Augie would've loved you for being so unusual. He liked unusual things."

"I see," says Tali. "I wish I could've met your family. In the times you've talked about them, they've sounded like nice people. Well, with the exception of your father..."

"Yeah, but he's not that bad," I comment. "He certainly wasn't doing some of the things other fathers I knew would do sometimes." I shrug, moving along. "And he was supportive of my career choice. Very much so." I smile. "Actually, I get my affinity for musical talent from his side of the family. From what I understood he used to play guitar and accordion."

"The two human instruments rarely used by people in your line of work?" asks Tali.

"Yes," I say. "So there's that. And obviously, you got your engineering expertise from Rael."

"Yes," says Tali. "It was interesting to hear my father tell me that I had my mother's eyes, though..."

I shrug. "You probably got a lot from your mother," I say. "I wish I could've met her."

"She would've liked you, I think," she says. "Well, maybe not the fact that you had a lot of secrets to hide from the rest of the galaxy, but I imagine she would've liked your odd nature. From what I remember, she always did like strange people."

I smile. "I see," I say. "I'll bet she would've been so happy to have been your mother, Tali. I mean, look at you! You're Tali'Zorah vas Normandy nar Rayya, the one who helped kick Saren's ass and the kick-ass engineer who fell in love with a human!"

Tali chuckles. "Indeed," she says. "I... Actually, I wanted to talk with you about that, while we're on that subject."

... Oh dear.

"Lemme guess," I say. "You don't think most quarians would approve of a relationship with a human, so you want to tone it down a bit on the affection while we're on the Fleet?"

Tali looks at me in surprise. "I... yes," she said. "I... how did you know?"

"I figured it might happen that way," I say. "Your father mentioned how he thought I was going to try to steal you from the Fleet before everything happened with the treason trial. If I had to rescue him first before he changed his mind... well, that doesn't really say good things about how the rest of the Fleet might look at an interracial relationship. I understand if you wanna tone it down on the Fleet."

"W-well... good," says Tali. I can tell she's relaxed as she lets go of my arm. "I-I didn't think you'd understand."

I nod. "It wouldn't help anybody around here if it came out that you're dating me, I don't think," I say. "But for the record, if we're going to pretend we're just friends on the Fleet, then we'll need to keep it up on the Normandy somehow."

"I've got it covered, don't worry," she says as she hesitantly lets go of my arm. "Now... I believe I have more I need to-"

"Art! Tali'Zorah!"

I freeze up, Tali and I instinctively stepping apart. I look ahead, and relax upon seeing who it is that's in front of me. Holy shit... It's the right colors of environmental suit, all right. And I can tell Adam Baldwin's voice from anywhere!

"Kal'Reegar!" I say, smiling as I open my arms. "Good to see you're still kicking!"

"Same to you, Art," says Kal. He comes over, extending his hand to me. I shake it rather enthusiastically before stepping back. "It's good to see you survived the Omega 4 relay. I was afraid you and Tali'Zorah wouldn't make it back."

"And yet, here we are," I comment. "How's everything been here on the Fleet?"

"It's been a bit slow, with Rael'Zorah's absence," he says. "But now that he's back, things are heating up again." He glances to Tali. "I must admit, ma'am, I didn't think either of you would return with a geth unit following you here. You sure that's a good idea, ma'am?"

Tali crosses her arms. "Legion wasn't a threat to any of us," she says. "He even saved father at one time. Legion will not be a threat to the admirals, trust me, Kal."

"I'll do my best, ma'am," says Kal. "You know how I am. I'm just the guy who points and shoots at things." Kal shrugs. "Personally, I'm just relieved we might not be throwing ourselves at the geth. We'd be scrap metal if we tried that."

"Well, here's hoping the negotiations turn out all right, yeah?" I comment.

"Yes, sir," says Kal. "You don't have much else to do, I take it."

"We shouldn't," I say. "C'mon, walk with us. We've got stuff to catch up on!"

Kal nods, and before I know it, we're all walking in step. He walks in between Tali and I, and while I do feel a brief urge to get Reegar to walk opposite Tali, I decide it's probably for the best that we don't do that.

"So how are Veetor and Iya?" I ask.

"Both doing well," says Kal. "Iya left on a mission to save a young quarian on Pilgrimage. He had been assaulted, and for some reason he picked up the interest of one of the admirals."

I frown. "So it's Veetor'Nara all over again," I say.

"Not quite." The marine glances in my direction. "According to Iya, they managed to find him on the colony of Invictus."

Invictus? Huh, I guess that Nogond isn't the only quarian on that quarian. "How'd they get in without the turians noticing?" I ask.

"I'm not sure," says Kal. "You'd have to ask Iya for the details. She's due to return soon, though." He chuckles. "I can't think of a stranger time for her to return to the Fleet."

"Neither can the rest of us, Kal," Tali comments. "And Veetor?"

"Veetor is doing well, ma'am," says Kal. "He's actually begun training to be part of the Migrant Fleet marines."

I blink. "Really?" I ask. "The same Veetor who was a bit twitchy?"

"The very same, sir," Kal replies. "I must say, he's been getting rather plucky since your trial, ma'am."

"If he is training to be part of the marines, I don't doubt it," says Tali. "I didn't think he'd have it in him to think about that."

"The kid wants to make a difference," says Kal. "Nobody could really say no to that." He pauses, looking over to me. "I checked in on him a couple of times when he was in training. I think he's beginning to show his own kind of strength now."

"I see," I say, smiling. "Do you know where he is?"

"Yes," says Kal. "I was actually going to meet up with him when I ran into you two."

"Oh?" I ask. "Can we talk to him?"

"Of course," says Kal. "Come on, Art, Tali'Zorah."

As he leads us down a different turn, I see Tali shake her head. "Kal, please, call me Tali," she says.

"I'll work on that, ma'am," says Kal.

With this, we follow him through the halls of the Rayya.

* * *

><p>"And I take it that it's harder training."<p>

"Yes. It feels weird, though. They're all supportive and helpful."

"I know that feeling, Veetor. That's how I felt when I first joined the Normandy. Me, a kid who didn't really know anything about stepping onto a battlefield and now finding myself running all over it, you know?"

"I think I know that feeling. I just hope I don't have to face the monsters again."

"I don't think the monsters will be a problem any more."

Veetor and I sit back, looking around. Kal and Tali are catching up off to the side, with Veetor and I watching various marines do training exercises in front of us. I have to admit, the training facilities on the Rayya look quite niftier than I would've expected. There are the usual crates and targets, but the training just seemed so much more organized than mine. Granted, Ash was only training one person and they have to train entire platoons of people here, but I'm surprised by how damn regulated the whole thing is. Still, Veetor looks to be well-adjusted considering that he endured major psychological trauma.

"I hope not," he says. "You went to their home?"

"Yes," I say. "We went to their home and blew it up. They can't hurt you anymore. Or anyone else, for that matter."

"Good." Veetor sits in silence for a second or two, glancing over to where Tali and Kal are talking. I glance over to them, looking at Kal and Tali. Their conversation looks quite animated, and I sit back as I watch them converse.

"Tali and Kal are going at it, aren't they?" I ask.

Veetor shrugs. "I don't know," he comments. "I was under the impression that you were Tali's _hesh'alan_."

I blink, looking over at Veetor. "Veetor, not so loud, please?" I ask. "We're trying not to make it known around most of the Fleet."

He sits up, and I notice a beaming in his expression. "So you finally know what it means?" He leans forward. "So that means you and Tali..."

I glance over to Tali. Good _God_, I'm doing a terrible job of toning it down! "Yes, I know what it means, but we're trying to play it down on the Fleet, so if you could please not mention that to anyone else?" I say.

Veetor nods, sitting back. I can still tell that he's rather pleased with himself, though. "But still, I was wondering when you would get it," he says.

"Yes, I do," I say. "I have to admit, it had more significance I thought it would at first."

Veetor nods. "It's a heavy term," says Veetor as he looks over to Tali. "It describes you well. Especially after the Alarei."

I nod. "Yeah, well, don't go spreading it around, if you don't mind," I say. "I'd prefer that we don't get people mad at us over... well, y'know."

"Of course," he replies. "Tali seems to be feeling much better."

"I think it's because she finally got some bonding time with her father," I comment. "Rael needed that leave, I think. Well, apart from developing that immune system booster thing with Mordin, but I think it was also good for a lot of other things. I dunno, I think it turned out well for both of them."

"Yes," says Veetor. He then looks at me, and I can sense some nervousness. "We can finally be out of these suits?"

I nod. "I think so," I say. "Trust me, I was pretty shocked when Rael took his mask off in front of Tali and I for the first time. To think that your people can be out of those suits..."

"Yes, it is nice," says Veetor. "I can't wait for Iya to come back to the Fleet to see that."

"Yeah, she'd be pretty thrilled, I'm sure," I say. "She's been doing good according to Kal."

"She has," says Veetor. "I see her sometimes. She is good to me, you know. Always nice... always friendly..." He turns to me. "I like her. The marines are all nice too, but she talks to me a lot, so..."

"I see," I say. "And now she's off running an errand for the Fleet."

"Yes," says Veetor. "They have the quarian on Pilgrimage, you know. They'll be back here soon."

"I'm sure," I say. "And then you'll get to talk to this new quarian again."

"Yes," he replies. "I wonder what happened that he had to come back here. I know there are no monsters to get him, but... I can't help but wonder..."

I sigh, looking over to Veetor. "Some monsters don't always look like monsters," I say. "You never know about that kind of thing, Veetor. Maybe he ran into something bad that happened."

"Maybe," says Veetor. We both watch as Tali and Kal continue talking. "Do you think that we'll really be able to get to the homeworld peacefully?"

"I have hope," I say without hesitation. "I don't know if it'll happen, but we've got nothing if not hope. I have to hope that the admirals will do the right thing in this case."

"I hope so too," says Veetor. "I want to see the homeworld, but if we can do it without sacrificing lives..."

"Yeah," I say, looking up at the ceiling. "That would be nice, wouldn't it? You'd be able to take your masks off, and you'd be able to see the homeworld. Maybe then... you know."

"Yes." The quarian's voice seems to lilt a bit there. "It would be nice..." He looks up at the ceiling as well. I look back to him, watching as he turns his attention back to me. "I just hope it can happen."

I nod. "So do the rest of us." I sit closer to Veetor, pointing at his weapon selection. "So... what weapons have you got there?"

* * *

><p>The door to the airlock closes behind us, and I bring my hands up to my helmet. I then take it off, sighing in relief as I walk onto the Normandy.<p>

"Frankly Tali, I'll _never _understand how your people managed to get acclimated to wearing those suits all the time," I say as we pause by the airlock.

"We have our ways," she says. "Though now that we have a chance of stepping out of them, it may not be so important."

"Yeah, I know, right?" I say, smiling. "It's good to see everyone's still alive and well at the moment, y'know? Especially Kal, Veetor, and Iya. Wouldn't it _suck _if one of them died by e-mail or something?"

"If we found out about it before coming to the Fleet, then it would, yes," says Tali. "As it stands, though, they are still all right."

"Yep," I reply. "You know, all this talk of peace with the geth... it kinda makes me wonder how Shala is taking all this."

"I assume we have run into each other at a good time, then."

Tali and I both pause, looking straight ahead of us. Right there, right at the top of the three or four steps that lead to the rest of the CIC, is Shala'Raan. She's standing there, looking at Tali and I with some form of relief.

"Auntie Raan!" says Tali as she comes forward and hugs Shala. "It's been too long."

"Indeed it has, Tali," says Shala as she returns the hug. Tali steps back after a few seconds, looking up at her... adopted aunt, I guess?

"What are you doing here?" asks Tali. "Shouldn't you be on the Fleet now?

"I was speaking to Rael," she says. "He returned to the ship before you did. I am still trying to get over the shock of seeing what he has dropped before us, especially in regards to that geth platform."

I nod, stepping forward. "Yeah, that was a surprise to... most of us," I say. "No point telling you otherwise, right?"

"Of course," says Shala. "I assume you knew Legion would never be hostile."

"I knew he would never be hostile, yeah," I say. "It's a long story about that, Shala."

"As I can imagine most things with you are," she says. "I need to know this for my own sense, Art: did you see this happening?"

I shake my head. "As far as I know, my precognitive abilities have run out." Well, almost, anyhow. There's no point bringing up the Fade, since it would take too long to explain and Orange will probably get in the way of me learning anything that could be useful for the future because of whatever baggage she has. I'll bet Orange is just overreacting. "But somehow, I was hoping it would be settled like this. With us taking Legion to the Fleet, debating about it, and then going to the homeworld."

"Yes," says Shala. "Though, I do sense that Han'Gerrel and Daro'Xen will not be of help." She steps forward. "Han'Gerrel supports war against the geth, but I think you will find that he is a reasonable man. Daro'Xen... I do not know if we should trust her during these negotiations."

I raise my eyebrows. "Really?" I ask. "Why?"

"She has spent much time since Tali's trial on board the Moreh," says Shala. "She has hardly shown her face to anyone, which is unusual for an admiral. I would not be so wary, but she is beginning to behave much like Rael'Zorah was before Tali was tried for treason."

"Do you think she's planning something?" asks Tali.

"I would not know, but it is likely," says Shala quietly. "But she will not argue. So far, Rael, Zaal, and I support peace with the geth. It will have to be enough for now, and hopefully we can get Han'Gerrel on our side politically."

"We'll have to hope," I say. "Unless something magically happens where the quarians and the geth suddenly get an opportunity to work together towards a common goal, I can't see the negotiations going too well for the first couple days."

"That remains to be seen," Shala says. "I must return to my ship. Be well, Tali." She then turns to me. "And you as well, Art."

"Stay safe, Shala," I say, bowing towards her politely. "You never know what can happen at times like this."

Shala nods, and walks past Tali and I. We watch as she exits through the airlock, and then I turn to Tali. "Well... I guess we better rest up," I say. "We've got a long day tomorrow."

"Yes," says Tali. "We can only hope the shouting won't be as nasty as it can get in some debates..." The tone of her voice doesn't seem... well, all that confident, really.

I drape my arm over her shoulders. Well, as much as I can given that I'm not exactly taller than her. "Hey, it'll be okay," I say. "I can't guarantee that everything will turn out for the better, but trust me, these thing work themselves out in the end, won't they?"

"Of course," says Tali. "I can't help but feel a little fear at the outcome. What if we don't get to return to our homeworld? This is the closest we've come without any more bloodshed, and to see it all get dashed to the ground..."

I pull myself closer to Tali. "Honestly, Tali, that scares me a little too," I say. "But no matter what happens... on some level, something will change for both the quarians and the geth by the time this whole thing is over. And we can only hope for the best."

"Yes," says Tali. "I guess we'll see tomorrow, then."

"That we shall," I say. "C'mon, we should get some rest."

With this, the two of us walk towards the elevator in the CIC, close to each other. I feel Tali pull me closer to her as we move along.

* * *

><p>"And how are we supposed to know that the geth won't decide to attack anyway?"<p>

"We will not."

"I think you'll forgive me if I have trouble trusting you with that just yet."

Han'Gerrel says this right as he pushes away and moves away from Legion.

Well, here we are. Tali, Legion, the admirals, and I are all crowded around in the room. Rael is not in his environmental suit as befitting the full-body exposure Mordin recommended he take for at least four hours today, but I _swear _he picked that outfit up from Thane or something. The rest of us are all sitting around in a circle, me still with my helmet on. Legion stands in the center, with the rest of us all going around asking questions as he makes his stipulations.

And from the direction this is going, these negotations are _not _going all that well.

"We do not hold it against you," says Legion. "The Creator impulse to distrust the geth has not been challenged since the Morning War. We do, however, wish to ensure that the geth are not in danger of being terminated by the Creators."

"And we need to be certain that you're not trying to bring us in unarmed," says Han as he leans forward.

"For once, I have to agree with Han," says Zaal'Koris. "As you know, I am all for peace, but walking in without a way to defend ourselves would be stupid."

"We will not be armed," says Legion.

I purse my lips together. As good an offer as Legion is making, I have to say that Han has a point here. I mean, leaving guns and all that back here? I can see how that would be an invitation to walk right into a trap. And while I trust Legion to be unarmed, I can't say the admirals trust him to hold up to that promise. So in a sense... well, we're at the most difficult impasse to break in history right now.

"We cannot guarantee that," says Shala'Raan. "Besides, we would be sending a science team. By tradition, our science teams are accompanied by a team of marines whenever we send them on missions. And in this case, the science team would not trust your people to defend them."

"We find that lack of trust to be irrational," says Legion.

"Lots of things about hating the same species for three hundred years aren't, but in a way, can you blame them?" I ask.

"He brings up a good point," says Han'Gerrel. "We were kicked out of the home world by your people."

"We were defending ourselves," says Legion. "The Creators sought to annihilate the geth. We were simply ensuring our survival. With the threat of the old machines, however, consensus indicates that unit cohesion with the Creators would be best for the survival of both the geth and the Creators."

"And what will happen between us if we defeat the Reapers?" asks Han'Gerrel.

"We do not have a consensus," says Legion. "If you choose to be involved in our existence, we will be involved with your existence as well."

Han'Gerrel shakes his head. "I don't really like the sound of that."

Sheesh, and this is the kind of thing we're talking about to get a small envoy of something like ten quarians onto the homeworld so they can look at it and verify that the geth have been maintaining the place. I can't imagine what's going to go down when we have to get _everybody _down there.

Zaal looks over. "I think there is a simple solution we are all missing," he says. "It would be stupid to leave our weapons behind, but we should be careful. I will send the science team with marines I trust to not attempt to kill any of your people, with the specific instruction that they are only authorized to fire if one of the geth fires first."

Han looks right up in surprise. "That's coming from you, Zaal'Koris?" asks Han. "That's surprising."

"Most marines under my command happen to be open to peace with the geth," says Zaal. "I don't trust your marines enough to send them in. For all we know, they could have twitchy trigger fingers when they go down there."

...

Was that a dig at Han'Gerrel's stance on the geth? Oh boy...

"They know their place, Zaal," says Han. "And if you-"

"Now, now," says Shala as she holds her arms out as if to stop them. "Settle down. We should ask this geth platform what it thinks of this." Shala turns to Legion, whose headflaps are already moving around.

"We have come to a consensus," says Legion. "By a majority of 76.14%, our runtimes favor Creator Zaal'Koris' proposal."

"Very well, then," says Zaal. "I will give the marines on the Qwib-Qwib a debriefing as soon as this meeting is over." He then looks over to where Daro'Xen has stood this entire time, looking at Legion in an almost creepy way. "You haven't said a word, Daro'Xen."

"It's almost unnerving, really," says Han. "What do you think of this."

"I have no opinion," says Daro'Xen. Right, and your counterpart over on Thedas wasn't running a covert gambit behind the Warden's back. "I shall agree with the current consensus, though, given that it seems logical."

I frown, turning my gaze to Daro'Xen. Before I can say anything, though, Shala speaks. "I think that this consensus will have to be enough," she says, turning to Legion. "And you say that this base on Rannoch is important?"

Legion's head-flaps move once again. "It is peculiar," says Legion. "The geth believe this base has origins extending beyond the Creators. Additionally, a small part of our consensus states that this base might have been built by the old machines. We do not know: however, involving the Creators can work towards developing unit cohesion."

"So I see," says Rael as he stands up. He nods. "Thank you, Legion. The quarians will be setting foot on our homeworld for the first time in over three hundred years thanks to you. Let us hope that these negotiations don't break down before we can move all of our people to Rannoch."

"We express similar concerns," says Legion.

* * *

><p>I stand at the little courtyard thing there. This time, though, there's only Tali and I standing around. Tali's over by where Shepard was standing when I yelled at the admirals, and I'm... well, I'm not standing next to her, so...<p>

I look around, trailing a hand against the dais that Rael was leaning against as I yelled at the admirals. "You know, Tali, this place is eerily quiet when there's nobody else here."

"I know," Tali agrees. "I knew some people who would come here for the solitude." She glances over to me. "Well, when they could find it empty."

My eyes glance around the room. "I dunno," I say. "I've never found cold, steel walls to be inviting." I sigh. "But then, I never grew up on a starship, so I wouldn't know." I shake my head, turning back to Tali to see she's looking at me. "You know, Tali... I could use a few more concrete walls." I chuckle softly, turning around to look at the side of the room. "Call me the sentimental type, but... it's so strangely impersonal when you live in a place where all the walls are made of metal."

"What were concrete walls like?" asks Tali.

I glance up. "Probably like the walls you saw over at Haestrom," I comment. "Rough, sturdy... and inviting, in a sense." Wait, that's... Oh my. I shake my head, chuckling softly. "God, I never thought I'd call a mix of water and other things that hardens after a couple of hours inviting. But compared to metal walls..." I sigh wistfully, crossing my arms. "I'd give anything to see an honest to god house again. One with a slanted roof that has all the reddish-brown tiles on top of it that people could paint and repaint..." I smile. "Maybe when we go to the homeworld, I can... I..." I pause, finding myself looking down at the ground. "Actually, maybe having me help your father build the house might not be such a good idea. I'd probably wreck things more than help, really. Or get yelled at by him." I shrug. "Besides, I shouldn't be dictating what kind of house he's going to build." I glance around me. "And I _really _shouldn't be speculating on that on the Fle-"

I pause suddenly seeing a door on the far side open. I blink, seeing Legion there. Huh, I was pretty sure he had gone to speak to Zaal'Koris further after Zaal had given the marines the debriefing about what they were doing with the science team. I look over to the geth platform curiously as he begins heading towards us. Hm, I wonder what he's here for...

I turn around, heading out towards where Legion is walking towards. It only takes a few seconds for us to meet up around where that path leading up to where Tali and I just were begins.

"Legion," I say, raising my eyebrows. "What's up with you?"

His head flaps shift for a second or two before he regards Tali and I. "We were returning to Normandy," says the geth unit. "It is against probability to see you and Creator Tali'Zorah here."

"It's against probability for things to be going so well right now," I comment. "But, here we are."

"We find this consensus to be correct," says Legion. "We wish to pose a query to Creator Tali'Zorah."

Tali shifts her posture slightly. "What do you need?" she asks.

Legion's flashlight head shifts slightly. "We believe Zaal'Koris and Rael'Zorah to be our current allies at the moment," the geth begins. "However, the gestural cues we have from the Creators indicate discomfort on the part of Zaal'Koris. We seek clarification."

Tali nods. "Zaal'Koris and my father were not friendly for a while," says Tali. "Their stances were wildly different; as I'm sure you know, father wanted to go to war with the geth." She takes a step. "Zaal'Koris is probably uncomfortable about my father's sudden change of opinion on this stance."

"Yeah, that's probably it," I say. "You should've been here for Tali's trial. Zaal'Koris was a bit of a dick to Tali throughout most of that."

"Acknowledged," says Legion. "We were curious as to this. We know of Rael'Zorah's history of disliking the geth, but we did not know that it caused hostilities within the Creators." It turns to me. "We are still puzzled by why organics are constantly arguing. Do organics really turn on each other so easily?"

"That depends on who you're talking about," I reply. "We can be a little weird like that, given that none of us are ever the same. But in a way... that makes us what we are."

"Acknowledged," Legion repeats. "*********-Serviceman, we wished to pose an additional query about something we encountered on the extranet."

I raise my eyebrows, crossing my arms. "What about?"

Legion's head flaps move. "We came across something that organics are supposed to find funny. We are not certain why, for we believe it is a rather dumb joke."

"What kind of joke are we talking about here?" I ask.

"The joke in question is 'that's what she said'."

...

...

I immediately start laughing.

Legion tilts his head. "We do not understand," he says. "What is funny about this?"

I shake my head, smiling. "Oh, Legion, you just made my _week_," I comment. "See, the point of a 'that's what she said' joke is that it's used to highlight accidental innuendo." I hold my hand up. "Like, if I say 'that looks hard' and you say 'that's what she said', it's supposed to refer to certain..." I blink. Shit... how do I put this in terms that a machine could understand? "Certain... uh... _stimuli_ in relation to organic mating behavior." Yes, that's it.

...

"God, that sounds awkward."

Tali shakes her head, and I can just tell that she's begrudgingly amused at this. "I think he understands the point, though," she says.

"Indeed," says Legion. "We wish to see more of how this 'that's what she said' joke works."

"First, you have to know how mating behavior works," I say. "You can ask Mordin for more information about that. And then, it's just a matter of finding suggestive somethings and throwing that in."

I hear a slight rubbing of foot material against the ground, and I turn to Tali to see she's wringing her hands nervously. "Art, are you _sure _it's a good idea to be telling a geth about suggestive jokes?" she asks.

I shrug. "It wouldn't be the first time I've caused a species-wide tradition to be born out of immature humor," I casually comment. "Which reminds, me, actually... you just lost the g-"

And right as I get the last syllable out, another door opens. I look over, seeing Kal'Reegar standing there. He looks like he's been looking for us for a while, and...

Wait, hang on.

"Art! Tali! There you are!" He walks over to us, casting a suspicious glance at Legion before walking up to us. "Iya has returned to the Fleet with the quarian she saved from Pilgrimage."

I blink. Wait, did Kal just use Tali's...

Never mind. That's not the important thing right now.

"She did?" I ask. "Is everyone heading there?"

"Most of the marines are," says Kal. "But I hear that one of the admirals is going to be present as well."

"I see," I say.

"Very well," says Tali. "Besides, I think it's time I said hello to Iya, anyhow. Lead the way, Kal."

"Certainly, ma'am," says Kal.

Aw, nuts! Right when he breaks the habit, he decides to get right back into it. Damn it, Kal!

* * *

><p>Kal takes Tali and I to a group of marines that is gathering outside the airlock. They all look like they're there for extra security. Kal told us to expect them, but... well, there are actually less marines than I was expecting, if this is to make sure that our admiral gets a hold of this quarian who was on Pilgrimage. I know this guy was in danger, but... it kind of makes me wonder. Why would an admiral take interest in this? I mean... I'm not sure why they would, but...<p>

Hm, speaking of that, actually, which admiral are we talking about here, anyhow?

I look among the crowd, seeking any signs of the mystery admiral. I don't have to look long, for I then see Admiral Daro'Xen walking amongst them.

...

Wait, the Witch of the Wilds is there. And if she's there...

No, no, Art, don't think like that. She's actually been pretty civil throughout most of this, even if she hasn't said a word. Well, honestly, that's probably better than nothing. Maybe she's here for a relatively good reason. I don't know. Either way, I know from the game that she was planning something. I don't know a thing about how this quarian on Pilgrimage fits into whatever she's planning, but I suppose we'll find out soon enough.

Either way, she is simply standing there, looking over at the airlock. She briefly glances over to Tali and I as we take a place by Kal at the head of the line, but of course Daro'Xen says nothing as she turns her attention to the airlock doors.

I look over there just in time to see the panel turn green. I can faintly hear the decontamination cycle ending, and then I see the doors open.

Kal nods, and then I watch as Iya'Miya enters the Rayya. Kal nods to her, and I sense that Iya is relieved to be back on the Rayya. I see her headmask turn to face Tali and I for a brief second, but if she's pleasantly surprised the only way she shows it is by a slight twitch in her arms. She nods back to Kal, and then turns to Daro'Xen.

"So you're here, ma'am," says Iya. "We've recovered him from his Pilgrimage. It seems as if he sustained some major impact injuries, but otherwise he should be all right."

"Indeed," says Daro'Xen. I watch the admiral as she approaches Iya. "Thank you, Iya. I didn't think Kar'Danna would authorize my search for him, but it seems I have my trust placed in the right places."

"That you do, ma'am," says Iya. She then turns back to the airlock. I look over, and-

...

What the hell?

That... I see a pair of marines flanking this quarian that apparently came home from Pilgrimage. But... the environmental suit on this quarian... It's brown, and it's got a black veil on it. I... And those patterns... I've seen them before.

No... No, it couldn't possibly be...

Daro'Xen stands in front of the quarian on Pilgrimage.

"Welcome home, Iden'Roya nar Neema."

...

Wait, Iden'Roya? No no no no no! There's something _terribly _wrong with this picture. Iden'Roya doesn't technically-

"It is good to be back."

And that doesn't sound like him at all! I...

I frown, stiffening slightly. I have to clench my fist to keep my body language from revealing more. Damn it, why am I surrounded by a species that has mastered the art of reading body language by now? I shift slightly, and I turn to Tali. She notices how perturbed I look, but doesn't really say anything about it. I turn my attention back to this... this Iden'Roya, apparently, and watch as Daro'Xen continues talking to him. I don't know what he's saying, but I don't care.

Something happened to Nogond. And now I think someone's using his assumed name to get onto somewhere... And if Daro'Xen is involved...

...

What the hell are you planning, Daro'Xen? And who is this man that's taken Nogond's place in his environmental suit?

And where the hell is Nogond after all this? I... Shit, I need to tell Jenny. And Garrus and Madison, too. Maybe even Carhon, but we'll see... no, maybe I should talk to all four of them at once. This is not good...

I shake my head, watching as Daro'Xen and this impostor move along within the halls of the Rayya. The marines disperse rather animatedly after that, but I can't bring myself to think about it too hard. Not after what I just saw. I shake my head, taking in a deep breath.

"Art! Tali!"

I'm caught off guard upon hearing this from Iya. "Iya!" says Tali. "It is good to see you're doing well."

"Yes, we're all doing great," says Iya. "So how've things been?"

"Crazy," I mention, shaking my head. "I... I just remembered I had to do something on the Normandy."

Tali looks over to me, but by now she's noticed how perturbed I am, so doesn't say anything. "Is something wrong?" asks Iya.

"It's... a long story," I say. "I'll tell you everything later. Trust me on this."

"Hey, you've gotta do what you can, right?" asks Iya. "I heard about what happened to your Commander. It won't make a difference, but I'm sorry to hear that it happened. Shepard's a good woman."

"That she is," I say, nodding. "I'll see you later, Iya." I turn to Kal. "Kal, keep an eye on Tali while we're here." I then turn to Tali. "Tali, I'll see you on the ship, right?"

"Yes, of course," says Tali.

"Good."

With this, I turn on my heel, and quickly walk away from the airlock where the Rayya picked up Nogond's impostor. Shit... I have to figure out hte story behind that fast. I mean... Jesus Christ on a pikestaff...

I do _not _like where this is going one bit.

I lift my hand to my headset. Hm... where's the... "Joker?"

"_Oh hey Art_," says the pilot. "_What's up?_"

"Quite a bit," I say. "Listen, Joker, could you do me a huge favor and have EDI get Madison, Garrus, Carhon, and Jenny to meet me in Port Observation?"

"_Sure_," says Joker. "_You heard all that, right EDI?_"

"_Of course, Jeff_."

Good. "Then make sure they're there," I say. "I'm getting back to the ship right now."

* * *

><p>I enter Port Observation to find them staring at me. My helmet is still in my hands, and I take stock of the room. Hm... Kasumi doesn't look like she's in here, but I did see her leaving the armory as I walked up to the elevator in the CIC, so it stands to reason she isn't here right now. I nod, noticing how all four of them are sitting on the couch.<p>

I nod, walking into the room and placing my helmet on the little table in front of the couch. "Good, you're all here," I say.

"What's this about?" asked Madison. "You sure got to the ship in a hurry."

"It's a long story," I say, looking over to Jenny. "But some... _things _came up." I hold my hands together in front of me, looking at the four people in front of me. "I need you to tell me something: have any of you heard from Nogond lately?"

Carhon frowns. "Why would you ask?" he says. "Sidonis specifically told us we could never talk to each other across any comm channels once we left. I'll never know why we don't just use secure channels, but-"

"We haven't heard much from him," says Garrus as he stands up. "We'd run the risk of exposing the three of them." Garrus looks over to Jenny. "Although, I think Nogond has been updating Jenny on how things are for him every so often..."

Jenny crosses her arms. "That's right, mate," she says. "There are times where he's been blatherin' on about various things. Lireya and Sidonis seem to be doing quite well, and he's even got someone 'e fancies. Good time for all, yeah?" She frowns. "But... I dunno, mate. He was supposed ta send me a message last week, an' so far, I don't have it."

I frown. "Wait, you mean, he hasn't contacted you?"

"No," she says, glancing to the side. "It's mighty unusual, too. 'E usually sends me somethin' whenever we can. It's my way of lookin' after 'im, ya know?"

"Yeah, I totally know what you mean," I say. "No, it's just..." I shake my head. "Carhon, Madison, I know you weren't there for this... but Garrus... you remember that Nogond's assumed name on Invictus was _supposed _to be Iden'Roya nar Neema, right?"

"Yes," says Garrus. "Are you getting at something?"

I nod. "Iya'Miya came back to the Fleet today with a quarian on Pilgrimage that was hanging around Invictus," I say. "Even worse, his name was Iden'Roya."

Madison sits back. "So there's an Iden'Roya on the Fleet," she says. "So?"

I shake my head, looking over to Jenny. Oh, shit... "Well..." I say. "It would all be fine and dandy, if it wasn't for the fact that this guy named Iden'Roya was wearing Nogond's environmental suit, and then for the fact that the voice of this Iden'Roya sounded _nothing _like Nogond."

Jenny leans forward. From the way her eyebrows move, she looks perplexed at this. "That's... That's mighty weird," she says. Her perplexed look suddenly morphs into a frown as she stands up. "And it ain't good, either. Ya think...?"

"I don't know if he has," I say, looking over to Garrus. "Do you still have Sidonis and Lireya's contact information?"

"I should," says Garrus. "It'll be risky, but Sidonis is smart. I'll contact them about Nogond when I can."

I nod. "Good," I say. "But honestly, that's not even the worst thing."

"Why?" asks Carhon. "I heard that the admirals were interested. That's good, right?"

... Damn it, how to put this without spilling the beans to Carhon...? Well, actually, I should probably plan on telling him soon anyhow, seeing as how he's in close with Madison and Garrus. But for now... "It depends on which admiral sometimes, Carhon," I say. "And the admiral who took most interest in this was Daro'Xen." I unclasp my hands, pointing at the wall as I continue talking. "Call it a gut feeling, but I feel like Daro'Xen is plotting something. And for some reason, I can't shake the feeling that this quarian on Pilgrimage is the key to that."

"Yeah, I can understand your concern," says Madison. "And we can't just go onto the Moreh and ask about it, because that would be suspicious too, I guess."

"That it would," I say, crossing my arms. "And it wouldn't help with negotiations if we had an admiral who was suspicious of more than just Legion. That too."

"I think it's a dumb idea to leave at that," says Carhon. He shakes his head, looking over to Madison. "I don't get your species sometimes, Madison."

"Well, we can't just get onto a ship with an admiral on it and collect information," says the former journalist. "Not only would we be caught easily, but I'm pretty sure that quarians encrypt _everything _they have, so we wouldn't be able to get much, anyway."

"That's true," Carhon agrees, crossing his arms as he shifts where he's sitting. "So I guess we sit and wait?"

"I guess we do," I say, sighing. "Trust me, Carhon, I don't like it either, but we do what we have to."

"Right." By the tone of his voice, I can guess Carhon's _clearly _not convinced, but hey, we do what we can.

I take a step back, shrugging. "Well... that's all, I guess."

"I'll get around to it as soon as I can," says Garrus. "In the meantime... Tali is still on the Rayya, right?"

"She should be, yeah," I say. "I'm going to tell her about that as soon as I see her. She doesn't really know about Nogond's assumed identity."

"You take care of that," says Madison as she stands up. "We'll take care of contacting Sidonis."

"Gotcha," I say, nodding. With this, I

Jenny sighs. "Oh, I hope Nogond's okay," she says. "If... if he's in trouble..."

As I walk out of Port Observation, I hear Garrus briefly mention that it will be all right. I don't pay attention to his exact wording, though, because I think I might already know the answer to what happened to Nogond...

* * *

><p>"EDI, are you <em>sure <em>that Tali never boarded the Normandy?"

"_I am certain. I do not know where she is on this ship, and there is nothing to suggest she passed through the airlock._"

I frown, sitting in bed. "That's... that's really freaking weird, EDI," I say. "You're _sure _about this."

"_As I said the last four times you asked this, yes._"

I shake my head. Just... what the hell? First, this not-Nogond shows up, and now Tali doesn't come back to the Normandy? I swear, I sat up in bed waiting for her to come on back until I literally just fell asleep. This visit keeps getting stranger and stranger. And I can't help...

Okay, Art, calm down. Maybe she's still on the Rayya or somethin'. After all, Rael himself didn't come back to the Normandy the first night we were here, and he returned just fine. And now, we've got all these negotiations going on that he's spearheading. So maybe Tali just got carried away by things out of her control. Yeah, that's probably it. She got stuck on the Rayya helping the people there out. Nothing to it, and it's in her nature.

Yeah, that's probably it. Maybe.

...

God damn it, why can't I shake the sneaking suspicion that Daro'Xen is behind this too? Yeah, Nogond I can get, but now Tali? Jesus Christ on a pikestaff, I'm just being a paranoid jackass right now. And that's _not _good for anyone.

"Okay," I say. "Maybe she's on the Rayya. I'm going to go off ship for a bit, EDI."

"_Rael wished to remind you that there will be more talks with Legion today,_" says EDI. "_I would seek Tali out then."_

"Yeah, I would too," I say, pulling the sheets away from me. "Thank you for the reminder, EDI. I'll be heading out to the Rayya relatively soon."

"_Logging you out_."

I pull my feet over, glancing outside at the drive core. Maybe she's... no, she wouldn't be there. EDI would've told me that if she was. No... Maybe she'll be at the next meeting where the talks are.

Yeah, maybe I'll see her there.

* * *

><p>And what do you know, she isn't here either.<p>

This is getting uncomfortably strange, I have to admit. First Tali doesn't return to the Normandy, and now she's not here? This is... This is not good.

I shake my head, looking over to the negotiations which are going on. I'm not really sure why they're going on today: all we're saying right now is pretty much the same thing we said the last time. Well, to a different topic anyhow, but everyone's about the same. Zaal is full-heartedly going into it, Rael is being a major help to the negotiations, Han'Gerrel is the voice of 'well, wait a minute there', Shala moderating, and Daro'Xen being even quieter than an alligator in water. If that last bit even makes sense.

Either way, it's same old, same old. Well, actually, not really, now that I think about it: Han'Gerrel looks more open to talking to Legion at the moment. I dunno, but when I've tuned in and Han's been addressing Legion... well, he doesn't really seem that violently opposed to talking with Legion right now. Which could mean that Han is being won over by Legion. Imagine that.

It doesn't stop my thoughts from wondering to Tali, though. Where is she? Why isn't she back at the Normandy? Is she okay? Oh, God, I hope she's okay... If she's not...

No no, Art, she's fine. For Christ's sake, she's home with the quarian people. She's in the company of family, essentially. She'll be fine.

I shake my head, looking up as Han'Gerrel looks at the Legion.

"I have some small reservations about this," he says. "This data on the Fleet could be used against us in any way you see fit."

"We believe that the probability of using such a data to harm the Creators is low, if the Creators decide to take peaceful action," says Legion. "We will not use it if we are not given reason to."

Han nods. "That's true," he admits. "And I suppose it would be a pretty big risk for the geth for you to freely give data about your own arms as freely as you are offering now, for the same argument I'm using now."

"Yes." Legion's reply is rather short.

"I think it's worth considering," says Zaal'Koris. "You say such data can be used against the other side: I say it's a way to bridge the gap between the geth and the quarian people, if it'll promote how we understand the other side."

"This much is very true," Han admits. "I have my reservations, of course, but... if we can get insights into geth weapons and how they work, then that would be a good breakthrough for our people..."

"Then I assume we shall take a vote on this exchange of data?" asks Shala.

"I suppose so," says Han as he opens his omni-tool.

I look over to Rael, who glances at me in worry. It's weird seeing him out of his suit again and using more than just the position of his body to let me know what he's thinking, but I guess I just need to get used to seeing a quarian outside of his or her suit all the time. I can tell he's worried too: he hasn't been speaking as much as he normally does in these deliberations. And every time he scans the room, I seem to notice.

The rest of the talk goes by pretty quickly, almost too quickly for me to actually process. And I keep on weaving in and out of paying attention to it and thinking back to Tali. I know I shouldn't worry that much, but I just can't shake this thought from my head. Maybe the arrival of this Iden'Roya person didn't help...

I need... No... Maybe Kal and Iya know where Tali went. I'll ask them once this thing lets out. And maybe then, I'll let Iya know about the whole Iden'Roya issue. Either way... I have to start asking around. If Tali isn't here, then that can't mean anything good.

I spare a final glance at Rael as Shala nods.

"It is decided, then," she says. "There will be an exchange of data between us and the geth pertaining to weapons systems."

* * *

><p>I don't have to search long to find Kal and Iya. They're both chatting where I was speaking with Veetor earlier, and I can see Veetor looking on at a distance. I approach Kal and Iya, the two marines looking up at me in surprise.<p>

"Oh, Art," says Iya as she stands up. "I wish we could have spoken a little more yesterday."

I nod. "Hi Iya," I say. "It's been a while, hasn't it? How've you been?"

"Good, good," she replies, as Kal walks next to her. "I haven't seen much action since Haestrom, but perhaps that's for the best at the moment. Honestly, picking up Iden'Roya was my first assignment."

... Shit, I need to bring that up. "I see," I say. "Good to see you're still running about." I glance to the side. "Although... there _is _something I need to talk to you about concerning your latest assignment. And I need to do it privately, too."

Kal shrugs. "Privately?" he asks. "That's interesting. I'm not sure why you'd take interest in Iden'Roya."

I shake my head. "I know you're not the guy who likes to ask questions, Kal, but in this case I think there's something you and Iya both need to know about things," I say. "And you need to know about them, because I don't like what it could mean for the rest of us. Let's just say... there may be more than one reason why Daro'Xen took interest in rescuing this quarian..."

Iya and Kal both look a little uncomfortable. "I... I see," says Iya. "Well, the training grounds aren't being used right now, so..."

"Yeah, we could use some privacy." I nod to Kal, who then leads the way.

Iya and I follow, weaving our way through multiple quarians. It takes a couple of minutes, but we finally walk over to a more secluded training ground. It's... well, it's rather nice. It's a small training area with dummies, and other things. I'd ask where all the hay bales went, but that would be a stupid question since the quarians don't quite have that many resources. Well... it'll be a curiosity in my mind, but I'll always know the answer.

Anyhow, Kal stops by one of the dummies. He nods to me as Iya comes to stand so that she can face both of us.

"Okay," says Kal. "We followed you this far. Now... where do you start?"

I nod. "Maybe from the beginning."

It's with this that I begin telling them everything about Iden'Roya: I tell them about Nogond, and how he had to run on over to Invictus under the assumed name of Iden'Roya. I tell them about how I think it's a little suspicious about how Daro'Xen seemed to take so much interest in a quarian who technically doesn't actually exist. And then I mention about how Iden'Roya didn't seem to recognize me. I mean, I'm sure he would've recognized me, since I met Nogond.

And at the end of it, Iya is standing there with crossed arms.

"That's... that could be one of the most unlikely stories I've ever heard in my life," she says.

Oh, trust me, I can do you one much better than _that__. _"And yet, it all makes sense," I say. "Jenny and Garrus are going to check up on Nogond soon. We'll find out more about what to expect from this Iden'Roya then. But for now..." I shake my head. "I don't like this Iden'Roya character one bit."

"I can see why," says Kal. "It all sounds crazy, but if it's true that someone replaced someone else... that's not good. I know I'd be suspicious of someone like that too."

"Yeah," I say. "I thought you should know that, especially you, Iya."

"I don't know if it's a good thing," Iya replies. "I'm... uncertain, now. Thinking that Daro'Xen might be planning something that won't turn out to be a good thing in the long run."

"I don't know if that's her intent," I say. "But the way it is now..." I shake my head. "Anyway, I thought I should bring that up. Do you know where he is right now?"

"He's on the Moreh at the moment," says Iya. "He was transferred there as soon as he came back to the Fleet. He says he didn't want any visitors though, so..."

"Yeah," I say. "Actually, since I'm here, there's another thing I need to mention." I look to them. "Do either of you know where Tali is?"

Kal leans forward. "She didn't return to the Normandy?"

"No," I say. "And she didn't show at the latest round of negotiations between Legion and stuff, anyhow. We waited almost an hour for her to arrive until Shala'Raan motioned to go ahead without her." I raise my hands in the air. "Shala'Raan, of all people!"

As my arms fall back to the sides, Kal and Iya lean forward. "That's strange," she said. "Did she... maybe get stranded on the Neema?"

I raise my eyebrows at this. "She was on the Neema?"

"Yes," says Kal. "Right as soon as we finished talking with her, Admiral Han'Gerrel asked Tali to see him. She went with him, and from there I'm sure they returned to the Neema."

"So if anyone would know, it would be Han," says Iya.

I frown, rubbing my chin. "That's weird," I say. "Han mentioned he had spoken to Tali yesterday, but he didn't mention she had gone to the Neema to do so. That's..." I shake my head. "Either way, he says he had no idea where Tali went after he spoke with her yesterday."

"That doesn't sound good," says Iya. "If you'd like, we can ask around to see if anyone has seen Tali."

I blink, smiling. "That... that would be much appreciated, actually," I say. "You can talk to the people I don't know, and... well... You think I'll be able to find anything if I run around the Fleet?"

"I think so," says Iya.

"I'm sure you'll find something," says Kal. "If I know this Fleet, then I know that everyone knows who Tali'Zorah is. I'm sure _someone _has seen her somewhere."

"Yeah, I'm sure of it too," I say. "Thanks. I'll start looking for her a bit, and you guys can start asking around." I nod, walking away from the dummy. "I'll see you guys later. Hopefully by then..."

"Hopefully," says Iya, as she and Kal walk away from the training area with me. "We'll see what we can find."

I nod. "If something happens with me, I'll let you know."

* * *

><p>Well... I looked around, asked around, and even jumped over to two different ships asking around for Tali, and whaddya know, no luck.<p>

And when I got back to the Normandy to get some much-needed shut-eye, she _still _wasn't there. This is _really _beginning to worry me.

It's so much so that I barely got sleep last night. I spent I don't know how long tossing and turning and stuff. Which is weird, because the fact that we're having high-tension negotiations about the future of both the geth and the quarian people doesn't phase me. And yet, the fact that Tali has been away from the Normandy for two whole nights is the thing that concerns me more at the moment? It's weird.

But... Oh, I hope Tali's okay. I'm sure she is... No, she's home. Nobody would think about hurting her her...

...would they?

I sit up in bed, shaking my head as I look over to the drive core. I sigh, pulling my legs closer to my torso. Jesus Christ on a pikestaff...

I look ahead of me blankly. Maybe she'll be back at negotiations today. Maybe then-

The door opens suddenly.

I jump slightly, turning my attention to the door. As I place my hands behind me on the bed so I can stabilize myself, I can see that...

...

Oh, it's only Madison.

I shake my head, letting out a sigh of relief. "God, Madison, don't scare me like that," I say. "Especially not when I've been on edge about this whole thing."

"I'm sorry," she says as she steps in. "I guess you haven't slept well?"

"No." I release my legs, watching as the journalist sits in the bed close to where I'm sitting. "I'm worried to death about Tali. She hasn't come back in two nights. I'm afraid that something's happened to her." I turn to the wall in front of me. "I know she's home right now, but I can't help but worry about her like this. This isn't normal, even for having returned home for something important to her people."

"It's not, no," says Madison. "Well, I guess that answers the first question I had."

I nod, scooting closer to Madison. "Thanks for... kind of asking, I guess?"

"It's no problem," she replies. "EDI might've mentioned you weren't doing so well, actually."

EDI's hologram appears in its usual spot by the door. "_I found that you were not sleeping quite as well as you normally do,_" says EDI. "_According to Dr. Chakwas, such sleeping patterns were likely the cause of worry. I alerted Madison to that._"_  
><em>

"Thanks, EDI," I say. "I appreciate it."

"_Logging you out_."

The hologram disappears shortly afterwards, and then Madison scoots closer. "Yeah, you weren't sleeping so well," she says. "But that's actually not the main reason I'm here."

... Huh?

"It's not?" I ask. "Then... then what is?"

"It's about your 'friend', Iden'Roya," she replies.

I lean forward. "You mean you know about what happened with Nogond?" I ask. "What... what happened?"

Madison opens her mouth, and pauses. She glances off to the side, and noticeably sinks away from me. "I..."

...

Oh, _shit_.

"He's... he's not... _dead_, is he?" I ask, leaning forward.

"I..." Madison closes her eyes. I know from the way she's shaking her head that... Oh, _shit_! "Garrus just got off of the comms with Sidonis. According to him and Lireya, they had to leave Invictus. Nogond... They found his body discarded by a dumpster..." She pauses, opening her eyes and letting out a very sad sigh. "His body wasn't covered by an environmental suit." The journalist shakes her head, placing her hands on the bed as she looks up to that point where the wall and the ceiling meet. "The law enforcement on Invictus thinks that someone else killed him, dragged him into a clean room, and switched suits. The suit they found next to him was too big to fit Nogond."

I jerk back. "W-what?" I ask. "No. That's just not..." I lean forward. "Does Jenny know?"

The journalist simply sighs. "Garrus just went down to the hangar bay to break the news to Jenny." She closes her eyes, and I notice her shoulders sag. "She's not going to take it well."

"I should think not!" I say. "I mean, Jenny and Nogond were practically the best of friends! I... I..."

...

Wait. Shit.

"I... wait a minute," I say. "So Nogond is dead, right? And I assume this new quarian stole his suit..."

...

Oh _hell _no!

"I think we know where his killer is," Madison continues, looking at me.

I turn to look at her, giving a frown that I know isn't becoming of me. I can't help it, though. "That's just..." I shake my head. "Okay, and now I _know _something is up. I don't think _any _admiral worth their salt would devote resources to bringing back an impostor unless they had something to gain from it."

"But what?" asks Madison. "I don't know what anyone would gain from that on this Fleet."

"Neither do I," I say. "Which means we have only _one _person we can go to for answers." I throw the covers off of myself and stand up as soon as I say this. "Madison, we're going straight to Daro'Xen about this. Now."

I don't get any further than three feet from the bed to get to my armor before Madison abruptly stands up. "Art, wait," she says. "Maybe we shouldn't approach her individually."

"And why not?" I ask. "She's the one who has the answers."

"And we run the risk of being silenced if we tell her," says Madison. "But there are other admirals. Maybe if we told them, then they could pressure Daro'Xen into revealing what she knows."

I look over to Madison. Hm... Well, I can't say I like the thought of pressuring someone politically, but... If it'll get her to reveal whoever this supposed Iden'Roya actually is, then it might just work. And besides, it's something the other admirals would want to know, anyway: if this is an exile that Daro'Xen brought back to the Fleet...

"Yeah, maybe that's a better idea," I say. "Okay. We're going to find the other admirals then. Maybe Shala will know where they are." I walk over to where my armor is laying around, picking it up and carrying it to the bed. "So we'll do that, and hopefully get some answers out of Daro'Xen."

Madison nods. "I'll meet you at the airlock," she says. "I'm going with you. I've got all the information on Nogond's secret identity from Garrus. I'm telling Carhon to come, too: he knew Nogond the best out of all of us on Garrus' squad."

"Yeah, that would be good," I say. "Meet me at the airlock. I'll be there as soon as I can."

And with this, Madison exits. I pick up my armor purposefully, nodding as I begin shedding what clothes I was wearing in bed.

God damn it... if this son of a bitch did what I think he did...

Then there is going to be _hell _to pay.

* * *

><p>Madison, Carhon, and I walk right on over to where we've been having these deliberations. And fortune is with us, for I see Shala'Raan standing there. She looks over to the three of us, and steps away from the wall she was leaning against.<p>

"Ah, Art," she says. "How are you on this morning?"

"Tired, angry, and _much _more than a little suspicious," I say, walking right up to her. Madison comes up behind me, and I can see Carhon take his place next to me out of the corner of my eyes. "Do you know where the rest of the admirals are?"

"They are arriving as we speak," she says. "Is there any reason you feel you need to ask?"

I nod. "One reason too many," I say. "Trust me, I've got reason to believe Daro'Xen has smuggled someone _very _dangerous onto the Fleet. I have _no _idea who she brought onto the Fleet, but-"

"Smuggled?" asks Shala. "Where do you get this idea?"

I hold my hand behind my back. "You know the quarian who was on 'Pilgrimage' who showed up a couple days ago?" I ask. "The one Daro'Xen took interest in?"

"Yes, of course," says the quarian admiral. "She was the one who gave the order to seek him out."

I turn to Madison. "Then that only confirms our fears more," says Madison. "It's a long story, Shala, and we need all the admirals here except for Daro'Xen."

"What's this about having all the admirals except Daro'Xen?"

The three of us turn, and I see Han'Gerrel standing at the entrance of the room. He looks decidedly confused, which I can't really blame him seeing as how... well, there's no context to the things we've said so far. And now...

"Well, this ought to be interesting," says Carhon as he turns around. "And it's actually fortuitous that you're here." He turns his head to look at me. "Art, you said his name was Iden'Roya nar Neema, right?"

... Oh, _shit_, that's right!

"Yes, it was," I say.

Han steps into the room. "Oh, this is about that quarian on Pilgrimage that Daro'Xen has taken an interest in?" he asks. "I thought it was strange at first. Too strange, actually: when I checked the information on my ship's births, I could not find a single person named Iden'Roya who was still alive." He shakes his head. "I'm not sure why you'd be interested, though."

Madison takes a step forward. "So you just let Daro'Xen accept someone onto the Fleet who doesn't even appear on a ship registry?" she asks in disbelief. "Why would you even _do _that?"

"Daro'Xen made a point that this quarian would be good for the Fleet," says Shala. "Apparently, he was an incredible hacker who Daro'Xen met."

I shake my head. "How does that even make sense?" I ask. "That would only make sense if this guy was-"

"-on the Moreh?" asks Han'Gerrel. "As I recall, Daro'Xen said something to the effect of 'his parents lived on the Moreh, so he visited sometimes'." He shook his head. "I was one of the dissenting parties when we took it to vote the first time. The whole set-up just seemed wrong to me. I changed my mind when we voted again, but..."

I nod, glaring at Shala'Raan. "Well, Han, I think your initial instinct might've been right," I say. "Shala, call Zaal and Rael and tell them to get their asses over here right now. We have things to discuss, and we need to discuss them now."

* * *

><p>"We don't know who this Iden'Roya actually is. But that doesn't matter. What does, is that whoever this person is might be a threat. And whoever it is, Daro'Xen gave them a free pass onto the Fleet. I think that that fact alone is bad for the Fleet."<p>

I lean back, looking at the admirals. They look rather flabbergasted by what we just told them about Iden'Roya and Nogond'Viraliz and everything else. We're standing in the center of the room, with Han and Shala standing where they usually would during the negotiations. Rael and Zaal are here too, and they look about as shocked as I was when I first heard this. I stand there, with Madison holding Nogond's information from Harkin, and with Carhon standing there with his arms crossed.

"I..." Rael shakes his head. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," I say, looking over to them. "And you all voted on this, right?"

"We did," says Zaal'Koris. "I _knew _there was something wrong with that set-up."

Han leans forward. "For the first time in history, I think you and I have agreed on something, Zaal'Koris."

...

Wow, you _know _things are fishy when two admirals who would normally disagree on something like this think the same way about something.

"What ultimately made you accept it?" asks Madison.

"Daro'Xen said she would keep Iden'Roya confined within the Moreh," says Shala. "We decided it was an... acceptable loophole in case our hunches turned out correct. Truly, it was a measure taken to break the deadlock that had occurred from the fact that this was something Rael'Zorah did not vote on."

"I said we shouldn't have anything to do with this 'Iden'Roya' in the first place," says Zaal'Koris. "We all knew there was something off about the whole thing, and yet you enabled Daro'Xen to act on it anyway. And now, for all we know, you could have allowed an exile to come back to the Fleet!" He crosses his arms, looking at Shala'Raan. "If something happens, I will say that you did nothing to help. I'll also consider you partly responsible for what happened."

Han turns to Zaal. "I never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Zaal'Koris on this," he says, crossing his arms. "The only reason I agreed to Daro'Xen's second set of conditions was because I thought it would be useful to the Fleet. But this new information..." Han pauses, bowing his head. "If anything should happen to the Fleet because of that, I will assume full responsibility of anything that happens."

I shake my head. "Not full," I say. "You couldn't have known that Daro'Xen was trying to bring a questionable person onto the Fleet. You had your doubts, but you couldn't have known this much about it."

"It still doesn't excuse me," says Han. "The fact of the matter is that if something happens, I'm at least partially responsible, as Shala'Raan is."

"Agreed," says Shala as she glances to the side. "If I had known any of this information about Nogond'Viraliz, I would have told Daro'Xen not to bring whoever this Iden'Roya is back."

"I don't know, Shala," says Madison. "Han and Zaal both had their reservations. I'm sure even you had your hunches."

"I had my hunches, but I wanted to give Daro'Xen a chance," Shala says, guiltily. "Nevertheless, Han is right. Whatever happens now, we will be partly responsible for it for enabling it in the first place."

I nod. "Well, that spares Zaal and Rael, since Zaal voted no both times, and Rael didn't vote at all," I mention. "Right?"

"That is correct," said Zaal'Koris.

"I knew the motion was passed," said Rael. "I... I cannot believe Daro'Xen would do something like this. She may have jeopardized the Fleet."

"Let's not think about that yet," says Shala. "Perhaps we-"

I hear a loud slam, and step back as Carhon glares up at Shala'Raan. "Let's not think about that yet?" Carhon asks loudly. "Whoever this quarian is _killed _Nogond'Viraliz nar Mindoir for his suit. I've seen a lot of evil men in my time, and I have to say that whoever this bastard is passed that threshold long before he ever returned to the Fleet."

"That is true," says Han. "I think we can tell just by the way he got here that we have someone dangerous on our hands."

"Indeed," says Zaal. "Now... I think this leaves the matter of what we do with Da-"

Before Zaal can continue on, however, the doors open.

"Admiral Creators. You are here."

We all turn, and see Legion standing in the doorway. Before we can say much else, though, he steps in. "Creator Daro'Xen is conspicuously absent. We find this does not matter. This is something that needs to be brought up as soon as possible."

I frown. "Something that needs...?" I ask. "Legion, what happened?"

"We received a message from the geth," says our resident geth platform. "These geth formed part of the science teams that hosted Creator Zaal'Koris' team of marines."

I freeze up, looking directly at Legion. "W-what?" asks Zaal'Koris. "We weren't supposed to hear back from them until later!"

"We find this just as puzzling," says Legion. "We thought to relay this message to you. It is relevant to the interests of both the geth and the Creators."

With this, he opens his omni-tool. I step back slightly, watching as all the other admirals look attentively. Legion opens up a file, and then we watch as the omni-tool displays some kind of video playback.

And on this playback, I can see a male quarian... I don't really know who he is, but I can see some of the admirals lean back in surprise. Hm... he doesn't look armed, so... he must be one of the scientists. He looks over to a point beyond the camera, turning his attention back. I hear the tell-tale digital screech of a geth, and then the quarian leans over.

"_I... I hope that means that this message is being sent,_" says the quarian. "_I haven't been able to understand what this geth platform is saying since we started this thing. We had a geth unit that was translating everything, but..._" The scientist shakes his head. "_That platform was the first of us to go._"

I glance over to Legion briefly, before turning my attention to the vid message. "_I have to be fast. There's something on our homeworld, and it needs to be destroyed._" He pauses, before looking back up at the video screen.

"_We were attacked before we could get within ten yards of this base the geth wanted to look at,_" this scientist continues. "_Our shuttle hadn't even landed before someone opened fire on us. Most of us didn't make it out of that, and some of us sustained wounds that we eventually died from. This geth platform and I are the only ones that have made it to complete the_ _objective._" He looks back at that same point beyond the camera, and I can sense a wistful quality in his voice. "_I... This geth platform saved my life more times than I can count, and I don't think I'd be here if not for it. It won't matter in a minute, but..._" He pauses again, looking back at the video screen. "_I'm here to tell you that the geth can be trusted. Believe me._"_  
><em>

I feel the goosebumps gather on my skin as he continues. "_We... we were attacked by humans, I think_," he says. Humans...? "_The initial attack gave us no clues as to who it was, but when we finally infiltrated the base... we found Cerberus insigna_."

I jolt. "Cerberus is involved with this too?" I ask in disbelief. "I-"

I'm interrupted by the video message again. "_I thought that the involvement of Cerberus was strange,_" the quarian scientist continues. "_So we spent the last six hours evading Cerberus and trying to get data. The data they have..._" He pauses. "_This place needs to be destroyed. There is technology here beyond what the geth have. When I asked my friend here, he typed out that it was the technology of the old machines that was present here. It also typed out that the amount of technology here indicates that there might be an actual old machine here_."

Oh my. Shit just got _real_.

We suddenly hear a sound come from off camera. "_Shit!_" the quarian curses. "_They found us!_" He then reaches beyond the camera, grabbing something that causes the camera to start wobbling out of control. As it does, I see the quarian run slightly ahead, and we can barely make out people that are wearing what appears to be Cerberus armor. "_Don't expect to find me alive! Destroying this base takes top priori-!_"

And then, the video feed abruptly ends with a wave of static. It stops after a few seconds, and then we all look to Legion.

I blink, looking at the geth platform. "Well," I say, inhaling deeply. "Shit just got real."

"We agree, *********-Serviceman," says Legion. "We believe the geth platform that recorded this is no longer functional. We do not know about this quarian scientist."

We turn our attention to the admirals. "This is... This is not good," says Han. "Not only do we have to worry about the old machines, but now Cerberus is on our homeworld..."

"And that's bad enough, but then there's the Reaper there," says Madison. "Unless we wipe that Reaper off the face of Rannoch, it's going to cause major problems for the Fleet if they try to colonize there." She shrugs. "Mainly concerning indoctrination and all that."

"This is indeed deeply concerning," says Zaal. "Legion, have you contacted the collective about this?"

Legion's head flaps shift. He stands perfectly still, so it's a surprise when he moves his head to look at Zaal'Koris while the head flaps are completely flared out. "Yes," says Legion. "The combined might of the quarian and geth forces may be able to take out this Reaper base. We recommend this course of action."

Han leans forward, shaking his head. "These negotiations just keep getting more and more interesting," he says. "First, the geth wish for a truce, and now they want us to fight next to them, and to help retake the homeworld from a different enemy."

"Don't worry, Han, even I have a hard time believing it," says Zaal. "I think recent events have caused us to agree quite a bit, don't you think?"

"It's surreal for me too, Zaal'Koris," says Han.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say that this is surreal, but that it is also the best opportunity we could have," says Rael. He leans forward from where he's standing, placing his arms on the little rail-thing he's standing in front of.

"Creator Rael'Zorah is correct," says Legion. "According to a statistical analysis, having the geth and the Creators work together to destroy this base of the old machines would engender unit cohesion between the geth and the creators. This raises our chances of peace with the quarian people up to approximately 78.14%, rounded down."

"And that's much higher than it was before," adds Zaal'Koris. "I don't know about you, but I approve of this geth platform's recommendation."

"As do I," says Rael. "If we can return to the homeworld with an understanding between the two of us, then that would be good for all of us."

Han nods. "I still do have my trepidations, but... this is reclaiming the homeworld we speak of," he states. "If we can reclaim it with any help, that would be good." He turns to Legion. "Even if we have to turn to the geth." He sighs. "The irony is palpable."

Pfft, you're telling _me _this, Han'Gerrel? "Then I think we are in agreement," says Shala'Raan. "Even if Daro'Xen disagrees with us, we-"

The door opens once again.

"Who said I would disagree?"

...

"Oh, hello, Daro'Xen," I say, crossing my arms. "So nice of you to join us now."

"My apologies," says Daro'Xen. "I had business on my ship to attend to." _Riiiiiiight_... "I overheard most of the conversation about Cerberus being on the homeworld. Cerberus should be purged from our homeworld, for it belongs to us."

...

Yeah... Can someone just get Flemeth over here? 'Cause I think she needs to be disciplined.

"So it's a unanimous vote, then..." Shala sounds just a little nervous of Daro'Xen, and honestly, who can blame her? "I see. You don't seem to mind that we'll be working with the geth."

"We would be working towards a common goal," says Daro'Xen. "And it would get us back the homeworld. I will do what I must."

...

If I didn't have it already from the whole thing surrounding Iden'Roya, I would've gotten the feeling that she's planning something. And out of the corner of my eye, I can see that Rael gets that feeling too, from how he's perched on the thing.

"Right." Han's statement. "Then we prepare to do something at our homeworld. We should head there immediately. Tell every team of marines on this Fleet to stand by for possible extraction."

"Legion, your people can scan Rannoch's surface, yes?" asks Rael.

The geth moves its head. "We are already taking action to scan the perimiter of the Reaper base," it says. "We will update all relevant platforms when our scan is complete."

"Excellent," says Han'Gerrel. "I never thought I'd say this to a geth of all things, but we wouldn't have a lead without you. Thank you."

"Your thanks is most appreciated," says Legion.

"I'm certain we all feel that way at the moment, Legion," says Zaal. "I am glad to know that I was right about the fact that this does not need to be long and hard for us to like where this is going."

Legion looks right at Zaal'Koris, its flashlight eyes looking directly at the admiral. The geth platform pauses, the head flaps going wild as he just stands there. What?

Uh... Legion...?

Finally, the geth platform speaks.

"That's what she said."


	19. Chapter 18

_A/N: Man, that felt good. It felt good, too, to see that I've gotten back to form in some way. I'm not sure what happened with the Tuchanka chapters, but... well, here's hoping we make up for that._

_Anyway, you know how it is. So last time, we set up a bunch of loose ends. So what is Daro'Xen planning? What is up with Tali? And where is everything gonna go?_

_You'll see, my dear sirs. For now, have the next chapter._

* * *

><p>Chapter 18: Webern: Passacaglia, Part Two<p>

The admirals, Miranda, Garrus, Legion, and I are all crowded around the war table. I look, seeing a projection of Rannoch on the screen. Hm... so that's what it looks like. Even in hologram form, it still looks a bit like Earth.

Kinda makes me antsy to get down to Rannoch, but we'll see.

"Our scan is complete," says Legion as he brings up his omni-tool. "According to scans made by the geth, we have detected life signs surrounding the base." He waves his hand, and then the holograph zooms in to what I assume is that Reaper base we're all thinking about. I lean forward, watching as several red markers appear all over the zoomed area. But... all things considered, there aren't that many.

"Hm, I count about ten markers," I say. "How did a force of ten people manage to take out an entire team of geth, marines, and scientists?"

"We are still compiling data," says Legion. "We do not yet know the entire capacity of the force on Rannoch. Additionally, we believe that there are more than ten people on Rannoch. Our scans have several holes on the surface of Rannoch, which is unusual." The head flaps move again. "We are further gathering data on how Cerberus got past us."

"Got past you?" asks Han'Gerrel. "Why is that important?"

"The geth surround the homeworld with ships," says Legion. "We have sufficient numbers that we keep constant patrol on the planet's surface."

"And yet Cerberus somehow managed to get past your ships," says Miranda. "And they've found a way to mask their numbers from your scanners, if I'm reading what you're saying correctly."

"Yes." Legion turns back to the hologram. "The closest drop point is here."

"Yeah, we'll have to hope," I say. "So I take it the plan has us drop a ground team off somewhere?"

"Yes," says Legion. "There are three drop points we would recommend you take."

Shala nods. "I take it we have enough marines to go down there?" asks Shala.

"I think we should," says Han.

I see Miranda take a step forward. "We appreciate the sentiment, admirals, but I think we might be of more use to you," she says. "Me and one other person on this team are both ex-Cerberus operatives. We might be able to shed some more light on this."

Huh. I raise my eyebrow, crossing my arms while looking at Miranda. "Miranda?" I ask.

"It's true," she says. "Besides, I don't know if I can explain Cerberus' presence here. Cerberus is an interest of ours, and if we could find intel..."

Hm, she brings up good points... "But this is their homeworld," I say, gesturing to the admirals. "Don't you think they'd want a stake in this too?"

"We would, but it is true that you have had more experience with Cerberus," says Shala as she opens her omni-tool. "I will call people to accompany you down to Rannoch, then. Perhaps if we do this..."

"That can work," says Miranda as she lays her hand on the table. "Art, do you mind?"

I take a small step back... Shit... Damn it, no, we're about to take back the homeworld, and Tali is nowhere near me so we can experience it together. This is just... Shit. I pause, looking over to Miranda.

...

I...

But if I don't do this, and we don't have a homeworld left to go to...

...

Fuck.

"I... Yeah, that's fine," I say. "I just need to check with something first."

I don't really look at the others, but I can sense that they know enough not to ask me what's up. I... God damn it, why haven't I even heard from Tali? She would've contacted me by now, or even replied to one of the messages I sent last night in desperation. Maybe Kal and Iya found her somewhere...

Garrus shrugs. "We can wait," he says. "You check up on what you need to."

"Thanks," I say. Damn it, this is tough... I know Tali would want us to get the homeworld, there's no doubt about that. But I just feel... bad about doing it without her. And now that she's been gone for this long, I'm starting... well, no, I haven't recently started suspecting foul play. No, I started suspecting that earlier than recently...

I sigh, looking up as Han'Gerrel finishes saying something that I don't quite catch. "In the mean time... are there any more points of interest? Tactically speaking, anyway?"

"Until we have more information, that is all," says Legion. "That is part of the purpose of the ground teams."

"So our ground teams gather information for you, as well as finding out what Cerberus is doing on our homeworld, is that it?" asks Zaal.

"Yes," says Legion. "We will update the Creators with more information when we get it."

"So be on the lookout for data, then," says Miranda. "All right." She turns to the admirals. "Now, just because we are working together does not ultimately mean that we have the means to transport everyone." She turns to me. "Art, would you mind taking the shuttle we have?"

I blink, looking over to Miranda. "Sure, I'll take it," I say. "Just make sure Jenny's driving."

"Of course," says the ex-Cerberus operative as she looks to the admirals. "Is it all right if we use some of your shuttles?"

"Be careful with them," says Han. "Other than that... I think we are at an understanding."

"Good," says Garrus. "Art, you get your team together. Miranda and I will team up with the other marines and take some of the ground team with us."

"You do that," I say, looking over to Legion. "Legion, you should stay here with the admirals. We'll update you from here."

"Acknowledged," the geth platform replies. "Caution is recommended."

I nod, looking over to the geth platform as Miranda and I head out of the briefing room. "Noted," I say. "We'll update you too, admirals."

"Very well." Daro'Xen stands back and nods, crossing her arms as she looks at all of us.

Hm...

Actually, I think I'll make a brief detour on my way down. I need to look into something.

As soon as I get off the elevator, I make a break for the gunnery bay. I don't know if Garrus is going to take Madison with him, but I need to make sure that she does what she's probably more useful at by this point.

I open the door, and sure enough, there she is with Carhon. The two of them both stand up, and it's only then that I notice that Jarel is somehow also in the room with them. Well... actually, that'll make my job a lot easier. Maybe if I can ask them to do stuff...

"Art," says Jarel. "I heard about the death of their friend. I wish there was more I could do."

I nod. "It's fine, Jarel," I say. "Besides, there may be something you can do to help us out." I look over to Madison. "Madison. Do you think you can head over to the Moreh?"

The journalist gives me an odd look. "Let me guess," she says. "You want me to go in there and see if I can shed any light on what Daro'Xen is planning."

"Yeah, pretty much," I say. "I don't know what's going on with Daro'Xen, but I think we should find out what she's up to. Without the admirals knowing about it."

Carhon gives me a pointed look. "You do realize that they'll be pretty angry when they realize that we've done espionage work on one of their ships without their permission, right?" he asks.

"Yes, I realize that," I say. "But I really don't think Daro'Xen is going to tell us what she's planning, especially not at this time where we're now heading over to Rannoch as a fleet. And I don't know if we can wait to see what she's planning. By the time we get it out of her, it might already be underway, you know."

The batarian nods, standing up. "Yeah, that's a good point," he says. "How do we get there?"

"We'll figure it out," says Madison. "I guess now that the admirals know that Daro'Xen is up to something... well, maybe they'll understand. Jarel, I could use some of your hacking expertise in this."

"Indeed," says the salarian. "I'll be coming with you and Carhon, then. Besides, you'll need to find out what anything we find could mean, if it extends to artificial intelligence research."

"Indeed," says Madison. "Do you think we should also look for traces of Tali there?"

"Yeah," I say, looking down. "Unless Kal and Iya's feelers turned up something, I'm beginning to think that that's where Tali might've gone to."

"We'll look for her," says Jarel. "You be careful on Rannoch. It might be dangerous down there."

"Gotcha," I say. "That's all. You should get going as soon as possible while the Normandy is still docked with the Rayya. Within an hour, it probably won't be."

"Then I guess it's time to get suited up," says Carhon. "I wonder if James is doing the same thing."

"Probably," I say. "I'll see you guys later."

With this, I walk off, sparing a last glance at Madison. She is already busy picking up some items of necessity, and I see Jarel walking out of the gunnery bay with Carhon. No doubt they're gonna suit up soon.

I turn, and walk straight towards the mess hall. I notice that Rupert is on shift at the moment, but don't pay much attention to that as I turn to find Wrex sitting there looking up at me. Liselle is seated across the table from him, looking like she's comfortable or something. Hm...

I walk up to the krogan, and he looks at me with an unreadable expression on his face. "Need me for something?" he asks.

"Yeah," I say. "We're gonna be heading off to Rannoch soon, and I'm gonna need a ground team."

"So you need me to shoot things for you," he says.

"Yes," I say. "I'm going to run by Thane, Kasumi, and Isaac, too. So if you could get any one of them, that would be great."

"Got it," says Wrex. "Well, Liselle, it's been fun, but..."

"I'll wait for the next time," she says. I turn to the asari, noticing the delighted smirk she has on her lips. "Kick some ass out there."

Wrex chuckles. "You can count on that." With this, Wrex and I walk away. I turn to the krogan, crossing my arms as we make our way to port observation.

* * *

><p>I walk over to the shuttle, seeing the rope ladder leading up to the shuttle itself. I see Jenny sitting over the edge of the shuttle, her legs dangling in the air. She does<em>not <em>look happy right now, and I'm sure it's something the rest of us can see. I don't see Gregor in there, which means that Garrus probably had to inform him of Nogond's death separately. I turn to the ground team, seeing them look up at Jenny.

"She seems... perturbed," Thane observes. "Is everything all right?"

I sigh. "Not exactly," I say. "Let me handle this. She just needs someone she can talk to right now, I'm sure of it."

With this, I walk over to the rope ladder, climbing up as quickly as I can. I eventually do pull myself up, looking over at Jenny. She acknowledges my presence with a sad look, and then looks back to the ground.

I pull myself into the shuttle, and rearrange myself so I'm sitting next to her on the edge of the shuttle. I inch closer to her, not close enough that she feels uncomfortable, but close enough that I can talk to her seriously. As soon as I do, I notice the residue of tears on her face.

"Hey, Jenny," I say softly. "Are... are you all right?"

The pilot shakes her head. "N-no, I ain't..." she says. "My closest friend is dead, and I had to find out so late after he died." She sniffles. "I dinnae what I'm suppose' ta do with that." She brings a hand to her face. "It's just... What kind o' soddin' blackguard would do somethin' like that? Nogond was a good person, and someone killed 'im for his bloody suit."

"I'm not sure how to respond to that either," I say, sighing sadly. "I... I'm sorry, Jenny."

"It's okay," says Jenny. "I dinnae think you could see it comin', either." She shifts, looking at me. When I see her eyes, I can tell that there is something quietly furious about her expression. "If that bloody wanker doesn't get what's comin' to 'im, you can be damn sure I'll do 'im in."

I sigh. "I can't blame you, Jenny," I say. "Don't worry. We'll find out who it is running around in his environmental suit and we'll bring him to justice, one way or another."

"Thanks," says Jenny. "I just... I cannae believe 'e's dead." She sighs. "I just..."

I nod, looking down at the ground. We stay silent for a minute or so, not saying another word to each other. I glance at her several times, and eventually, I place my right hand over one of her shoulders. She leans towards me slightly, I guess appreciating the gesture. Even with this gesture, we remain silent. After a minute or so passes, I pat her shoulder lightly.

"We'll be needing to use the shuttle soon," I say. "Do you think you'll be ready by then?"

"Yeah," says Jenny. "I'll be fine. I've... I've accepted it by now. I'll be focused when the time comes, don't ya worry about a thing."

I nod. "If you need anything, let me know, all right?"

"Will do, Art," she says softly.

With a couple of pats, I take my hand off of her shoulder. "You should get the shuttle primed."

"I should," says Jenny. "I'll need some space."

I scoot back to the rope ladder, seeing Jenny's point. "You do what you need to," I say. "I'll be down there with my ground team."

With this, I turn around and lower myself down to the ladder. I grab hold of a rung and start my descent, looking up as Jenny stands and retreats into the shuttle. I hope she's okay... She could use a lot of moral support right now.

I don't even realize when my foot touches on the ground, but when it does, I jolt slightly. I turn back to the others, watching as they all pace around the hangar bay. Isaac and Kasumi are off chatting to the side, and I can see Thane standing close by the rope ladder. Wrex is the closest one to me, and he's giving me a rather pointed look.

"So I see Tali's not here," he says. "You haven't asked her if she wants to come?"

I shrug, shaking my head. "I'd ask her if I knew where she was," I say. "For some reason, she's gone missing on the Fleet."

Wrex scoffs, looking at me incredulously. "Tali? Gone missing?" He shakes his head. "I don't believe it for a second."

"You can ask everyone else if you don't, but the facts are there," I say. "EDI hasn't reported Tali's return, Ken and Gabby say they haven't seen her, people in the Fleet that I've asked don't know where she is..." I look up at the shuttle. "I just hope she shows up soon. I asked some friends of mine who are in the marines to ask around. I'm hoping they got something."

"If they didn't, I'd be surprised," says Wrex. "I don't know how it is, but it seems like everyone and their pyjaks know who Tali is."

"You've got that right," I say. "I'm sure they'll turn up something."

"Unfortunately for us, sir, we couldn't find anything."

I jolt, looking past Wrex as soon as I hear the voice. W... No way!

I watch as Kal'Reegar walks over to us, passing by Kasumi and Isaac. Wrex turns his attention, and I step out from behind Wrex as I look at the quarian marine. I hear a light cough from Thane, but find myself stepping forward to greet Kal'Reegar.

"Kal?" I ask. "What are you doing here?"

"I was assigned here by the admirals," says Kal. "Iya's with one of your former Cerberus operatives. Miranda?" He shakes his head. "Anyway, I asked a bunch of people around the Fleet about Tali. Nothing turned up. I'm sorry."

I blink, shaking my head. "Okay, something _definitely _went wrong here," I say. "This doesn't make any sense. How could she just _vanish _on the face of her own home like that?"

"I have no idea," says Kal. "And for once, I'm pretty sure even a tech specialist wouldn't be able to tell you."

Wrex looks between us. "If you want me to crack open a few suits, I'm game."

Kal abruptly turns to Wrex. If he's surprised, though, he doesn't show it. I hold my hand up at Wrex. "That won't be necessary, Wrex," I say. "I want to find Tali as much as the rest of us do, but I'm not making people sick who don't have to be sick."

"We'd get the results faster," says Wrex.

I shake my head. "And I'm sure the admirals will _love _us for it," I counter.

"Hm," says Wrex as he fingers his assault rifle. "Fine." He snorts in distaste.

"What's the krogan doing here?" Kal asks. We both turn to the quarian, seeing that he's looking at Wrex with a slightly intimidated expression.

...

Wait. Kal'Reegar, _intimidated_?

"Relax, Kal, he's part of the crew, and a loyal friend if ever we've had one," I say. "Kal, this is Urdnot Wrex. Wrex, this is Kal'Reegar vas Rayya."

Kal nods at Wrex, taking the krogan's extended hand. "This ought to be fun," says Wrex. "Here I am, working with a quarian marine. I hear the rest of you aren't as squishy as the rest of your species."

Kal appears unphased at this. "I think that sounds about right," he says. "I once took on a bunch of geth on a colony that had a sun that was burning all our equipment. There was a colossus in that group of geth, and the area was full of the things after a while." He looks over to me. "By the time Art and Shepard got there, I was swimming in antibiotics, with only a rocket launcher left." He shrugs, splaying his arms out as he turns his attention back to Wrex. "I'm still not sure how I survived that, but I'm still standing here."

Wrex chuckles. "Going after a colossus with only a rocket launcher?" he asks, grinning. "Stupid, but brave." He turns to Isaac very briefly before looking back at Kal. "Of course, I've seen more impressive survival stories, but yours isn't that bad."

The quarian marine takes a step back. "I don't know if I should be honored that I'm being complimented by a krogan, or nervous about the fact that someone _else _had to get out of stranger circumstances."

I look back at Isaac as he gives Wrex and I a very odd look. "It's... a long story," I say. "Anyway, we're gonna be stuck here until we get to Rannoch. So..." I cross my arms. "Are you sure Tali didn't come up?"

"I wouldn't have said so if I was sure," says Kal.

I sigh, shaking my head. "This complicates things... and a lot more than I thought they did," I say. "Kal... do you think someone _purposefully _did something to Tali?"

Kal shakes his head. "I wouldn't think so," he says. "You know the Fleet. We're all kind of like family. I don't know a single quarian on this Fleet who would hold Tali against her will."

Wrex crosses his arms. "I don't know," he says. "After _this _long, I'd say he's got the right idea."

I shake my head. "I guess we'll find out soon enough," I say. "Well... there's nothing we can do about it now. Maybe the next time I see her, I can show her the homeworld. Once we get it back... once we do stuff with it..."

"We'll see," says Kal. "For now, I guess we just stand here and wait."

"Sounds about right." The three of us turn to see Kasumi walking right up to us. "It's been a while, Kal'Reegar."

The quarian gives Kasumi a blank look. "Do I know you?" he asks.

At this, Kasumi smiles. "No, but I remember you," she says. "You were there when Tali was being tried for treason!"

* * *

><p>Sitting in the shuttle, I find my feet subconsciously tapping against the floor. I look up, feeling extremely nervous about this. Wrex seems to have noticed my nerves, but he doesn't say much of anything if he cares. Which I'm sure he does, but it's not in Wrex's style to be that comforting.<p>

"So... Isaac Clarke, right?" I turn to look at Kal as he asks this of the former CEC engineer.

"Yes," says Isaac. "Something you need?"

The quarian leans forward. "No, it's just... Your suit isn't quite like anything I've ever seen on anyone," says Kal.

Isaac sighs in response. "I get that a lot," he says. "Let's just say that it's... confidential, how I got this design."

"I don't doubt it for a second," says Kal. "Well, here we are, about to shoot some Cerberus people."

"Yeah, here we are," I say. I look over to the cockpit area. "Jenny, how close are we?"

"Shouldn't be too far, mate," the pilot replies. "We're about two clicks away from the landin' zone." She pauses. "I think I noticed some'in' weird, though."

I stand up, walking over to the cockpit. "Why's that?"

I walk in, and then see Jenny looking up. "Maybe ya better see it for yourself."

I look up, and...

Whoah.

"Okay, that doesn't look right," I say.

"It doesn't, mate," says Jenny as we look at the Cerberus shuttles flying around. We've broken Rannoch's atmosphere, but the amount of Cerberus shuttles... well, it's only two of them, but it's still rather worrying. It's kinda weird, though...

"Funny how this is a world organic beings haven't set foot on in over three hundred years," I say. "And now, it's going to host a battlefield of some sort."

"Yep," says Jenny. "Funny 'ow that works out, y'know?"

"Yeah," I say, shaking my head. "Still... we'll be at the landing zone soon." I turn to the others. "Ready your weapons, guys. We're movin' out soon enough."

The others nod. I glance behind me to see Wrex walking right towards the door. He pulls out his shotgun, and then the shuttle comes to a standstill. The others stand up, pulling out their weapons. I nod, leaning towards Jenny.

"By the way, Jenny..." I whisper. "If you get a call from Madison asking for a pick-up, that's a cue that you need to go get her."

Jenny frowns, turning to me. "Why would she be-"

I quickly place my index finger in a shushing motion, holding my hand up to stop her. "I sent her and a couple of others to the Moreh," I say. "They'll be gathering intel. Maybe they'll find out just who that son of a bitch who killed Nogond is."

Jenny pauses, before nodding. "I see," she says. "Are ya sure ya shoulda done that?"

"Daro'Xen isn't going to tell us herself," I say. "Besides, the admirals already know about the deception involved with this Iden'Roya character, so..."

"Right." Jenny turns to face the window of the shuttle. "I'll be here if you need me."

I nod. "Got it," I say.

With this, I pull out my pistol, walking out of the shuttle. The door closes behind me, and I look around me. W... whoah... I can't believe I'm saying, this, but... well, this planet is damn beautiful! I mean... the sunset over there... the way the flora grows... the fact that there's a nice scenic vista all around...

...and I need to concentrate here. We've got Cerberus guys and a Reaper to deal with.

I nod to the rest of the ground team. "All right," I say. "Now... let's go find out what Cerberus is up to."

The others nod. "Just don't get distracted by the scenery," says Wrex. "That would be stupid."

"Aw," says Kasumi. "And here I was hoping I could paint a landscape while we were here."

"You paint?" asked Isaac. "I thought you stole most of your paintings."

"I tried it once," says Kasumi. "Didn't really suit me, but..."

Thane coughs rather lightly. "I scarcely think this is the time to speak of such things," says the drell.

"Yeah, what he said," I say, bringing my pistol to bear. "Come on, let's move."

* * *

><p>We find ourselves walking for about five minutes before we come across the first of our Cerberus goons. I recognize the armor, though: it's the same armor these goons wore when they carried themselves over to Omega. I raise my pistol, taking point with Wrex and Kal as Kasumi, Isaac, and Thane hang back. It's only about... two of them, I think.<p>

So even I am not that surprised at the fact that once Wrex fires his shotgun, the first guy is pretty much out. Combine that with some assault rifle fire from Kal, and that's that fight taken care of in two seconds. Well, there weren't that many Cerberus goons. I wonder if they're all gathered elsewhere...

I shrug as we begin moving again. Well, chances are, they are. Though, hopefully, they aren't spread out so much that it's uneven. 'Cause that would suck.

We move along as quickly as we can, looking around for Cerberus troopers but seeing none. This goes along, and for some reason it becomes more like the Sparknotes version of a scenic tour of this area of Rannoch. We've figured out pretty quickly that we're in the middle of a sort of plateau. I mean, it's not totally level, so I guess it's not really a plateau, but the terrain is consistent enough in terms of height that I think it could be called that. I dunno. Either way, there's that. We move along quickly, and glance around us.

It's when we reach a certain area that we see something of note. Off to the side, we can see...

"A parked shuttle?" asks Isaac. "What's it doing here?"

"I dunno," says Wrex. "But I think it's worth checking out."

"That shuttle got past the geth fleet," adds Kal. "If we can find out how it managed to do that..."

I nod, keeping my pistol up as we approach the shuttle. By the time we're standing in front of it, Kasumi has already opened her omni-tool, and comes over the door with it. I look to the others as they aim their weapons to the door. After a few seconds, though, the shuttle doors open, and they open to reveal that the shuttle is empty. Well, that's good. I nod to Wrex, who steps inside and points his shotgun. He shakes his head after a few seconds, though, holstering his shotgun.

"Clear," he says dispiritedly.

I shrug. "Don't worry, Wrex, we'll find someone to fight eventually," I say as Kasumi and Isaac step into the shuttle. "Thane, Kal, keep watch. Kasumi...?"

"Yeah, I'm on it," says the thief. She's still on her omni-tool, and she's displaying no signs of getting off of it so far. "I got this. Now..."

Isaac looks to the side. "This... this Reaper," says Isaac. "You say it's supposed to be dangerous, right?"

I nod. "Well, it depends on how you look at it," I say. "If by 'dangerous', you mean it's a gigantic ship that shoots red laser beams of death at everything in sight, then yeah, it's dangerous."

The CEC engineer nods. "So if we encounter one here like they say we will?"

"I... Uh..." I shake my head. "We'll figure that out when we get there."

"It took entire fleets to take one out the last time," says Wrex. "The Reapers are out to kill us all, but you have to admit that they put up a very good fight."

"Entire fleets?" asked Isaac. "And that was for one of them?"

"Trust me, if the stories are true, I don't know how we're going to kill 'em all," says Kal from outside of the shuttle.

"I'm sure we'll figure something out by then," says Kasumi. "We're almost done... and... hah!" We step back as the shuttle puts up some displays. "Easy handiwork. Now... I guess we can open up a systems diagnostic here, and..."

Kasumi does this, and we all look at the panels. Okay, thruster stuff... yeah... that panel does things I don't know about, there's a stealth drive thing, there's-

Wait.

I glance over to one part of the screen at the same time everybody else does. "Wait, that doesn't look right," I say. "These shuttles have stealth drives?"

"Hmph," says Wrex. "Well, this just got interesting."

"Yep," says Kasumi. "Guess they had to get through undetected somehow. Now, the question is, how did they get a stealth drive that could fit in a shuttle?"

Hm... "Well... from what I understand, Cerberus had to reconstruct the Normandy SR-2," I comment. "They had to completely reinvent the Stealth Drive to do that, you know."

"Maybe they reverse engineered it from that," says Isaac. "I don't know if you can do that so easily here, but... I've seen it happen before."

"Could be," says Kasumi. "That's something we'd have to ask Miranda, though."

I shrug, briefly turning and taking a couple of steps to the edge of the shuttle. I look outside at the scenery on Rannoch. "Kind of makes us lucky that nobody has had any long-range scanning technology they could use against our shuttle, right?" I ask. "We'll figure out what to do with that. For now, what are we dealing with here? Do you think you can find that out?"

"Find that out from a shuttle access point?" asks Kasumi. "Please, remember who you're talking to. I could do something like that in my sleep."

I smirk, turning back into the shuttle and stepping up next to Kasumi. "True enough," I say as she lifts her hand. I watch the thief as her hands flitter across so many displays I barely have any idea where to turn. "Okay... we go there... and say this... and... aha!"

With this, new data comes up. Kasumi looks forward, sifting through relevant information. I blink, licking my lips as we all lean in closer.

"Okay," says Kasumi. "So... it doesn't look like we're dealing with that large a force of Cerberus," says Kasumi. "Apparently, some of their numbers were dealt with by the quarian ground team."

I shake my head. "How'd they get wiped out?" I ask.

"They were a science team," says Kal from outside of the shuttle. "All they had were a few marines as guard. You mix those two, and sometimes you wind up with fewer guns to shoot with and more innocents to protect. Cerberus probably took advantage of that."

"Yeah, they probably did," I say, looking at Kasumi as she does more things. "I can't access much else from here, but from what I can see, their numbers are at about fifty people. Five of them are scientists."

I raise an eyebrow as she closes the window. "I don't like this," says Wrex. "If that planetary scan you showed us on the way down says anything, forty-five people is too large for a security detail."

"Yeah, that's odd to me too," I say. "I think they're up to something."

"Well, we're not gonna find out what that is by staying here," says Kasumi as she walks out of the shuttle.

"True enough," I say as I follow suit. "Come on. This base has to be around here somewhere."

* * *

><p>It doesn't take us long before we find ourselves looking at another group of hostiles. This one is larger, consisting of about ten of these guys. I nod, quickly running over to a rock outcropping and planting my back against it. I nod to the others, as they move into position. I lean out over cover... yeah, these guys are about the same. Except...<p>

Hold on a second. Who's that lady that's holding the sword there? I frown, watching as Kal moves over by a discarded crate. That's... odd. Well, to say the least, anyhow. I wonder... why is she using a sword and nothing else?

No matter. We'll have 'em all taken care of soon enough anyway.

I signal to Wrex, who then lets out a roar. This gets the attention of all the Cerberus troopers, but by then, Kal has already risen out of cover to start firing his assault rifle. And it's too late for some, too, for then I see a couple of the troopers get lifted away. Kal redirects his aim at them, and fires.

It's then that I come out of cover, firing at one of the remaining troopers. One of the troopers draws his gun, but I watch as Kasumi becomes visible, punching the guy with a charged omni-tool thing. Okay, that works for me, now all that's left is for me to-

I'm blindsided as I suddenly get my assault rifle shoved in my face. I stumble back, looking in front of me to see that crazy lady with the sword there. W-what? I-

I don't get time to dwell on it before I suddenly see her raise the sword. Instinctively, I raise my assault rifle. It doesn't really block the blade all the way, but I do manage to get it to redirect the direction it slashes in. As soon as I do this, I bring my right elbow forward, clocking her in the face. Right, asari martial arts, don't fail me now! I then turn right around, jumping so that I'm rotating in the air. It's really nothing too extreme, but it's enough that I can get in some momentum. I bring up my legs, and with a swift movement, I kick that lady with the sword to gain some distance. Of course, it doesn't really do me any favors that my legs are splayed out, and that I'm in a prime position to belly-flop on solid rock, but hey, what can I do?

As I land on the ground with a rather hard thud, I look behind me to-

Oh, you've _got _to be...

...

Well, actually, maybe it's not so surprising.

I see the crazy lady perform a flip, but otherwise she manages to land on her feet without any problems at all. With this, she then runs back at me. I roll over to the side, catching a brief glimpse of Thane punching a Cerberus trooper in the face before I get to my feet as quickly as I can.

I then promptly have to dodge a sword swipe in my direction. I jump back, raising my assault rifle but finding I don't have to block it this time. However, I jumped back into a rock wall, and so find myself blocking a blow.

It's then that I hear assault rifle behind me, and this crazy lady turns to look behind her.

"Get off him!" I hear Kal shout.

Of course, this doesn't really do much for me, but then, I see the lady in front of me get pulled back by biotics. She struggles in the air, leaving me to look at her in bewilderment.

That's when everybody else comes in and makes mincemeat of her. Well, figuratively speaking, anyway: she gets peppered with so much gunfire it's not even funny.

I find myself standing still for a few seconds, before I push myself off the wall. Well... I must've been _very _distracted, because the other Cerberus troops are sort of laying there. I mean, I was fighting for my life and all, but still!

I shake my head, looking over to the body of this sword-wielding dame where it's laying now. "What the heck was _that _about?" I ask.

"I don't know, but she looked vicious," says Kal'Reegar plainly. "You think there are any others like her?"

"We won't know yet," says Kasumi. "I think we're best off trying to take on others like her from a distance, though."

"Right," I say, turning to... okay, there he is. "Isaac, the next time we run into this lady, you're using your stasis module on her."

"Y-yes," says Isaac. "I... Whatever you say."

I nod, shrugging at Wrex as he pumps his shotgun. He and Thane are both a short distance away, and I store my assault rifle as I watch Kasumi and a mildly reluctant Isaac meet up with them.

"Stasis module?"

I turn to Kal. He's giving me a mildly confused look from the way things seem with him. I nod, turning to Isaac. "I think you'll find that Isaac Clarke is an odd one."

"No doubt about that," says Kal. "I swear, I almost didn't distract that woman who was attacking you. I was too busy watchin' his weapons cut people to pieces." He pauses, looking at plasma cutter before turning back to me. "Literally."

"It's a long story," I say. "Probably not best to dwell on it now." I pull out my pistol, checking it briefly and nodding when I see that everything's in order. "Come on. We're almost at the base."

With this, I walk forward. The quarian marine follows me soon after, and then all six of us head deeper into this base.

* * *

><p>We approach a small outpost-looking place soon enough. Well, it looks small, but I can see from a distance that there's already been extensive work that's been poured into this place. Well, the outpost is attached to a larger building, anyway. The rest of it is actually below us, where I notice that we seem to hit a valley within this sort of plateau. The outpost looks like it's got some kind of elevator attached, so... I guess that's how we're gonna get to the base. As for the base itself, well, it looks... under construction?<p>

"That's odd," I say, looking at the rest of the base. "Most of this isn't even finished?"

Kal kneels down, looking at some of the steel used. "I don't know, sir, some of this looks old," says the marine. "Actually, some of it looks more like a wall on Haestrom than it does anything else."

"Yeah, looks like it to me too," I comment. "You think they're building over something that was already here?"

"Possibly," says Isaac as he leans down. "From the looks of things, there's a definite age discrepancy between here-" Isaac points at one section of the wall, "-and here." As he points at the lower portion of the wall, I see that yes, he's got something going there.

"That's weird," I say. "So there was something else here..."

"From the looks of things, that doesn't look like the only thing that's odd about this," says says Wrex.

"Yep, I'd say you're right about that," Kasumi adds.

I turn to where I hear their voices, and see that...

...

Well, okay, maybe the outpost was in front of this massive hole in the ground so I didn't see it, but... What the hell?

I step forward, walking up to a guard rail that comes right in front of a cliff. I gaze out, seeing that someone seemed to have drilled a rather enormous hole in the ground. Literally, it spans from right where the guard rail is keeping us from falling in to somewhere in the horizon that I can't see. This is... this is so damn weird... I look inside, seeing that the hole seems to slope gently downward almost like a rock version of a sinkhole. And then... it suddenly drops off in the center.

I shake my head as Kal and Isaac both come over here. "How did nobody notice a hole this enormous?" I ask. "I mean... this thing was here for... how long?"

"I don't know," says Kal. "I haven't been on this homeworld before..."

I shake my head, bringing my hand up and opening a comm link. "Legion, we found our base. It looks like an outpost that was built on top of another one that has this massive, _massive _hole in the middle of it."

"_Affirmative,_" I hear in my ear. "_Any further information?_"

I shrug. "That's what I was hoping I could get from you," I say. "There is _no way _that Cerberus managed to bore a massive hole in the ground in a few days. You mind filling us in on anything there?"

My ear piece buzzes to life, and suddenly someone else comes on. "_Hold on._" Hm... that sounds like Han'Gerrel. "_One of our ships has a registry that contains records of every government document that pertained to life on Rannoch before we were forced to flee._"

Whoah, wait! "You keep that kind of stuff?" I ask.

"_Trust me, I don't know why, either,_" says Han. "_But I think it helps to keep a record of what our ancestors did. I never thought it could be used for _this_, but there you have it._"

"_Ah._" Hm, that sounds like Shala'Raan. "_According to a quick search of classified files, it seems that there was a secret government experiment at the coordinates you are currently at._"

"That fast?" I ask.

"_We may have provided some assistance_."

...

Okay, I _swear _Legion sounded smug just now.

"Oh...kay..." I say as I look at the hole. "What does this file say?"

"_It says that there was something found from a scan of a plateau approximately seven hundred years ago,_" says Shala. "_We thought to check in on it. The scientists there found something enormous... they say it was a ship unlike any other in design. Small, but it looked extremely advanced._"

...

"Aw, crap, they found a Reaper," I say, stepping back. "What happened then?"

"_The machine did not respond to attempts to activate it,_" she says. "_The scientists of the time believed that it was... _dormant_. As if waiting for a signal from something far beyond our understanding._" I can imagine the admirals shaking their heads. "_We had something like this sitting on our homeworld?_"

"_We did not know of this base's existence, either,_" says Legion. "_We did not spend all three hundred years of the Creators' exile on Rannoch. When we were..._"

"I guess you didn't see everything," I say. "But... the heretics had to find out about the old machines somehow..."

"_We believe there is a possible explanation here,_" says Legion. "_We will pose this inquiry to the former heretics._"

"Right," I say. "I'm guessing these experiments didn't end well." I mean, c'mon, when have things like this _ever _ended well?"

"_They did not,_" says Shala. "_According to this, the scientists went mad, talking about the coming of something nobody could kill and doing things that made no sense. Finally, the government of the time shut the project down. The base was firebombed._"

"So there was some quarian engineering in this base as well..." I comment. "And it had access to a Reaper..."

"Which means that we know why Cerberus is involved," Kasumi adds. "They probably would've _killed _to find this."

"Yes, but how'd they find out about it?" I ask.

"_We are posing inquiries to get an answer to this question,_" Legion says.

"We can probably find out the answer to that here," says Isaac as he looks out. "Either way... I have a really bad feeling about this."

"You should have that bad feeling," I mention, turning to my ground team. "Historically, everyone who's ever worked with Reaper technology has gotten indoctrinated at some point or another. And I can't imagine this can end well for Cerberus."

"I do not believe so," says Thane. "They have shown that they have already experimented with Reaper technology at the moment. I fear for what we may find here."

I shake my head. "Let's hope that we can get to the bottom of this without getting indoctrinated ourselves," I say, turning my attention back to the outpost. "Well... an outpost of combined quarian/Cerberus design. Let's see what sort of design sensibilities _that _creates."

With this, I walk towards the door, drawing my pistol. Two seconds later, I've hit the control for the door, and then we're inside the facility.

* * *

><p>About a minute later, we find ourselves submerged in darkness after stepping off the elevator. Kasumi has already begun using her omni-tool's flashlight thing, which is great for us for a lot of reasons. Isaac's also turned on the flashlight on the front of his plasma cutter, and with these two points of light we find ourselves advancing through the corridors.<p>

I keep my pistol raised just in case. You never know what you can find in dark corridors, I can tell people that much. Well, except darkness and a lot of gloomy territory, but still. I keep my pistol raised as we slowly make our way through this place.

And this place...

I walk by, seeing a bunch of laboratory testing equipment laying around everywhere. It's room after room of the thing, which seems weird for a lab that only hosted about five scientists. Sure, we come across the occasional half-completed room where we can turn our flashlights off temporarily, but for the most part, we spend our time wandering this base with laboratories everywhere.

It really makes you wonder what they're doing here.

And as we move along, I think we're going to get a clearer idea. We're still waiting to find a functional terminal. All the ones we've checked on the way here are either defunct or they have no relevant data on them. Usually, it's the former, though.

And as I trot through another room of the same thing, I shake my head. I shake my head, watching as Kasumi finds yet another empty terminal.

"Well, that's odd," said Kasumi. "How many empty terminals does that make?"

"About... sixteen, I think," says Isaac. "Do you think...?"

"More experiments?" asks Kal. "Given what we know of Cerberus, I wouldn't be surprised, I can tell you that much."

"Yeah," I comment. "Maybe they were planning on expanding their studies directly under the geth's noses?"

"Perhaps." Thane gives a soft cough before turning to us. "I wonder why we have not heard from Miranda or Garrus as of yet."

I shrug. "They're probably just in the same situation we are," I say. "Not wanting to say anything until they've found something, and they've been reporting stuff to the admirals and the geth." I look to the door. "Well, we've tackled every room in this stupid wing, so... let's move on, shall we?"

We nod as Wrex takes a position by the door, planting his back on one side of it. Kal moves over there quite quickly and follows suit. "Yeah, that would be a good idea," says Kasumi. "Maybe we'll find something there."

"Kasumi, you've said that over the past fifteen rooms," says Isaac as we venture towards the door. I walk over to it, and tap my fist on the door control. "I don't think-"

Wrex and Kal turn to face the inside of the next room at exactly the same time, weapons raised. Instinctively, I raise my own weapons.

But that is _not _what causes Isaac to promptly shut up.

No, there's... I...

"What the _hell _is that?" I ask softly, walking into the room.

I... What the...?

I step into the room, looking up in shock at the rig that's on the other side of the room. It looks... it looks like it was constructed from Reaper tech or something. But what's weirder is that it looks kind of like it's structured as a cross or something. And yes, I mean cross like the kind that Jesus Christ was nailed to. Except... except that it's also got these weird tendrils that sort of blossom out from it and connect to all this laboratory equipment that surrounds it. The eerie blue light it gives off in the darkness doesn't help anyone. But perhaps the strangest thing?

I... I see a quarian hitched up to that device. From the looks of things...

"That's... that's the quarian in the vid message Legion showed us!" I say, looking up at the unconscious form of the quarian.

Kal steps forward, his assault rifle pointed at the ground. "Keelah..." he says, walking up to the cross. "Is..."

"This isn't like any Reaper tech I've ever seen before," says Wrex.

"W... what were they doing here?" asks Kal thinly. "This... I've seen lots of things in my time as a marine, but this..."

I walk so that I'm standing next to Kal. "I... I have no idea either," I say.

We all stand in silence for a few seconds, looking at the various pieces of lab equipment. For some reason, my gaze always returns to the quarian who's hooked up to that machine thing in front of us. I can hear someone's foot shift slightly behind me, but I don't really pay much attention to it.

"This is sick," says Kal. "Whatever is going on here, we have to stop it."

"But what _are _they doing?" I ask. "Why would Cerberus take one of the quarians and hook them up to Reaper technology?"

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it can't be good," says Kal.

I shake my head. "You've got no argument from me there," I say. "But this is the Reapers we're talking about here. We're going to need to know what happened with this for us to know what the hell we're gonna be up against." I shake my head. "Either way... this looks like Reaper technology, so... I dunno about you guys, but I think this means that Cerberus has been taken over by someone who's indoctrinated."

"So you still think the Illusive Man isn't behind this?" asks Kasumi.

"The Illusive Man wouldn't turn his back on his assets like this," I say. "Not without good reason." I shake my head, walking off to the side. "I need to tell Miranda about-"

And before I can get another word in edgewise, I hear Isaac let out a loud yell. We all turn to the source of the sound, and then we see that the CEC engineer is grappling with... with...

...

What the _fuck _is that thing? I mean... it's a creature that looks about the size of a human, it's grappling on him, and it looks a little like a machine of some sort, but...

Why, oh _why _does the thing look so much like a husk?

I raise my pistol, firing wildly. My first shot misses, but the second one manages to get the thing Isaac is grappling with in the hand. This gives the CEC engineer time to grab the husk-like creature in the arm and fling it off of him. He then brings his boot down on the thing's head.

Before we can say anything else, we hear a roar off to the side. We then turn to see that there are more of these creatures... crawling in? What the hell? I count at least four of them, all of them crawling like those geth hoppers from the first game. I step back, raising my shotgun.

And suddenly, one of them bounds off of the ground, aiming for Thane. The drell successfully ducks underneath the creature before he can get tackled, but I then turn to watch as the creature latches on to the wall. Using this as a springboard, he then jumps onto the ceiling and stays there.

... I have no idea what is up with the Spiderman stuff, but this is _not _good.

I raise my pistol immediately and open fire on the thing on the ceiling. I get about three shots in before I feel something tackle me from behind. My pistol flies out of my grip, and instantly I have hands that are trying to rip me apart.

I elbow the creature in the face as fast as I can, but it doesn't seem to deter it. I elbow it again, this time aiming more for the face. I hear the undefinable sound of glass being crushed even further than it already is, and it lets out a harsh squeal that sounds like something out of a horror movie.

I catch another one of the creatures being tossed back by a biotic attack of some sort just out of the corner of my eye, but I'm so concentrated on the one above me that I don't care. I roll over as quickly as I can, finding that it manages to do the job. The thing lets out a squeal of pain, and suddenly I'm within range of a sharpened pipe that seems to have conveniently placed itself there for me to use. Grabbing the pipe, I immediately stab it into the thing behind me, being mindful of my own torso as I stab the creature.

It lets out a loud squeal, and it finally lets go. I quickly scramble to my feet, rushing to my pistol. I pick it up and turn around just in time to see Isaac use his stasis module on another one of these creatures. Thinking quickly, I shoot it several times in the face, quickly jumping out of the way when it looks as if the stasis will wear off. I narrowly dodge a severed head of another one of these creatures flying at me and hitting me, and then the creature that attacked me and caught me off guard takes a shotgun blast to the back of the head from Wrex.

And then, as the body of the creature that Isaac used his stasis on collides into the wall, we're all left standing there, huffing and puffing. A dead silence takes a hold of the room, and we all glance wildly at each other, wondering what the hell it was that just attacked us.

Finally, I shake my head and look to one of the creatures. Upon taking a closer look... yeah, it looks more like a husk, but very, _very _different. I see some synthetic parts of it, actually, some which look quite a bit like the geth. The thing... it actually looks like a hybrid between...

...

...a hybrid between a quarian and a geth...

I reel back, and as I look around I see that everyone else seems to have come to that conclusion too.

"This... this is a new type of Reaper foot soldier," I say breathlessly.

"A dangerous new type of Reaper foot soldier," Kasumi adds. "And here I thought husks were bad enough."

"So they're looking into creating more foot soldiers for the Reapers?" asks Kal. "I don't believe this."

"Well, it confirms the indoctrination beyond a shadow of a doubt, so I'm not going to complain too much," I say. "But still... this is terrible..."

"Sounds like it," says Wrex. "Well, looks like we've got more to kill than just Cerberus troopers now."

I nod. "That's what happened to the scientist teams..." I say, looking over to Kasumi. "There's a terminal in this room, right?"

"Yeah," says Kasumi as she walks over to a terminal that I only then notice is right over there. She opens her omni-tool, and I look around at Isaac. He's standing there with his feet apart so that he's looking at everything in shock.

I stand up, and walk over to the confused CEC engineer. "Hey, are you okay?" I ask.

The engineer glances around wildly, before leaning close. "B... before that _thing _attacked me... I thought I heard something."

"You thought you heard something?" I ask. "Why didn't you say anything?"

He leans closer. "I... I can't tell them that," says Isaac. "Not without Kal catching on. But..." He shakes his head.

"I thought I heard Nicole calling out to me..."

I lean back, looking at Isaac in surprise. "N-Nicole?" I ask, suddenly keeping my voice down.

"Yes," says Isaac. "I couldn't understand what she was saying, but... but I'd know her voice anywhere. It was definitely her."

"You... you're hearing her even now? But..." I shake my head. "There's no way. Markers don't exist here..."

"And yet I heard Nicole," says Isaac, and then I suddenly notice the resolute posture he's taken. "There's a Marker here, I know it. And when we find it, I'm going to destroy it."

With this, he turns away from me, walking over to where Kasumi is hacking into the terminal. I shake my head. Isaac... No, there's no way he could be right. Markers don't exist in Mass Effect. There... there has to be another explanation.

But what would that other explanation in...?

...

Wait, didn't he say something about Nicole when that one Cerberus guy came in on Omega? That... Did he maybe see Nicole then too?

I'll have to ruminate on that. But for now... well...

"Ah," says Kasumi. "I've got something. And this something looks _very _big."

"What is it?" I ask, walking over to where the thief is standing.

"Looks like they were experimenting on Reaper tech," says Kasumi. "They took all the quarians prisoner. They were aiming for something, because they took a lot of tissue samples from the quarian people."

"Tissue samples?" asks Kal'Reegar as he walks up to the terminal. "And what did they do with those samples?"

"I don't know," says Kasumi. "But from the looks of things, all those tissue samples were cloned to be made whole with the geth. Combine it with Reaper technology, and you get a foot soldier..." She shakes her head. "And already, it looks like they have a convenient little data package detailing how they make these things."

"So they were experimenting on that for the Reapers," I say. "This is something the others need to hear about." I look over Kasumi's shoulder. "Anything else?"

"Hm..." The thief looks at the screen. "It looks like they'll need actual quarian samples for this. They can make the geth parts on their own, but without a quarian there..."

I look over to Kal. "That means we have a chance to make sure these foot soldiers don't get used by the Reapers," I mention. "We need to destroy this facility, and destroy the Reaper that's at this facility."

Kal nods, looking at Kasumi. "I guess we've got our work cut out for us, then," says Kal. "Art, you're going to update everyone, right?"

I nod, stepping away from the terminal and nodding. "On it," I say. I walk to a corner of the room, activating my comm unit to Miranda. "Miranda?"

"_Art,_" she says. "_Did you find anything_?"

I nod. "Yeah, we found out about some of the things they were doing here," I say. "And trust me, Miranda, this is _big_..."

Well, that was a doozy to explain to the admirals. I stand there after updating the admirals about this quarian/geth super-soldier the Reapers created. Miranda took the news as a warning and told me she'd update Garrus' squad. And so I stand there, watching people do stuff. Isaac examines his ammo off to the side, I notice Kasumi looking over his shoulder, I see Kal sort of just standing around, and I see Wrex and Thane talking about... something, I guess. Wait, Wrex is socializing? Huh... Never thought I'd see the day, but there we have it.

I look up, right as Zaal'Koris speaks. "_This is bad,_" he says. "_This place needs to be destroyed._"

"_Our consensus matches that of Creator Zaal'Koris_," says Legion. "_We must destroy this Reaper._"

"Yeah," I comment. "Any ideas on how we can do that?"

"_Is the Reaper anywhere close to you?_" asks Shala.

"I don't know," I say. "We still haven't fully explored this base, though I think we have a general idea of where it'll be." I shake my head. "What do we do once we find it?"

"_Our best consensus states that an orbital strike would optimize resources_," says Legion. "_There is one anomaly. We must be able to see this Reaper._"

I nod. "So how do we do that?" I ask.

"_I think one of the marines we sent with Garrus' team has a laser sight,_" says Han'Gerrel. "_I made sure one of the marines I sent with him had that in case a scenario like this would come up. Hopefully, the laser point should be visible to the quarian fleet from orbit. Light up the Reaper, and we can fire on it from orbit._"

Hm. Well, that's good thinking. "Seems like over-preparation if you ask me, but I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth," I say. "Right. So we find Garrus' group, meet up with them, point a laser at this Reaper, destroy it, and turn the rest of the base into dust."

"_Something like that,_" says Han'Gerrel.

"_We find this consensus to be preferable,_" says Legion. "_We require assistance if we are to help with the bombardment of the Old Machine_."

"_We'll work something out,_" says Zaal'Koris. "_Now, unless there's something else..._"

"I think that's about it," I say. "You know about the shuttles with the stealth drive, you know about everything else..."

"_Then I think we are done here,_" says Rael'Zorah. "_Be cautious, Art_."

I nod. "I'll do my best."

And with this, I cut the link. "Okay," I say, looking to the others. "Now... we need to meet up with Garrus. One of the marines that Han'Gerrel sent with Garrus has a tool that can help us with destroying this Reaper."

The others look at me in surprise. "Leave it to Admiral Gerrel to prepare like that," says Kal'Reegar with an amused tone. "I say we should go and stop whatever is happening here."

"Totally," I say. I bring my hand up to my head. "Hey, Garrus!"

I can hear the sounds of weird Reaper-like screaming in the background. "_Art, can it wait a bit_?" asks the turian. "_We're kind of stuck in the middle of something here_."

I frown. "Fighting guys?" I ask.

"_Yeah,_" says Garrus. "_We've got a handle on it, but there are a lot of them._"

I nod. "Good," I say. "Garrus, we need to meet up here. Han'Gerrel equipped one of the marines he sent with you with some sort of laser sight..."

"_Yeah, he did,_" says Garrus. "_Personally, I wasn't sure why he'd do that, but given that there's a Reaper here and long-range scanners might not know where to look..._"

"That sounds about right," I say. "Do you know where the Reaper is?"

"_Yes,_" says Garrus. "_As soon as we've taken care of our opposition, we're heading right there._" I hear something go on his omni-tool. "_I'm sending you the coordinates now. If we get there first, we'll wait for you_."

I nod, hearing my omni-tool ping as soon as Garrus finishes saying this. "Okay, got it," I say. "We'll see you there."

With this, I cut off the link. "All right, I know where we're going," I say. "I think."

Wrex nods, pushing himself from the wall he's been leaning against for the past few minutes. "Finally," he says. "I just hope there's something to kill when we get over there."

"Don't worry Wrex, I'm sure Cerberus will throw something pretty massive at us," I say, reloading my pistol. "Come on. We've got places to be, and not a whole lot of time to get there."

* * *

><p>It takes a while to get through a lot of the things. We run into more of those quariangeth hybrid things, but it's the decreasing Cerberus presence that I find myself thinking on most. And it's other things about that which unsettle me, too. I mean... what if they've already got an army of those things running around somewhere? I... I can scarcely think of what would happen if I had to deal with that.

But we shoot our way through more of them, and we actually do deal with more of those Cerberus ladies with the swords. Thankfully, Isaac's variety of stasis is on our side here, as he keeps on using his stasis module. Well, when he's not recharging it, that is. In which case, Wrex's stasis serves us well enough.

Either way, we move as quickly as we can through the enemies. For some reason, we don't get that many on our tail, but that just makes life easier for the rest of us.

And finally, after about ten minutes of weaving our way through the rest of the base, we step outside, looking out at the hole. Actually, no. Now we're practically at the edge of that hole...

As I look down, I can see it staring me in the face. There it is... There's that Reaper we've been talking about this whole time. The hole around it is imperfect, but the Reaper sits there... it sits there, almost as if lying in wait. It looks off at the moment, but it looks ready to spring into action.

I walk forward, eyeing the Reaper in question. There's a small path that leads up to a point where someone could probably go in and snipe this Reaper from. Well, from the air, anyway. I step forward, taking a deep breath as the rest of the squad follows me.

I hear a door open on the other end of the walkway. I turn my head, hearing some members of my team raise their weapons. Before anyone can fire, though, I see Garrus' face. So, too, do I see Al and Jack as they go running in behind the turian. There are two quarian marines I don't know, and... a geth unit? Huh, I guess Legion must have sent in a geth unit with Garrus or somethin'. Either way, I see the group of them arrive around where I am, with Garrus nodding at me.

"Good, you made it before we did," says Garrus. "Those quarian/geth hybrids were getting annoying."

Jack scoffs at this. "Please," she says. "I was more worried about those Cerberus bitches."

"Yeah, the way they came at us with swords wasn't pleasant, to say the least," says Al as he glances to the side. "I almost bit it myself."

"Lucky you had Jack, then," comments Kasumi.

"Yeah," Al agrees. "I'm lucky she was there."

I nod, looking to the turian at the head of the pack. "So, one of your marines has a laser sight?"

I see one of the quarian marines come forward. Hm... He looks rather confident, seeing as how he's already hefting the thing in his arms.

"Here, sir," says the marine. Hm... Well, his envirosuit is... colorful. Pink and white adorns it, but it's definitely not a design I'm familiar with. "I was given this by Admiral Han'Gerrel."

I nod. "Yeah, he mentioned something to that effect," I comment, looking at the Reaper. "So... Let's point a laser at a Reaper, shall we?"

"Yes, sir!" The quarian walks ahead of me. Okay, now might be a good time to get stuff going with that. I step along, opening the comm channel to the admirals again.

"Heads up," I say. "We're at the Reaper, and we're about to shine a light on him. Are your ships in position?"

"_Yes,_" says Shala.

"_The geth also have ships in position,_" says Legion. "_We will fire when the Reaper comes out_."

I nod. "Okay," I say, glancing over to the quarian marine as he checks that laser pointer briefly. "Remember, this is a Reaper we're talking about. It's gonna take more than one bombardment to take this thing down." I shake my head. "No, I don't know how many bombardments it'll take."

"_Joker is on standby right now,_" says Zaal. "_He will be helping us with this_."

Oh. Well, I was about to say the same thing, so... "Good thinking," I say. "The Thanix Cannon will likely do some _major _damage against this guy. Just be careful with us, though: if we're caught in the cannon's fire, we're dead."

"_Affirmative,_" says Legion. "_We are awaiting the signal._"

Okay. I turn to the quarian marine right as we both come to a stop at the end of the platform. There's the Reaper there... I glance to the sides, seeing a few ways down from where we are right now... I turn back to look at the Reaper before turning my attention to the quarian marine.

"Well, soldier, here we are," I say. "Here's an honest to God Reaper."

I look back, taking note of its size. Eh... Sovereign was definitely bigger.

"Indeed, sir," says the marine. "I'm ready to aim this thing when you are."

"All righty then," I say, looking at the Reaper. "They're waiting for the signal, so..."

He nods, and then activates the laser pointer. He points it directly at the Reaper in question, and holds it there for a few seconds. All right...

C'mon, Fleet. Let's light this son of a bitch on fire.

For a few seconds, nothing happens. When I look up, however, I hear the sound of a missile flying through the air. The sounds seem to come from... behind us, actually. Well, I suppose that makes sense given where the thing is pointing. I nod, hearing the ship get closer and closer.

Less than two seconds later, I step back as I see a trio of missiles hit the Reaper in front of us.

I step back in awe. Okay, even knowing the explosions were coming, it still kinda caught me off guard. But... we stand there for a few seconds, looking at the Reaper ahead of us.

And then, the Reaper actually lights up. Like, powers on lights up.

And it's looking right at me and the quarian marine right next to me.

...

Oh, _shit_!

I grab the marine's arm, hearing a soft buzzing sound that crescendos rapidly. We barely get back a few feet before I'm knocked off of my feet from an explosion from behind me. There's a soft ringing in my ears, and for a second I lose my bearings. The world looks so weird like this, but soon enough I'm on my feet. The ringing is still in my ears, but as I get a sense of what happened it dies away. I look back, seeing the Reaper take a step forward as my attention turns to the quarian marine that was just standing next to me.

I get back up as quickly as I can, seeing the quarian marine already dashing back to the group. "Well, we got its attention!" I shout as I rush up to them. "What do we do now?"

But Garrus is already heading in a certain direction. "We found some transports on the way here," says the quarian marine. "We figured we might let this Reaper chase us around to keep the fire off of the bombing squads!"

I nearly stop running right then and there, but something keeps me going. I catch up to the rest of them. "Wait, so we're going to have a Reaper chasing us around?"

"Sounds like it," says Wrex. "Sounds like fun, if you ask me."

I shake my head. "Wrex, this is a _Reaper_," I comment. "You _know _how dangerous these things are!"

The geth platform close to us turns to me. "It was agreed on that we would minimize Creator casualties as much as possible," the platform says.

...

"Wait, so Legion isn't the only geth that can talk now?" I ask.

"Apparently," says Al. "But it's true, trust me."

"We deemed it logical to create a distraction," says the platform. "We must exercise caution."

I shake my head as we run along. "Right," I say. "Now we have a _Reaper _chasing us on foot, trying to kill us with its laser beam of death while we try to aim a laser at it so the Migrant Fleet knows where the hell it's supposed to shoot." I shake my head. "Fucking perfect."

"Hey, it'll be like old times," says Wrex.

"Yeah, because we all know that we were being chased by Reapers on foot during the old days," I say.

I hear a loud crunch of metal immediately after I say this, and then I look be-

Ah, Jesus Christ on a pikestaff, it's _following _us!

I turn in front of me, looking on in shock. "Right," I say. "We better not get ourselves killed, Garrus!"

"Don't worry, I know exactly where they are," says Garrus. "Just follow me and you shouldn't get too injured!"

Well... I guess we can't work around it. I just wonder how the hell Miranda's going to get out of this situation...

* * *

><p>About a minute or so later, we run right into some kind of hangar. And the transports...<p>

"These look like geth transports," I comment as we run into the room.

"Yeah, our geth platform might have mentioned something about them," says Garrus. "The geth transports were all apparently hijacked."

"We are still gathering data on how they arrived here," says the unit. "We-"

"Right, Cerberus stole them from under you," I finish as I dash to the nearest transport. "I get that. Am I the only one who remembers that we're being chased by something about eighty times our size here?"

By this time, I can already see the quarian marine with the laser sighter mounting... wait, he's able to climb up these things? Huh. He climbs up to the roof of the geth transport, preparing his thing. I look ahead of me to the transport, nodding as I run over to the back and start to climb it.

"We haven't forgotten," says Garrus as he runs over to a third transport that's way down there. "According to our geth unit, these things should be easy to maneuver."

I look below me to see Kasumi, Al, Jack, and Isaac enter the transport below me. As I look out, I see Thane and Kal join Garrus, with the geth unit and the second of the two marines climbing into a third transport. Wrex climbs on top of the transport, and I nod as we both look back.

"_Yeah, this looks simple enough!_" I hear Al shout through the comm link. "_I can figure this out fast!_"

I cringe at hearing some more crashing sounds close by. When I look up, I can see that one of the feet of the Reaper has managed to break through the ceiling and bear down into the room.

"Can you figure it out _now_?" I shout into the comm link. "'Cause this thing is literally _right on top of us_!"

I glance back up at the Reaper, noticing how huge it is. I shudder, finding that there's... wait, there's a guard rail on this thing? Hm... the geth really _do _think of everything. It'll be convenient when we-

"_A foolish move. You fumble in the darkness, incapable of understanding, and yet you dare to understand?_"

...

Right. Reaper is right above us.

I look up... Oh, fuck, I can't believe we have to take on a Reaper on the ground. Well, we're directing airstrikes, but still...

"What the hell are you talking about?" I ask. "You bitches exterminate all organic life every fifty thousand years!"

"_Your ignorance blinds you,_" says the Reaper. "_We will make you underst-_"

"_Got it!_" shouts Al. "_All right, hang on to that guard rail on the top, Art, this is going to be a wild ride!_"

I feel the vehicle lurch underneath me, and suddenly we're pulling away from the Reaper. I glance up, looking at the giant sentient construct as we move away as quickly as we can. I glance over to the quarian marine to find that his transport is moving as well, and he's slowly preparing the laser sight thing that he's currently setting up against his own guard railing. I feel the thing turning underneath me, and before we can say anything else, we're pulling away from the base. Just in time, too, for then the Reaper crashes through the remains of the base and follows us the rest of the way.

I look over to the quarian marine, feeling the need to shout something. Before I can, though, I see that he's trying to get a fix on this Reaper.

I glance back up at the giant thing in question, grabbing the guard rail as the ride suddenly gets quite bumpy. I look up, watching as this Reaper closes in on us. Oh, dear...

I see the laser start dancing on the Reaper again, though this time I can see he's actually having a relatively hard time keeping it in place. Well, at least the laser is more visible than normal, though that red glow that's emanating from the front of the Reaper is a little on the... ehm... _worrying _side, I think. If this involves that death-laser that most of these guys have...

But I don't get to comment on it too much, for then we hear something roaring in the skies, and when I look up I see more ships flying low. This time, though, it's a group of ships rather than just one. The ships sweep over us, and I duck as suddenly a series of explosions rips up the Reaper in front... well, _behind _us, technically. The explosions rock the Reaper, but before it can do much else a second wave of missiles comes in, and bombs the thing. I stand perfectly still, even as the Reaper seems to fall in front of us.

And when the sounds of the bombing and the Reaper falling over die out, we're left with silence. I glance up, suddenly noticing the wind that's blowing around the place. I don't even realize the transport beneath me stopped until I look at the ground and see it isn't moving beneath me. I breathe in, looking at the Reaper.

"Is... is it dead?" I turn to my left, seeing the quarian marine asking this question as he moves ever so slowly.

I glance up, looking at the sentient warship. "I... don't know," I say. "If it is dead, then that's one wimpy Reaper."

And right on cue, the little thing that fires the laser death ray lights up, and I see parts of this Reaper move.

...

"Yep, it's _definitely_ not dead!" I shout. I stamp on the transport as hard as I can. "Move it!"

The transport moves again. And not a moment too soon, for then the Reaper activates its red laser. It sweeps across the land, and my transport moves out of the way just before this laser can destroy it. As we move away, I catch a brief glimpse of the scar the red laser has left on the terrain of Rannoch. I glance back up at the thing, even as the driver of the transport steers to the side to avoid another death ray from this son of a bitch.

I breathe in and out, feeling the heat as the laser narrowly dodges us. I mean narrowly, too: the transport actually gets knocked to the side from the force of the resulting explosion. I end up gripping the guard rail for support as I very nearly fall off the transport. The transport rocks under my feet as well, and I'm left with wide eyes as I hang there for a few seconds.

Good Christ, why did I climb on top of this thing?

As I slowly pull myself up, I turn my attention to the quarian marine that's in the transport about... about... I think something like twenty yards away? Thirty? I dunno, something like that! Twenty or thirty yards, whatever, he's pulling himself up while hefting his laser sighter. He prepares to aim it again, but suddenly his vehicle swerves to the right. And before I know it, my vehicle is swerving in the same direction as well.

I grip the guard rail a little tighter, even as I see this Reaper shoot out a third laser death ray at us. This one narrowly misses the back of my own transport, and again it rocks beneath me. This time, I manage to keep my feet on the top of it, though, even as it narrowly collides with a random rock that's in the way. As I look up, though, I see that the thing has cut across the ground behind the transport that the quarian marine is standing on. Their transport is shaking too, and I can imagine how close that one probably was.

Nevertheless, I see him aim the laser sight, and I see the laser dancing across the Reaper again. I watch with baited breath, waiting for the tell-tale sign of the next round of bombs to be dropped on this son of a bitch sooner than later. When I don't hear anything, I glance up, turning to the quarian marine on the next transport over...

Say, where _did _the transport with that geth and that other quarian marine go, anyhow?

I don't get to ponder on this, though, for then I hear the roar in the sky that usually accompanies this thing, followed by the sound of more bombs being dropped on the Reaper. This one doesn't bring it down to its knees, though, and it even manages to dodge some of the bombs that we're throwing at it. And right as the last missiles passes over us, I cringe as it fires its laser beams at one of the missiles.

Crap, it's learning, and it's learning fast.

I realize this as the remains of that missiles crash right behind us. I duck as quickly as I can, holding my breath as some debris passes over my transport. When the debris passes over us, I look ahead, and barely have time to get a stronger grip before the transport suddenly turns and turns as if Al is trying to make up his mind on which piece to dodge. Finally, the transport veers to its right, leaving me slipping off again and hanging off the guard rails.

I let out a rather loud cry as I hang on to the guard rail for dear life. Oh, dear... this is _not _good. I look up again, gripping the rail even tighter while watching this Reaper gain some distance on us. Oh, dear, this thing just isn't gonna _stop_, is it?

I pull myself up to the back of the transport as much as I can. I squeeze my eyes shut, holding on even as I feel this transport veer to the left. My legs swing over the back of the transport through no fault of their own, but thankfully my feet find purchase on the back of the transport. I haul myself back onto the top of the transport, turning my attention to the Reaper and the one quarian marine who-

Whoah! I watch as the Reaper's laser manages to connect with the back of the transport. The marine suddenly finds his weapon flying out of his grasp, flying out of his reach and landing several yards away. The transport doesn't really stand that much longer, for then it veers out of control. The quarian marine on top of it smartly lets go of the guard rail, rolling onto Rannoch's ground quickly afterwards.

"_Crap_!" Garrus' voice comes in on the intercom. "_We got hit! We've lost control, I don't know if we can-!_"

I then cringe as the transport hits a rock outcropping. Fuck...

"_Well, that sounds like a problem,_" says Wrex over the comm links. "_And now, that pointer is under that Reaper._"

I turn around quickly, looking to see that the Reaper has indeed perched over the spot where the laser pointer is. Shit, this isn't good at all. I look over to the downed transport, and then over to the quarian marine who seems to have been knocked out.

I shake my head. Crap... Well, I'm closest to it, and... oh, _there's_ Wrex's transport. He comes around, wielding... holy shit, is that a rocket launcher? Where in God's name did he get that?

Holy shit... No, no, Art, don't be too surprised, this is the _perfect _opportunity. I look over to him. "Well, this is bad, but I have a _crazy _idea," I say. "Wrex, keep him distracted."

"_On it!_" With this, I look in Wrex's direction to see his transport cutting in front of my own transport. As his transport does this, I see the krogan launch a rocket at the Reaper in question. The rocket doesn't exactly do anything at all, but it does get the Reaper's attention. As I watch, Wrex prepares the rocket, and the Reaper turns to face him.

Okay... now!

I quickly leap off the top of my transport, rolling on the ground. Okay, maybe rolling on stone isn't such a great idea, but at a time like this I _really _can't afford to be picky. I look up as soon as my feet are firmly planted to the ground, and I... yes... okay, there's the laser sighter...

...directly under the Reaper still, even though Wrex is now shooting at it.

Great.

I stand up, and I break out into a run. Thankfully, the Reaper doesn't seem to be paying attention, but...

...

Holy shit, this thing is _huge_! I don't really get a good sense of this thing's size until I'm right next to it, but the legs on this thing very easily dwarf me. And that's just the legs. I shake my head, turning my concentration back to the laser pointer. Come on... there it-

And then, the Reaper lifts one of its legs and embeds it into the ground.

The resulting tremor is more than enough to knock me off my feet. I land on my face, feeling the remainder of the ground shaking beneath my body as I lay there. Shit, I should've expected this Reaper to punch the ground with enough force to cause small tremors. Either way... I look up, seeing the laser pointer still there. I stand up as quickly as I can, moving forward when another set of tremors rocks the ground around me. I manage to stay on my feet this time, but when I bend down to snatch the laser pointer I lose my balance and fall over.

I hear another explosion, and I can faintly hear Wrex laughing. When I look up, I see the laser death beam being fired again, but... Oh, damn it, I have other things to worry about!

I turn-there it is! I scramble to my feet, and _this _time I manage to get a secure hold on the laser pointer. I pick it up, running out to the Reaper's backside as his motions cause more tremors in the area immediately surrounding me. As soon as I get out from under this Reaper, I aim the laser pointer at his back. Damn it... I slowly walk back, very nearly losing my aim with the tremors and being careful to keep the Reaper's back within sight.

The tell-tale sign of missles flying towards the Reaper is heard again, and I look up to see that indeed the missiles have returned. They sweep over, and connect with this Reaper son of a bitch. I nod, smirking as I watch the explosions. It takes a few seconds for all the missiles to hit their target, but when they do, I can see this Reaper starting to stumble around ever so slightly.

Yes! One more volley should do it.

I nod, lowering the device and running as fast as I can. I don't need to hear the tremors behind me to know that this Reaper knows it's been played, and it is _pissed_. And so, I run as quickly as I can. I hear it prepare one of those laser beams of death, and I look back to see... yep, it's aiming at me.

I sprint ahead as fast as I can, but I'm still knocked off my feet when the initial blast goes off right at my feet. Actually, that's not knocked off my feet: I'm flung from the air, and I nearly lose my grip on the laser pointer as I fly about ten feet in front of me. When I land, I feel a rather sharp pain in my right thigh. I grunt, rolling over for a few feet more. I hug the laser pointer to my body, intent on not letting it fly out of my grasp this time. Holy shit, did... I almost got killed by a laser death beam!

As I come to this realization, I roll to a stop. As the dust settles, I turn my head, and I can see the Reaper advancing towards me.

I frown, attempting to stand and- ow, ow, ow! Okay, maybe trying to stand on my right leg isn't the best idea, but... Ow! Shaking my head, I look up, hoping to turn stand on my left leg. I move my arms, attempting to pull myself up, but it's to no avail, really. I look up and...

Well, shit, it's already standing over me like a schoolyard bully or something like that. Shit... there's only one way for me to do in this situation. I raise my laser pointer, and point it directly at the Reaper.

Before I can activate it, though, it pauses, and I notice something... shift in it. Instead of looking like it wants to kill me... it's... what?

"_You are... different,_" says the Reaper.

I frown. "Yeah, we're not having this conversation," I comment. "You're out to destroy all organic life, and we're out to make sure you can't do that, so I think you'll agree with me when-"

"_You have been touched by the Fade._"

...

...

_What the shit!_

"H-how the hell do you know what that is?" I ask. "And how the hell do you-?"

Before I can finish my question, I hear a loud explosion go off on the Reaper. Hm... that looks like Wrex's rocket launcher again. Well, whatever the case, it manages to divert the Reaper's attention from me for a few seconds.

...

Right, I can worry about the fact that this Reaper apparently knows what the Fade is later. For now, we have to destroy it.

I raise my laser pointer, pointing it one last time directly at the red mouth where the lasers have been coming from. "Right," I say. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but we've got things to do, so..."

I activate it immediately after. "You can tell your Reaper friends that we'll be coming after them!" I shout. "You can reap my ass in _hell_, you son of a bitch!"

I hear the missiles come rushing in from above us after I say this. I can make out their forms above me from where I'm lying on the ground, and before I can process it they've struck. And this time, it seems like wave after wave of missiles falls on this guy. The Reaper can't take the initial hits at first, and it begins wobbling around. I see one of the projectiles take off the top of the Reaper, and then I watch as one of the limbs on this Reaper gets blown off by another blast. Before long, these missiles are falling all over this Reaper, and the thing is blown apart right before my very eyes.

The explosions kick up a lot of dust, though, which forces me to close my eyes while I hear the bombs drop. I remain motionless on the ground, the laser sight now forgotten. I think I let it go and it slid a couple of inches away, I don't really know. But I hear the explosions go off on the Reaper above me, and throughout those explosions I keep my eyes shut as best I can.

After a few seconds, a great silence overtakes the area. I slowly sit up, opening my eyes and looking at the sight in front of me. The Reaper that was standing above me is now... well, he's literally blown to smithereens. I can see bits of it lying around everywhere, ranging from small pieces immediately in front of me to that large chunk I can see over in that direction. Either way, this Reaper is dead as dead can be.

I breathe in, looking at the remains of the Reaper.

And then I remember that it mentioned the Fade just before it got taken out. Shit... how the hell did this Reaper know what the Fade was? And how did he even know I know what it is? This is...

I shake my head, watching as my own transport drives up to me. Shit... that's a lot to dump on me, Reaper. Now you know about the Fade and... and...

Shit! Do... Do they _know_ about me? No... No, there's no way. We made sure that the Reapers didn't overhear. I kept it as quiet as I could on the Collector ship, I didn't mention all that much on the Collector base...

Fuck...

The door to my transport opens, and Kasumi steps out immediately. She's followed by Al, Jack, and Isaac, and the four of them run on over to me.

"Damn it Art, that was stupid!" says Jack. "What the fuck were you thinking when you did that?"

I sigh. "Honestly, Jack, I was asking myself the same thing," I say. "But it's down, so..."

"Yeah, we'll not argue with that," says Al. "Garrus and the others are alright. They had to abandon that transport, though. It's useless now, but..."

I nod. "That's good," I say. "They're helping the quarian, I guess?"

"Yep," says Jack. "I gotta hand it to him, he did good for a while there."

I smirk. "Yeah, we agree on that," I mention. "Well... now we've gotta wait to see what's up with Wrex and with everyone that was on Miranda's team. And then... Then we have to tell the Admirals that we did it."

Isaac kneels next to me. "Yes," he says. "Come on, we should get you moving."

I nod. "Help me up, will you?" I ask. "I think I've sustained yet another leg injury."

Even as I ask, Kasumi is already positioning herself so that one of my arms is draped over her shoulders. "Sure thing," says the thief. "Come on, let's get you up."

With this, Isaac takes the side opposite Kasumi, and then the both of them lift me to my feet.

* * *

><p>Well, we're back in the shuttle now, heading back up to the Normandy. I glance over to Wrex, who's looking quite pleased with himself.<p>

"It's a shame Grunt couldn't come along," he comments. "That was a great fight."

I nod. "Yeah, he would've had a _great _time," I say. "I mean... think about it. We have a bunch of new enemies for him to fight, it's Cerberus... it's practically everything he could want, and more." I sigh. "But... you know how it is."

"Can't have him messing things up," says Wrex. "He'll understand in time."

I glance over to the others. Well, Isaac and Kasumi look like they're all right, as does Thane. He was coughing quite a bit after we had pulled him, Garrus, and Kal out of the wreckage of that transport. By now, the coughing as stopped, but he says he doesn't feel completely comfortable yet. Yeah, I'm sending him _straight _to Dr. Chakwas once we get back on board the Normandy.

I turn my attention to Kal'Reegar immediately after, looking at him as he stares ahead of him. If I know quarian body language... yeah, he looks lost and confused about things. Well, the fact that he was in a transport crash doesn't do any favors for us, but he still looks lost.

Eh, what the hell?

"You all right, Kal?" I ask.

"I feel... strange," says Kal. "On the one hand, we defeated a Reaper that was on the homeworld, and we coordinated the attack with the geth. That is... strange enough on its own." He looks directly at me. "And on the other... I don't know what the Reapers want with us, but those combined geth-quarian soldiers sound like trouble if you ask me."

I nod. "I think we got rid of them," I say. "Hopefully, nothing more will come of those guys."

"I'm not so sure, Art," says Kal. "What about quarians that are on pilgrimage? What about them? What'll happen to them if the Reapers find them?"

I nod solemnly. "I'm sure those quarians will be all right," I say. "But... well, now you can enter your homeworld."

"We still have to finish negotiations, though," says Kal. "There's nothing that's going to happen until those end."

I nod. "True, true," I comment. "But at this rate... it looks like things will be better for all of us. I mean, we just took down a Reaper through cooperation, you guys know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the geth mean no harm whatsoever..."

"That is all true..." says Kal. "Still, I can't believe we're achieving peace with the geth. If you had told me that..."

I shrug. "I think we all would've had a tough time believing it, Kal," I comment. "Even me. I mean... I can barely believe that negotiations have gone as well as they have. I was expecting everyone to jump on-"

The comm link opens. "_*********-Serviceman! We detect an anomaly!_"

...

Oh, shit, it's Legion!

"W-what is it?" I ask. "Did that Reaper get ba-?"

"_There are numerous runtimes that have been affected by a virus._"

...

Oh, shit!

I quickly turn my comm unit to the admirals', and run to the front of the shuttle... Crap, we only _just _broke Rannoch's atmosphere. "Admirals, did you get that?"

"_Yes!_" says Han'Gerrel. "_We thought it was strange as well when Legion suddenly seized up._"

"_It's attempting to override the hack,_" says Zaal'Koris. "_I don't know if it will succeed..._"

Shit... "Where are you now?" I ask.

"_We have not moved from the briefing room since we took position there,_" says Shala'Raan.

I shake my head. Damn it, they're not going to get to the AI core in time! "EDI, can you help Legion out there?"

The Normandy's AI chimes in. "_I can attempt to help Legion scrub out the malignant code,_" she says. "_However, there is not a guaranteed rate of success. We may have to power down Legion to prevent further corruption of his runtimes._"

I nod. "You do that, EDI," I say. "Admirals, keep a close eye on Legion, and get his weapons off of him."

"_The creators have already removed my weapons and omni-tool,_" Legion says. "_Probability of being able to scrub this virus currentl at 41.6%!_"

Shit! I turn to the shuttle driver, who somehow is _not _Jenny. "Step on it!" I shout.

I turn to the viewport, even as the others stand up. "Art?" asks Thane. "Is everything all right?"

I shake my head, turning back to the shuttle and looking at my ground team.

"Legion's been hacked!"

* * *

><p>The shuttle hasn't even been in the Normandy's shuttle bay for two seconds before I'm suddenly sprinting out of the shuttle. Kal comes running by my side, and we both hit the elevator button as soon as we get there. The elevator ride is long and tense, more so than usual, and I'm literally jumping up and down in anticipation. Damn it... Legion's getting hacked... This wasn't supposed to happen at all!<p>

Shit, this is _really _bad. Not only are we going to lose a friend, but we're gonna lose our chief negotiator! No, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad bad bad bad!

When the elevator door finally _does _open, I run around to the door to the tech lab, passing through it with Kal on my heels. I briefly catch sight of Anahit and Mordin speaking to each other before I bolt through the door that takes me to the comm room. I open the door to the comm room immediately, and then I step inside, Kal following my every motion.

When I step inside, I find that the admirals are standing around Legion. Shala'Raan is actually kneeling by Legion's side, with Zaal'Koris and Han'Gerrel hanging on to Legion's sniper rifle and assault rifle. The geth platform itself is kneeling on the ground, and I can see its flashlight head flicker. I run right up to Legion, even as Rael'Zorah acknowledges my entrance from where he's standing next to Shala.

"Art, it is good that you are-"

I'm already kneeling by Legion's side as Rael is saying this. "Legion, talk to me," I say. "What happened? How did you come into contact with this virus? What's going on?"

"We do not know," says the geth platform. "Several of our runtimes have been compromised. Approximately five hundred and eighty seven programs have been corrupted. Thirteen have been corrupted beyond this platform's capacity to repair."

I place a hand on Legion's shoulder. "Is it... Do you think you'll be all right?" I ask.

"No data available," he says. "Error. Fourteen platforms have been corrupted beyond this platform's capacity to repair."

I shake my head, looking up. "EDI, what's going on?"

"_The attempt to scrub the malignant code was unsuccessful,_" says EDI. "_I can't say what this virus set out to do, but judging by the way the virus was attempting to infect Legion's run times, it is a virus that was eventually meant to control Legion's every action._"

I breathe in. "Just like that virus the heretics wanted to use," I comment. "But... I thought we repurposed that."

"Virus?" asks Han.

... Shit. "That's right, we didn't explain that," I comment. I shake my head. "We mentioned we took care of the heretics, right? Had them absorbed into the true geth?"

"Yes, I remember that," says Zaal'Koris. "What of it?"

I shake my head. "The reason we did that was because the heretics had a virus that they were going to use to make the true geth think like heretics," I comment. "I think the true geth would be your enemies now if Legion hadn't warned us about that. Either way, we then ended up using a re-purposed form of that virus to bring the heretics back to the true geth." I shake my head, looking at Legion. "But... but it wasn't malignant programming, like this..."

"_We think Legion was able to detect the virus as it attempted to change the coding of the run times,_" says EDI. "_Whoever created this virus left a very careless mistake in the coding of the virus_."

I frown. "So this isn't a synthetic virus, then," I say. "But then... What virus was it...?"

"We do not know," says Legion. "My runtimes are slowly being corrupted..."

"You may not be the same again..." says Rael as he kneels next to Legion.

"Yes," says Legion. "Termination of this platform may be necessary."

I jolt. "No," I say. "No no no no no. You can't seriously be asking us to _kill _you."

"Multiple programs have been corrupted beyond repair," says the geth platform. "The corruption of all my runtimes is inevitable."

I shake my head. "And what'll happen when we hit that?" I ask.

"_It would be the equivalent of brain-death,_" says EDI. "_I have already suggested shutting Legion down temporarily, but..._"

"It would not work," says Legion. "Unless you were to return this platform to the Collective..."

Wait... if we were to return it to the Collective. "How close is the Collective to here?" I ask.

"They are not far," says Legion. "However, reconstructing this platform's lost programs would take time. We would have to scrub the data."

"I see..." I look up to the admirals before turning my attention back to the geth platform. "It would take time, but I'm sure we'd be willing to wait for you, right?"

"I certainly would," says Zaal.

"And I as well," says Han. "You are the one who made all of this possible. We have seen our homeworld again, and we have been able to liberate it from an enemy that is far greater."

"You have given us... a different insight into the geth," says Rael. "We will wait for you."

Legion nods. "Then we will shut this unit down temporarily," says Legion. "The geth collective can reconstruct my lost programs. We will rejoin Normandy when the reconstruction is complete."

I nod. "EDI, let the Collective know about this."

"_They have been informed,_" says the ship's AI.

"Good." I take my hand away from Legion's shoulder, looking at the geth platform. "What happens if this doesn't work?"

"We do not know," says Legion. "The Collective will find out..."

"I know," I say. "You get some sleep and let them figure out what happened with your programs, all right? When you come back to us, we want you in the best shape possible. We can't really do things unless you're in top condition."

Legion's flashlight head blinks. "That's what she said," he says.

I chuckle sadly, shaking my head as I feel a tear come to my eye. "It is indeed, Legion," I say. "It is indeed."

The geth platform looks at me for a few more seconds. "Commencing platform shutdown."

I kneel by Legion for a few seconds, looking at him nervously. Eventually, his flashlight head goes out, though Legion remains immobile. He's frozen in his kneeling stance, it seems. I stand up, shaking my head as I spare a look at the inactive platform.

"EDI," I say, looking up. "Do you think...?"

"_It will take much time for the geth collective to scrub Legion's runtimes,_" she says. "_Thankfully, they will not have to completely rewrite Legion's runtimes. The fact also remains that half of Legion's runtimes were untouched at the time of its temporary deactivation. The geth should be capable of scrubbing most of the junk data in Legion's platform rather easily._"

I nod. "Good," I say. "Hopefully, he'll be able to rejoin us in time for when we take down the Reapers. It'll suck to lose him."

The remaining admirals stand up. "Perhaps our negotiations may be stalled a little longer," says Zaal. "I can't imagine how the Reapers would want to stall our negotiations, though..."

"Neither can I," says Rael. "And the crew of the Normandy has worked extensively with Legion, which would mean that the virus could not have been created by them..."

I look over to the other admirals.

...

Hey, wait a minute.

"Where's Daro'Xen?" I ask.

And right on cue, the door at the end of the comm room opens. We all turn our heads, and in walks Daro'Xen. She looks at Kal, the admirals, and I, and then notices Legion's platform where it knees. I hear the rest of the admirals stand up as Daro'Xen enters.

"I apologize," she says. "I was busy overseeing the return of the bombing fleets. Some of our ships sustained damage, but the overwhelming majority of them are safe. This is good news."

I hear some footsteps behind me. I look behind me, and see Zaal'Koris walk up next to me. "I think you will be inclined to agree with us when we say that it might not have been the _only _thing you were doing," he says.

Daro'Xen looks to Legion then. "Why?" she asks.

... Really? She's asking why? Oh, now you're _asking _to be revealed, Daro'Xen!

Thankfully, I hear some more forceful steps. "Daro'Xen, Legion was infected by a virus in your absence," says Rael'Zorah. "Over half of his runtimes were compromised. A few of them were compromised to an extent that the geth collective will be forced to rewrite some of Legion's programming. This virus was slowly eating Legion, and to ensure that it would not be able to terminate him, we were forced to power Legion down. Because of this, our negotiations to bring the Fleet to Rannoch peacefully have reached an unfortunate delay." He steps right in front of Daro'Xen. "It is true that you told us you were going to check on the ships that fired the orbital strike, but now I think there was another motive behind it. You will explain yourself now, Daro'Xen."

The admiral looks _very _taken aback, and from the way she's looking around the room, I think she knows that we're not going to take bullshit for an answer.

"I... what is the meaning of this, Rael'Zorah?" asks Daro'Xen. "I simply wish what is best for the safety of the quarian people. And yet, you turn on me when I was simply doing a resource count."

I step forward. "Sure, because letting an extremely dangerous person of interest get himself onto the fleet is a _great _way to keep the quarian people safe," I comment sarcastically.

Daro'Xen looks at me. "Why are you bringing up Iden'Roya?" she asks. "He is on the Moreh, and he is of no concern to the situation."

And she has the _nerve _to defend this son of a bitch by saying he isn't even relevant to the topic.

...

Right. The gloves are coming off.

"Actually, Daro'Xen, he has _everything _to do with this situation," I comment as I open my omni-tool. "You didn't think that the fact that Iden'Roya doesn't exist would be something that would come back to bite you in the ass? Well, dear, I'm telling you that I _know _for a fact that Iden'Roya doesn't actually exist."

With this, I walk right up to her and shine Nogond's relocation information in her face. She looks at the data quickly, and I can tell her eyes are scanning the information things that are scrolling up and down my omni-tool. She then looks back to me, a surprised look on her face. "I..."

"Oh, but that wasn't enough, was it?" I ask as I close that data. "You know what _really _gets me about this whole thing? Nogond'Viraliz was discovered on Invictus._Dead_. And someone had stolen his environmental suit." I lean in close. "It was the same environmental suit that this person wore when I met him on the Citadel before he was relocated to Invictus, and it was the same one that someone else wore to enter the Rayya. So there's no doubt in my mind that this son of a bitch you allowed back onto the Fleet is extremely dangerous." I step back, looking at Daro'Xen angrily. "You were planning something by bringing him onto the Fleet. And now that Legion is down, I think I have a pretty good idea of what that thing is. So _you _are going to tell us _everything_ you know about this. Right now."

Daro'Xen pauses, looking absolutely flabbergasted at what I've just told her. "I... He _killed_ someone?"

I frown. "You're damn right he did," I say. "Turns out that said quarian was part of the squad of three of my crewmates, and the best friend of my shuttle pilot. We found out pretty quickly that he was dead." I cross my arms. "So now, you know something about this."

Daro'Xen frowns, stepping forward. Or, I think she frowns, at least, because her gestures are much more tense now. "I..." She shakes her head. "I was _never _told that he killed someone..."

"So now you're admitting that Iden'Roya doesn't exist," says Han'Gerrel. "Then why lie about that?"

The rogue admiral sighs. "I.." says Daro'Xen. "I..." She pauses, looking at me. "I really will not get out of this without an explanation, will I?"

"No, you really will not," I say. "You've pissed off _quite _a few people here, Daro'Xen."

She sighs, though I expect it's a more frightened sigh than it is an exasperated one. "Very well," she says. "I told a former exile that I would grant him amnesty with the Fleet if he would help me develop a virus that could infect a geth's runtimes so that we could control it."

I frown, stepping forward. "Damn it, I _knew_ you were planning something!" I say. "I knew since the moment this 'Iden'Roya' character came onto the Fleet!"

"You allowed an _exile_ to return?" asks Shala'Raan. "An _exile_?"

"You... you _deceived _us," says Han'Gerrel. "You made us vote on bringing an exile back. You not only thought to bring him back, but you tricked us into allowing him onto the Fleet."

"This is treason that is _far _worse than anything I have ever seen," says Zaal'Koris. "And now, we will pay the price for-"

"I would have kept him on the Moreh, regardless of how that vote happened," says Daro'Xen defensively. "And I was _very _clear to the exile that the only reason I was giving him a chance was because he could return control of the geth to the quarian race. I was going to keep a close eye on his activities, and I did warn him that I would send him off of the Fleet if he dared to do anything without my knowledge. I kept constant tabs, and yet..."

"Well, frankly, Daro'Xen, you're an idiot if you think you can control someone who's willing to _kill _someone for his environmental suit," I say. "So you told this person that he would be allowed back on the Fleet. And you needed him to do research."

"Yes," says Daro'Xen. She looks to Legion. "I... I expressly forbid him from testing any solutions he could find until he was certain, and even then I told him I would find a different geth platform to use it on." She then shakes her head. "Of course, Legion came and threw all of my plans into chaos. I couldn't undo my plans by the time Legion came aboard, so I had to resort to telling the exile about the change of plans. I told him that we would wait first to see how negotiations with your geth platform ended."

"So you were biding your time," says Kal'Reegar.

"I was ensuring that the negotiations went smoothly," says Daro'Xen. "If they ended in peace, I would dismiss the exile from the Fleet. If not, then I would go ahead with my solution. I was set on keeping him on a tight leash, and made sure he was being surveyed by what manpower I could delegate." She shakes her head. "I do not know what happened, but I did not think he would have forged ahead anyway, much less gotten it to a testing stage."

I shake my head. "Well, you apparently didn't do a good enough job of it, because even being kept on a leash, he _still _managed to nearly kill Legion," I comment dryly. "So somehow, he was conducting experiments without your knowledge. And either way you look at it, the fact that Legion is now dead is now partially your fault as well as this exile's."

"And who knows if the geth will attack us now that we know it was a quarian who developed this virus?" asks Han'Gerrel. "This is a _major _setback, Daro'Xen, and it is on your shoulders for deceiving us and for allowing this exile to come back to the Fleet."

"Why would you bring an exile back, anyway?" asks Kal'Reegar. "We have plenty of AI researchers here."

"You would not understand," says Daro'Xen as she turns away from us. "I needed more than an AI researcher. I needed someone who understood AIs."

I frown. "Then ask Tali!" I say. "She's had more experience with the geth than any other quarian alive!"

Daro'Xen shook her head. "I did," she says. "I asked her when Legion returned to the Fleet, just in case the negotiations failed."

I lean forward. "Wait... so you _did _see Tali," I say.

"I did, yes," says Daro'Xen. "After she left the Neema, I asked her to come to the Moreh to answer a few questions of mine."

"And what _exactly _did you ask her about?" asks Rael.

Daro'Xen looks over at the senior admiral of the group. "I should think you would know the answer to that, Rael'Zorah," she says. "After all, you did ask her to send geth parts back to the Fleet in that_disastrous _experiment on the Alarei."

Rael leans forward, clearly offended by Daro'Xen. "Tali had _no _hand in the events on the Alarei," says Rael. "She was simply giving me parts for me to conduct weapons tests on. I don't know why you would think that she would have anything from that."

"She was my closest link," says Daro'Xen. "I would have-"

"Oh, no she wasn't!" I shout, effectively interrupting her. "You could've asked me, or you could've asked Rael! So what makes her think you could use something from her?"

"She had data stored," says Daro'Xen. "Data that I assume was given to her by Rael'Zorah after the treason trial. I was... interested in that data."

...

I look over to Rael'Zorah. "That's...?" I ask. "You did do that, after all..."

"Yes," says Rael'Zorah.

"Data?" asks Zaal'Koris.

I nod. "We found data pertaining to the rogue scientist's experiments while we were running around the Alarei," I say.

"And you did not think to tell us?" asks Han'Gerrel.

"We felt the data would make better use in developing a weapon against the Reapers," I say. "And besides... it felt dirty trying to develop it more, after seeing what had happened on the Alarei. Everyone was dead..."

Shala'Raan looks at us sternly. "I cannot understand why you would hide data such as that," she says.

"It was... a very tense situation," I say. "I'm not sure we were thinking about the data while we were telling you what was up with Tali." I sigh. "Well, whatever the case, we can't worry about that now."

"True enough," says Han'Gerrel. "Though, I wish to speak to Rael about it later."

"Fair enough," I say. "Though, I have to say that it didn't really endanger the Fleet until Ms. Genius over here-" I say this while pointing at Daro'Xen "-decided that she would ask Tali about stuff like that."

"How did you even _know_ about this data?" asks Rael'Zorah.

"I had a hunch," Daro'Xen replies. "I knew that you were doing something on the Alarei, but it seemed strange to me that there would be nothing that could be salvaged if you were on the ship for so long. And so, I guessed that something was taken that was not revealed to us." She looks at me. "I was correct, it seems. But it did not matter when I asked Tali, because she refused to give me the data."

I frown. "Wait, she refused?" I ask.

"I told her my plans to try to find a solution to control the geth in the event that the negotiations failed." Daro'Xen shakes her head. "She refused to help me. She even became angry at me for suggesting such a thing."

"I should say," I comment. "She met Legion, you know."

"Yes," says Daro'Xen. "But I never detained her on the Moreh. She left me when I told her I had no more questions for her. I... I assumed she had returned to the Normandy, but when I heard otherwise..."

...

Damn it, I _knew _there was something off. "You checked the Moreh, right?"

"Yes," says Daro'Xen. "I could not find her anywhere, though. And I thought it was strange, but nobody I asked told me anything. Not even the exile."

I cross my arms, shaking my head. "EDI, please tell me you've been analyzing the virus," I say.

The ship's AI waits for a second or two before responding. "_Yes,_" says EDI. "_According to the preliminary analysis, I have deducted that the virus that infected Legion was based off of an expansion of the item that is mentioned in the research that was discovered on the Alarei. It is... a _very _butchered expansion, however_."

I frown. "Which means that your exile of _course _wouldn't tell you anything," I say. "He was hiding his actions from you the entire time." I step forward, pointing at Daro'Xen. "Frankly, Daro'Xen, you're an _idiot_if you thought you could keep this exile under your control, because whatever you did to make sure he didn't do things against you, it didn't work. And now, you're partly responsible for everything."

"Who did you bring onto the Fleet, anyhow?" asks Zaal'Koris. "This exile needs a name so we can understand the severity of what you have done."

Daro'Xen looks down, and sighs. She pauses, holding her hands and beginning to wring them much like Tali would whenever she's nervous. She glances to the side, and I can suddenly tell that she's_extremely _nervous about this.

I cross my arms. "Well?" I ask. "Who did you get?"

She sighs, and then looks up to the admirals. "I... I invited the exile known as Kul'Yenvar back to the Fleet."

... No...

No way...

"Kul'Yenvar?" asks Kal. "I... He..."

"You got the most dangerous exile possible?" asks Han'Gerrel.

"I needed someone who understood AIs," says Daro'Xen. "He filled that description, given that some tales say he developed one of his own."

Holy shit, this is _Jack's_ Kul'Yenvar!

That same one that Tali regarded with disgust!

I step forward. "You let _that _son of a bitch onto this Fleet?" I ask. "You... you _idiot_! I can't believe you thought you could control him!" I step forward once again. "I hope you know what he did."

"I do not know, but-"

Before Daro'Xen can finish, I step right in front of her, pointing my finger in her face. "Because if he hurt Tali in any way, you're partly responsible for it for allowing him onto this Fleet in the first place!" I shout at her. "You hear me, Daro'Xen? I'm holding you res-"

And before I can finish my sentence, the door opens. I look behind Daro'Xen to see who is coming in, when suddenly I see the person wearing Nogond's environmental suit get tossed violently through the door. He stumbles into the room, before laying against the table as we all move to the side. He lets out a loud groan, looking up at the rest of us.

I then look back to the door to see Carhon walking in. The batarian is clearly enraged, and it seems that the only reason he hasn't beat the shit out of Kul'Yenvar yet is because of the fact that Jarel and Madison are right behind her. They both walk in with clearly unhappy expressions on their faces, and...

"Tali!"

Tali is being supported by Jarel and Madison. I note a slight limp in her step, and I notice that her legs are turned inward. She is looking down, and if I look at her body language, her body is actually shaking. She's in her environmental suit, but otherwise... otherwise, she seems like she's just... just...

I step towards Tali, fighting the urge to cup her head in my hands. "Tali, you're okay!" I say as I approach her. I hear footsteps, and I see Rael'Zorah walk up to her too. "Oh, God, Tali, I was so worried about you. You... What happened?"

Tali doesn't respond. If anything, she keeps her gaze trained on the floor. I look at Tali, as does Rael, who reaches out to her.

"Tali...?" asks Rael. "Tali, are you-?"

I'm not prepared for when the choked sob escapes her throat. It's only then that she looks up, but the shimmer on her mask is... different, somehow. It's... sad, almost. And... I don't know, but... I...

"Tali?" I ask. "Tali, what happened?"

Tali remains silent, instead shaking her head. Finally, she sinks to the floor, Jarel and Madison trying to let her down as gently as they can. She then looks back down to the ground, and it's only then that she starts sobbing uncontrollably. Rael bends down upon seeing this, as do I. I lay a hand on her shoulder, but am surprised when I feel Tali's shoulder shudder under my touch. I...

What?

"What happened?" I ask. "Tali, are—?"

"Don't even ask her," says Carhon as he points at Kul'Yenvar. "We found her restrained, Admirals. In a clean room. Without her suit on."

I hear a gasp of shock from the other admirals.

…

Oh my God.

This... There's no way...

No. No no no no no. There's...

Oh my God. Did... did that son of a bitch...?

I turn to look at Kul'Yenvar. If that asshole did what I _think _he did...

If he did what I think he did, then this son of a bitch is fucking _dead_.

I stand up, then, my hands clenching into a pair of fists. I look directly at Kul'Yenvar, and as the thought of what he did to Tali circulates in my mind, I feel the hatred for this _thing _well up inside of me. I step forward, so that I'm looking directly at Kul'Yenvar with the most hateful glare I can muster.

When I speak, even I am surprised by how soft and threatening my tone is.

"What did you do to her?"

At first, Kul is quiet, though I suspect it's more out of fear than it is any defiance. "I... I w-"

Before I can do anything else, I violently grab Kul'Yenvar by the back of his neck. I yank him back, and he lets out a loud yell as I suddenly slam his head onto the table. I just hear a dull thud, but it's enough to get the message across as several shocked gasps sound throughout the room.

"_What did you do to her, you motherfucker!_" I scream, leaning into the place where the audio receptors on his suit are. "Answer me!"

My grip on the back of his neck tightens as he grabs the edge of the table in pain. "I... I-I needed... _answers_!"

"That's not good enough!" I shout. With this, I violently yank Kul backwards. I let go of his neck, and watch as he stumbles back. As soon as he has stumbled back a sufficient amount, my fist clenches, and suddenly I punch Kul in the stomach. I then violently tackle him to the ground, glaring at the male quarian beneath me as I hold his wrists above his head. "You're not answering my question! What. Did. You. Do_._ To. Tali?" I lean closer to Kul. "I will _not _ask you again, so you _better _answer my goddamn question!"

He wheezes from the force of my punch, and I still sit there looking at Kul with the most hateful glare imaginable. I turn my glance briefly to everyone else to see that the admirals have shrunk away in terrified awe, especially Daro'Xen. Kal is looking down disapprovingly, but surprisingly, Tali isn't invested enough to offer anything beyond a sob.

"I..." Kul shrinks as he looks at me. "I needed answers, and... and I..." Oh, for the love of all things holy! "I..." he cringes, before mumbling something very quickly.

I shake my head, letting his wrists go and promptly grabbing his throat. "I'm sorry, I don't think we heard you there," I say as I prepare to stand up. "Would you care to repeat that so we can hear it?"

I then stand up, violently yanking him to his feet and letting his neck go. He stumbles back in shock, but this time I don't punch him in the gut.

He looks bewildered by this. "I held her against her will for my questions," says Kul'Yenvar. "I… I never touched her like that, I swear by—."

That _motherfucker_! I'll show that son of a bitch who—

Before my body can actually move, though, I hear a violent shift behind me. I turn around, and then see Rael'Zorah walk forward. From how fast his gait is, I can tell that Rael is _pissed_. So much so that I forget my own anger for a second. I step out of his way, watching him as he walks up to Kul'Yenvar.

"You _bosh'tet_!"

Rael immediately punches Kul'Yenvar in the stomach. This isn't enough for the admiral, though, who then grabs Kul's neck and pushes him against the wall of the comm room. I hear him scream some more words in Khelish that I don't understand before he pulls Kul by the neck and slams the exile's head against the wall. Rael repeats this motion four more times before shoving Kul violently so that the exile is against the table.

"Exile was not enough for you!" says Rael. "Jeopardizing the Fleet was one thing, and showing remorse over it was another... and then you came back to the Fleet, murdered a fellow quarian, and caused a_major _setback in our negotiations with the geth. This is horrible enough, but you went a step further. You _dared _to lay your hands on my daughter!"

The admiral walks up to Kul'Yenvar. "And I find that what you have done to her is _unforgivable_!" Rael exclaims angrily.

"I-I wouldn't have-"

Rael grabs Kul by the back of his head. "You... you are _pathetic_," says Rael. "And you deserve nothing less than _death_ for what you have done."

With this, Rael pulls back, and then slams Kul's head against the edge of the table. I cringe, watching as Kul'Yenvar's face mask collides against the edge. Rael'Zorah slams the exile's head into the table several more times, and finally, I hear the sound of glass being shattered as Kul lets out a scream of what I assume is terror.

When we hear this, Rael flings Kul'Yenvar away, and we can see his face. Kul instantly catches that we can see the terrified look in his eyes, but honestly, I'm beyond the stage where I can be moved by fear with this guy.

I shake my head as he whimpers in fright. "I don't even _want _to know how you got her alone," I say. "I wouldn't believe it. You're supposed to be Kul'Yenvar, that guy who developed AIs?"

"Y-y-you wouldn't understand!" says Kul'Yenvar. "Th... the admirals did this to me! If I hadn't been exiled, they-"

I stomp over there and promptly stamp on his leg with my left leg. My right thigh throbs again, but the scream of pain he unleashes is loud enough to fill my rage. "You leave the admirals out of this!" I shout. "You... You...!"

I shake my head, stepping back. "I hope your death is slow and painful, asshole," I say angrily. "You deserve no less than the most agonizing death imaginable." I lean towards him. "And from me, that's an _accomplishment_."

I lean forward, gathering saliva in my mouth. With no small amount of hesitation, I spit in Kul'Yenvar's eye. This appropriately squicks him out, but I leave him no room to rebuff before I shake my head, walking away from the exile. I then look directly at Daro'Xen, before leaning forward and pointing at her facemask.

"And as for _you_," I say angrily. "_None _of this would've happened if you hadn't brought him onto the Fleet. And quite frankly, Daro'Xen, you're a _moron_ if you think that it's all right to do that as long as you control every aspect of his life, because at the end of the day, you _can't _control him. You have a hand in _everything _that has happened here in this room during the past few hours, and if you think I'm going to even _consider_ letting you off the hook, you've got a whole other thing comin'. I don't care how well-intended your bullshit scheme was: it backfired, and now your people and Tali have to pay the price for your shitty decision making skills."

I shake my head, walking away from the admiral. My sight then turns to Tali where she's laying on the ground sobbing. I quickly kneel by her side, and she looks to me even as I place a hand on her shoulder. She shakes her head, and before I can say anything else, she latches on to me, taking the time to sob against my shoulder. The face mask digs into my shoulder, but I don't care.

I slowly hold Tali in place as she cries against me, and I close my eyes. "Sh, it's all right," I whisper as softly as I can. "It's over now. He... he can't hurt you anymore..."

Tali doesn't say anything, instead continuing to cry as I rock her as delicately as I can.

* * *

><p>When the geth prime that was sent from the geth collective comes to retrieve Legion's platform, the admirals and I are standing to the side. Tali isn't there to see him off, but I can't blame her, this time: she just...<p>

I shake my head. At any rate, she's sitting down with Mordin and Jarel right about now, so I know she's safe. But...

Damn it, I should've searched the Moreh myself. I should've stayed with her. I should've actually looked. I should've... I...

I bite my lower lip. There's nothing I can do about it now, but _damn _it, if I had only been watching her more carefully...

I watch as the geth prime walks over to Legion's platform. He nods to the admirals in understanding. I glance over to the spot where Daro'Xen would've been standing, but instead there is an empty space there. Seriously, I think that was the fastest vote I've ever seen any body of government take; they pretty much exiled Daro'Xen on the _spot_, their vote was so fast. I thought they would've had a trial to determine her guilt first, but really, I think her guilt came out in that massive confrontation we had with her and with Kul'Yenvar. But right now, we can't really dump her anywhere, so she's being watched over by Al and Jack. We did touch on the data that we found on the Alarei, but... well, nothing really happened with that.

Speaking of that, actually... Kul'Yenvar ended up coughing himself to death. Mordin offered to give Kul his immunization treatment, but Rael expressly refused to allow Kul'Yenvar that mercy. Honestly, I can't blame Rael, especially since we're in the same boat of wanting that son of a bitch to suffer. And suffer was exactly what Kul'Yenvar did as he was dying. Jack ended up paying a visit as she and Al came up, and... well, I'll never forget the evil grin she had on her face when she saw Kul'Yenvar sitting there broken. I get the feeling she would've added to it, but seeing him lying there and coughing himself to death was enough for her. Karma got him eventually, she said. I was kind of surprised, but hey.

The geth prime bends down, picking up Legion's platform. The way Legion is laying back, it's almost as if Legion is a baby. The geth prime looks to us, and nods.

"We thank you for punishing the ones responsible," it says. "The Collective told this platform to pass that message on."

I blink in surprise, wondering how it is that a geth prime can talk. But that quickly gets washed away by everything else that happened. "I... We understand," I say.

Zaal'Koris nods solemnly. "If there is one thing that we can take away from this... we both need to stop fighting this war," he says. "Both of us have paid a very high price today..."

"Acknowledged," says the geth prime. "We will alert the Creators when Legion's runtimes have been reassembled."

With this, the prime turns around and carries Legion out of there. I briefly glance to the N7 armor that is attacked to Legion's chest, and I sigh sadly when I realize that I won't see Legion for a while. Really, I think Zaal understated it slightly. We paid high political costs with the temporary loss of our negotiator and the exile of one of our admirals, but that's _nothing _compared to the personal cost. We've just lost a good friend on the Normandy, and...

And then...

I can barely bring myself to think about happened to Tali. The thought of what Kul did to her... I mean, just taking the face mask off is bad enough, but... the entire suit? Good Lord, what was he trying to do?

The geth prime enters the airlock, having to duck just so it can fit through the door. The airlock door closes behind it, and I shake my head in sadness.

The admirals and I stand there for a few seconds more, pondering on the things that happened. I... Damn it. So much went right, and yet so much went horribly wrong.

I sigh, shaking my head. "EDI, call everyone except Tali and Mordin to the debriefing room," I say softly. "We need to talk about what happened."

I don't even hear her acknowledgment of my command, for I'm already turning around and heading to the door of the armory. My shoulders sag, and my gait feels heavier than it usually does as I walk along towards the armory.


	20. Chapter 19

_A/N: Well, that was certainly a doozy. So now... well..._

_This is the part where things start getting very dark in the Mass Vexations trilogy. And this is where things start going badly for Art and the gang. You know how it is, I trust._

_As for now... well, you might've noticed by now that the rating has taken an increase. That's right, MV is no longer just a T-rated affair. Now it's all grown up now. Isn't it nice? But... well, expect things to get darker and grittier from here._

_And yes, I'm aware of the recent purge of M-rated fics on this site. Honestly, I'm not too bothered by it, since... well, y'know. Any sexual references have been strictly implied, as you know. Crazy times are had with that._

_Before I begin, I'd like to thank Sarge1995 for looking over this chapter for me. To be honest... this chapter made me just a little nervous. It's a long story, but I was actually wracking my brain trying to make sure I hit all the right notes in this chapter. Here's hoping my effort pays off, 'cause I actually found myself hitting my head against a wall a _lot _while writing this chapter. So... I wanna thank them for looking it over first before I posted it._

_Also, since I caught wind of it... Oh my God, David Cage is coming out with a new game. It already looks absolutely friggin' amazing. I mean, it has better graphics than Heavy Rain, it's got a narrative that'll split off... and it's gonna star _Ellen Page_! Seriously, it's got freakin' Ellen Page here! That's freaking awesome! Seriously, 2013 is shaping up to be a damn awesome year for gaming._

_So yeah. Let's get to the chapter._

* * *

><p>Chapter 19: Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana:Intermezzo<p>

I look over to the rest of the ground team near the end of the debriefing. I mean...

Damn it, I shouldn't be standing here. I should be by Tali's side. Mordin wanted to do a full-body scan, make sure there were no infections, but... Oh, God _damn _it!

"We will determine our next course of action from here. You are all dismissed."

I see some people walk out in hesitation. Some cast a glance back at me before leaving the room. I see Jack give me a long look of... concern? From Jack? But before I can comment on it, Al already has an arm that's pulling her close, and the two of them leave the briefing room. Soon enough, most of the rest of the ground team has filed out, and I'm left looking at some of the people that are left. I look around, seeing Miranda and Garrus are both staying behind. Jarel, Madison, and Carhon are also both standing there. Carhon still looks mostly pissed off, with Madison looking a lot more regretful. I notice briefly that Kal'Reegar is also staying behind, as are the admirals. They stand there, looking on in concern, and I only briefly remember that Rael is out of his suit before I close my eyes again.

Wow, did I really get so zoned out in this debriefing that I don't know who's supposed to be in the room anymore?

I shake my head. "I don't know what to say," I say.

"You've been silent the whole debriefing," says Shala'Raan. "Are you...?"

"Not really," I say. "I just... I don't know."

"I'm not even certain why it's an issue," Madison admits. "Carhon got all kinds of pissed off about it when they found Tali, but…"

"Madison, this is the quarian people," I comment. "Just stepping outside of your suit for someone else is considered intimate."

"And how would you know that?" asks Han'Gerrel.

I glare at the admiral. "I'm a… close friend of Tali," I comment, hesitating slightly at having to lie about my relationship with her. "How do you _think_ I know?"

"But they do not mention things like that unless—"

"This is enough," says Rael as he cuts Han off. "Does it matter how he knows? He understands: you should be thankful for that."

"He is correct," says Shala.

The former war-monger shakes his head. "Very well," he says. "I apologize for that digression. But you must realize I will not leave it at that."

"Maybe, but it's not important right now," I comment. "What is important... it's important what she went through." I shake my head. "Why the hell would Kul'Yenvar even _do _stuff like that?" I ask.

"Maybe you could ask Jack," Miranda offers. "From the things she said to him earlier, it sounds like she had a bit of history with him."

I nod. "She told me about Kul'Yenvar once," I comment. "I was going to ask her at my earliest convience..." I sigh. "I don't know, Miranda. I don't know. Somehow, the explanation makes me more afraid. I mean... he removed her suit. And for what? He wanted information off of her. I don't even…" I can't even continue, instead hanging my head as I leave my hands on the table.

"What Kul'Yenvar has done…" says Zaal'Koris. "It is very rare. I am sure I have never heard of this in the time I have been an admiral."

"Neither have I." I glance over to Rael'Zorah as he finishes speaking. "My daughter..." He shakes his head, and I can very clearly see his eyes water in sadness. "I cannot return to the Fleet and maintain my conscience. I... I need to stay here. With Tali. She needs me more than ever, and I would betray everything I have done to mend our relationship if I were to leave her now."

"We understand, Rael," says Han. "Actually... we were hoping to bring something up with Art and the other two commanders of this ship."

I look up, watching as Garrus shifts where he's standing. "What do you need?" he asks.

Shala'Raan steps forward. "We had a private deliberation before the debriefing," she says. "The Migrant Fleet is closer to its homeworld now than ever before. I think the environment is ripe..."

"As do I," says Han. "We... we wish to extend our thanks to you, even in the face of the first round of negotiations falling apart. When the geth are ready, we will be ready to negotiate." He pauses, glancing to the side in guilt. "Both sides have paid a very dear personal price because of our ambition to regain the home world. We will ensure that our wish does not harm the quarian people further."

"As an extra extension of our gratitude, we would like to leave one of our marines on the Normandy," says Zaal'Koris. He then turns to Kal. "Kal'Reegar...?"

The marine stands straight. "Sir?" he asks.

"We have decided to leave you in the company of Art and the crew of the Normandy," says Zaal'Koris. "You are under Rael'Zorah's command now."

Wait... so... Kal'Reegar is coming with us?

"So we're getting another person on our rag-tag gang," says Garrus as he crosses his arms. "This gets more and more interesting."

"Consider it a gift of gratitude for all you have done," says Han'Gerrel. "At ease, Kal'Reegar. You are not under our command right now."

Kal's posture relaxes, and he looks at Han'Gerrel. "I will be sure to help them, sir," he says.

I nod. "Thank you, Kal," I say. "It's... appreciated." God, I don't even... I exhale softly. "Well... we're here, so... I think we're done for the most part. Right?"

"I believe so," says Shala'Raan. "I hope we have made a good choice in leaving Daro'Xen in your care until you can leave her somewhere else."

"We'll figure it out eventually," I say. I look to Miranda and Garrus. "I need to go check on Tali and Mordin. Jarel? Madison? Carhon?"

The three of them nod, and I watch them walk away to the tech lab. I sigh. "I... I will go to check on Tali." I turn to the admirals. "Thank you. Please, remember this. I don't want you to have to pay a high price a second time."

The other admirals nod. "We will remember this," says Zaal'Koris. "Our ambition came at great personal cost. We will ensure it does not happen again."

And with this, I nod, and I leave the room. Rael follows me rather quickly, and we both step out of the briefing room and into the tech lab.

* * *

><p>When I enter, I see that Tali is still hunched on the medical table. Mordin is looking at his terminal, looking at something on it. I notice Anahit standing in the background, looking at Tali with a blank expression as she leans against the wall right next to the window. Mordin looks up as soon as the three of us enter, though, and then he nods.<p>

"Excellent timing," says Mordin. "Results of scans just came back."

I frown. "You took samples from her?" I ask.

"Nothing harmful to psyche," says Mordin. "Was extremely careful. Only withdrew blood samples. Other samples too risky in this environment." He sniffs. "Risky without clean room or immunization."

"And we all know why she would be averse to being in a clean room," Anahit adds sourly. "I tell you, doctor, you should be more careful."

"Have been extremely careful," says Mordin. "But impossible to know speed of physical recovery without seeing medical condition first. Am looking at results now."

I nod. "What do they tell us, Mordin?" asks Madison.

Mordin looks at the terminal. "Hm... Nothing," he begins. "Too late to show... Wait! Test detects trace amounts of non-potent dose of toxin. Not enough to kill, but..."

I freeze. "Wait, you mean... Kul'Yenvar poisoned Tali? And that's how he knocked her out?"

"Seems like it," says Mordin darkly. "Or some variation of that. Amounts detected by composition test suggest that toxin was absorbed into the body. Could mean that food was ingested. Or... gaseous toxin. Either one valid." He looks at his terminal for a few more seconds. "Ingestion very unlikely, though. Blood test results imply that Tali was... starved, for lack of a better term."

I look down. I want to say something, but my throat suddenly seizes up and I find I can't say anything. "Wait," said Jarel. "How would they sneak a toxin in the form of a gas onto the Rayya, and then onto the Moreh?"

"Interesting question," says Mordin. "No answers now, though. Kul'Yenvar dead. As humans say, 'dead men tell no tales'."

Carhon shakes his head. "I _still _think that Kul'Yenvar deserved to suffer more than he did in the end," he says. "He killed Nogond, _and _he did that to Tali. Killing Nogond was bad enough, but this?"

"This is just... wrong..." I comment.

"I'm still not certain how," says Anahit. "She was not actually touched."

At this, Carhon and I glare at the krogan queen. She stands there without being intimidated, but by the way her eyes shift between us I think she can tell she's made us a bit angry.

"Touched or not, that's beside the point," says Carhon. "For all Kul'Yenvar did, he might as well have touched her."

Tali says nothing, instead shifting slightly. "Beside the point," says Mordin. "For now, application of toxin a mystery. Highly improbable given the circumstances, but the test results are clear." He shakes his head before looking at me. "Toxin should leave her system after a little. Chafing from restraints also possible. Will go away with time. Sickness also possible, even from within clean room. Scans detected additional markings throughout body, possibly including lash marks and other such things. Both will go away with time." He then glances at Tali briefly. "Detected no penetration from my original scans. Hopefully, psychological recovery will be quick."

I nod, holding my arms together and glancing to the side. My eyes water as I set my sights on Tali. Her back is still facing me, and she's looking at the corner of the window. I notice that she's holding herself almost as if she's giving herself a hug.

"Regardless..." I shake my head, looking back to Mordin. "Have you scanned Kul'Yenvar's body yet?"

"Yes," says Jarel, bringing something up on the terminal. "As far as I can tell, there were no markers that would've suggested that he took his suit off in front of Tali. There also aren't any signs on his suit that he did anything to her by touching her. For all intents and purposes, Kul'Yenvar stayed inside his suit the whole time, and kept his hands only on the things he used on her."

Tali remains silent, but I see Anahit shift from where she stands. She remains silent, too. In fact, we all remain silent.

I ultimately shake my head. "Damn it," I say. "Mordin... can you...?"

"Will keep eye on Tali," he says. "Would appreciate help, though."

I nod, looking to the others. "Can you watch her for me?" I ask. "I'll be back soon. I... I still have business to take care of back there."

"Sure," says Madison as she walks towards Tali. "We'll watch her."

I smile sadly. "Thank you," I say.

And with this, I exit the tech lab.

* * *

><p>"<em>Art. It is good to hear from you again.<em>"

I nod, not even caring about the fact that Liara still has the deep voice filter on. "Hi Liara," I say. "You can..." I hesitate. Is it really...? "You can stop using the deep voice thing whenever you wish."

There's a brief pause from Liara's end. I shift so that I'm not leaning against the table in the debriefing room, and I glance back at Miranda sadly. Finally, Liara coughs on the other end.

"_Art?_" she asks, this time with the deep voice filter off. "_Is everything all right?_"

I sigh, looking down. "No," I say. "We managed to get both sides of the conflict on Rannoch on the path to peace, but..." I sigh. "There were some personal costs involved. Legion nearly died, and... well..." I pause, biting my lower lip. "Tali was forced to take her suit of because someone wanted information."

I hear a pause on the other side. "_She took her suit off for someone else?_" the broker asks. "_I... I don't follow._"

I roll my eyes. "Liara, quarians taking their suit off is considered intimate." I shake my head. "So for all intents and purposes, this guy forced her to be intimate as a way to control her."

Liara reels back. "_So it is essentially mind_ _rape..." _She pauses, and I briefly wonder what she is doing. "_Goddess... I'm so sorry..._"

I breathe in. "So am I," I say. "There was so much that could've been done differently, and..."

"Really?" asks Garrus. "It wasn't your fault."

"I think it might've been in some respects," I say. "I mean... I last saw Tali when she was talking with Kal and Iya on the Rayya after our friend the imaginary Pilgrim stepped on. I... I should've just stayed with her." I look to Garrus. "Instead, I went straight back to you to pal around about Nogond's death and stuff. And while I was away... that's when she vanished." I sigh. "I don't know what the hell I was thinking when I ran back here... I shouldn't have done that. Maybe if I had been with her the whole time, or if I had at least gone back to the Fleet earlier..."

Miranda crosses her arms. "I was about to say something to that effect, to be honest," she says. "You don't seem like the type that would run back to the Normandy at the smallest amount of news..."

I nod. "See?" I ask. "I'm not the only one who thinks that."

Miranda frowns. "I hardly think that you should be taking that as a good thing," she says.

"I'm not." I shake my head. "But it's nice to know I'm not the only one who thinks that. I mean... I had a hunch this Pilgrim would be dangerous. I should've realized that Tali might come close to him when I was away. I mean, she was called to two separate ships. I should've expected the admirals would do something like that..." I chuckle bitterly. "God, there was so much I should've accounted for, and instead I just ran off to tell someone else about the other problem." I shake my head. "I could've at least told Tali about my suspicions first. But instead... I had to go to you." I sigh. "And look where it got us now. If I had just stayed with Tali the whole time like I should've..."

The room is silent for some time, and none of us speaks. I feel a tear come to my eyes, and... Damn it, no, now's not the time to cry, Art. I shake my head, looking up.

"I'm sorry," I say. "This... this isn't related."

"_I understand the digression,_" says Liara. "_I cannot imagine what she is going through right now. And I imagine it is difficult on you as well. If it helps things... I'm sorry that it happened._"

I nod. "Thank you," I comment. "I... Let's never bring this up in these conversations again." I shake my head. "Do you have anything for us?"

"_Yes_," says Liara. "_I have pinpointed the location of the rachni_."

Garrus and Miranda lean forward. "You have?" asks Garrus. "Where are they now...?"

"_They are located in a system within Terminus space,_" she says.

I nod. "Well, there's something good in all this after all," I say. "At least we won't have to run back into Council Space to talk to them."

"_Yes,_" says Liara. "_The system they are in is located somewhere very close to batarian space. I would be wary of what you can find there_."

"We'll make a note of that," says Miranda. "Is there anything else?"

"_Yes,_" says Liara. "_I have positioned several spies on Kahje recently._"

I lean forward. "Really?" I ask. "Why?"

"_I am monitoring the progress of the Kepral's Syndrome cure_," she says. "_Some of the intel I have gathered recently implies that Cerberus may be interested in the cure for Kepral's Syndrome._"

I look to Garrus as he looks at the rest of us. "Why would Cerberus be interested in a drell disease?" he asks.

"_I do not know,_" says Liara. "_I'm keeping close tabs on that for now. If I sense any Cerberus movement on Kahje, I will pass it on_."

"All right," says Miranda. "Is there anything else?"

"_There is... _one _thing,_" she says. "_I know about it, but... it will hit the extranet news soon. Let's just say that the turian Hierarchy might not like the kind of political... 'shitstorm' that will hit them soon, really._"

I frown. "Wait, there's something going on with the turian Hierarchy?" I ask.

"_They have been engaging in a cover-up since you came back,_" says Liara. "_Needless to say, someone figured out what was going on and managed to get that information out. You'll find out at the same time the rest of the galaxy does, but know that it's not good._"

I shake my head. "A lot of things aren't good right now," I say. "If that's everything..."

"_It should be, yes,_" says Liara. "_Be well, Art._"

I nod. "Thank you, Liara," I say. "You take care of yourself."

With this, the link to the Shadow Broker cuts out. I sigh, leaning against the table again. I place my palms over my hands, letting out a sigh as I do.

Miranda nods. "Even if I think there was more you could have done to prevent Tali from being abducted, I don't think what happened after the fact was your fault," she adds. "You couldn't have known that Kul'Yenvar would do what he ultimately did."

I sigh. "I'd like to think that, Miranda," I say. "But at the end of the day, everyone has some hand in this. I have it for not keeping closer to Tali while she was running around, Daro'Xen has it for wanting to bring Kul'Yenvar to the Fleet, Han and Shala have some blame for allowing Kul to come on in the first place..." I shake my head. "I need to get back to the tech lab. Tali is still waiting there. I... I can't leave her alone like this."

Garrus nods. "I guess this means the Brotherhood isn't meeting up, then," he says.

I sigh. "It's not," I say. "I don't think we should drag this into a group setting. Not yet. Actually, as soon as I get her out of the med bay, I'm going to avoid putting her in crowd situations."

"Very well, then," says Miranda. "I'll take this time to check on Oriana. I have to make sure she's safe."

I nod. "You do that," I say.

With this, we all leave. I see Miranda and Garrus exit through the armory, but I turn in the opposite direction and head towards the tech lab. I enter, and see everyone in more or less the same position as before. Tali is still seated at the medical table, but this time Mordin is right by her.

I smile sadly, nodding as if to thank Mordin for everything he's done. I then approach Tali, being careful not to touch her.

"Tali...?"

She slowly turns her head around.

"Art...?" she asks, her voice soft.

"Tali..." Fuck... Fuck, what the hell am I supposed to say to her? What _can _I say to her? "Let's... let's get out of here."

With this, I position my arms around her shoulders. She doesn't protest, contrary to what I expected. I do notice her shoulders immediately tense under my touch, though, and I begin to see her panic. Seeing this, I let go, and upon seeing her relax, I move forward. This time, she doesn't protest, and I feel a rush of... something, I don't know what. But it's something very unpleasant that I feel as I gently push her off of the lab table.

With this, I gently let her feet touch the ground, and then we're both leaving the tech lab. We move at what has to be a snail's pace, and I have to fight the urge to release a few more tears.

* * *

><p>I dropped Tali off at my quarters again. She looks like she... I don't know. On the one hand, she wasn't actually raped or anything, so there's that. On the other hand, though, that really doesn't do all that much for us since he might as well have, given that he violated her personal space in such a way as that.<p>

And on top of that, there are still a few questions floating around in the back of my mind about this whole involved rigmarole. Like... I still don't get why Kul'Yenvar would do such a thing. But... maybe that isn't a totally lost cause. I mean... Jack knew who he was. Maybe...

No, but that'd mean I'd have to deal with Daro'Xen. Which would not be great, 'cause I don't know if I can ever get close to her again without wanting to glare daggers at her, I distrust her that much.

Well... I've just gotta go with it.

I say this to myself right as I make the first step onto the staircase down to the hidey hole where Jack and surprisingly Al have taken to hanging out lately. I start walking down the stairs with surprising quickness for myself given what happened. When I reach the base of the staircase, I see Jack and Al both turn their heads towards me. I can make out Daro'Xen sitting down behind a mass effect field that's keeping her in place, and she looks at me in surprise as well.

I step forward, looking to Jack. "Hey, Jack," I say. "Hey, Al."

"Hm, I figured you'd be down in the hidey-hole a little sooner than this," says Al as I step in. "I mean, just in general."

I nod solemnly as I step into the area. "I know, it's been a while," I say, looking at them both.

"Yep." Jack seems to agree with me there, and she wastes no time in crossing her arms. "About time if you ask me." She shakes her head. "And I guess you're here to ask about that fucker Kul'Yenvar."

"You read my mind, Jack," I say, looking at the biotic with a serious expression. "I just... I don't know what would possess him to do something like that to anyone."

"I must admit, that part puzzles me more than anything else about his actions," says Daro'Xen.

Whoah! Did I just agree with Daro'Xen on something? That's... uncanny, and very strange, but... well, it's also bad when even she doesn't know why a quarian would rape another quarian.

"And that's why you're stuck behind a blue field and why I'm still alive," says Jack dismissively. "Trust me, if you knew half the shit I did about Kul'Yenvar..."

"Then most of this could've been completely avoided," adds Al. "I mean... really?"

Jack waves an arm as she sits down on her cot. "Kul'Yenvar was never the sanest person around," she said. "He was messed in the head, even for a space pirate."

"And that's sayin' something," I say as I step forward. "What... what was he like then?"

"Well, like I said the last time, he was a killer with tech," she says. "We'd raid something from someone else, and he'd have it doing something completely different with an hour at a work bench." She smirks. "Actually, he did a _lot _with that bench..."

I frown. Oh dear... "Yeah, maybe a little more than I want to know," I say. "What else was he like?"

"Well..." She frowns, leaning back. "There was this one time. We were hitting a batarian slaver ship for tech. Risky job, but there was a whole shitload of tech he could use to his advantage." She stands up, looking right at me. "It went badly."

I raise my eyebrows. "It went badly?" I ask. "Just like the other job?"

"Yeah, hits going badly happened a _lot _when he got involved," she says. "But most of the time, he pulled them together." She glares at the wall just behind Al. "The one time it didn't, he ditched me. But that's another story, so..." She then leans back, looking at me and Al. "So we were supposed to go in there and get the tech without them knowing we were coming. And then, a slaver showed up." She crosses her head. "Before we know it, half the ship is crawling all over us, and they've got us backed into a corner. Not even my biotics could stop something like that." She smirks. "And then, Kul'Yenvar gets at it like a crazy bastard and takes his facemask off right in front of all those slavers."

I jolt. "Wait, he just took off his mask?" I ask. "In the middle of a batarian slaver ship?"

"Guy had a whole _stockpile _of immune system boosters and other shit like that," she said. "Always took a few before a hit, and always brought some with him in case that wasn't enough. Fucker was usually sick for a few days after a hit anyway, though. Kind of got boring like that." She leans forward again, placing her elbows on her knees. "But where it counted, it kept his ass alive through a lot of shit. Like that one time I was just talking about." Jack's smirk fades slightly. "The slavers were all shocked. Hey, who else has seen a quarian without his mask on?" She shrugs. "That gave me enough time to blow their asses away with a few biotic blasts. And it bought us enough time to get the tech and run out of there." Her smirk returns at the memory. "Kul was always pulling crazy stunts like that."

I nod, looking up. "I can imagine," I say. "Taking his mask off in front of other people has got to be the craziest stunt ever."

"I'm not even sure why he would act like that," says Al.

"Yep," says Jack. "That says everything about the fucker. Crazy, a little on the suicidal side, usually came to things _crazy _prepared... and he _loved _to be in control." She shakes his head. "I remember that he'd panic if we were even one fucking second behind. I almost thought he was doing it for fun sometimes. It never got old to see him freak out. Well, until he ditched me mid-job."

"Then, you just got angry," I say.

"Yep," says Jack. "But he was a real bona-fide control freak. Sometimes, he was worse than the cheerleader." She smirks again. "He's also the only quarian I know who'd willingly step out of a suit for a complete stranger."

Al frowns, leaning back. "Wait, a quarian was into casual sex?" he asks.

"That goes against... almost _everything _I know about my own people," says Daro'Xen from her improvised cell.

"Yep." The biotic sits up. "He wasn't just controlling in missions, either, actually. The bastard was into some pretty controlling shit in a clean room, too."

I frown. "So you had... well..." I say.

"A couple times, yeah," she says. "I didn't think a quarian could be into BDSM until he had me strapped to a table." She frowns, the smirk vanishing once again. "I figured that being a quarian he'd want to stay in that suit, but no, he had to be the guy that got exiled from the Fleet for creating an AI that had a shitty Irish accent."

"I'll bet he was paranoid," I say. "So that leaves him with a quarian who was too crazy to do stuff."

"Yeah," says Jack. "He was so crazy, that I really don't think it's that surprising with what happened to Tali. There was this one time where we were hitting a merchant vessel. Small thing, I could've smashed it with my biotics. I probably should've: that ship was piloted by some stupid asari bitch." Jack rolled her eyes. "Seriously, she had no brain: she should've stuck with pole dancing, she was so stupid. Kul actually fed her a line that we were fellow merchants trying to sell wares. She bought it hook, line, and sinker. And then she opened her fat mouth and said there were other ships in the area carrying her same cargo." She shook her head. "I ended up getting the tech on that run. And while I did that, I kept on running by the room where Kul'Yenvar was beating that information right out of her mouth."

I frown. "So he tortured the information out of her?" I ask.

"And left her for dead," she says. "I never really got that myself. You can bet I was pissed off at that. I told him he was messed. Fucked up in the head. And _very _suicidal." She shakes his head. "And _he _told me that he didn't just want the information: he wanted her so broken she wouldn't alert the other ships that we were coming."

I blink. "So he wanted to break her will as well," I say. I pause, looking in front of me. "And... and if Tali wasn't having any of his stuff, then..."

"Maybe he wanted to break her too," says Al. "So that she'd have no choice but to tell him what he wanted to know." He shakes his head. "I don't understand why being outside of another suit would be so bad for the quarian people, though..."

"I dunno either, but if what you're sayin' is true, it sounds like something he'd do," says Jack. "He wasn't the last quarian exile I'd ever run with, but he was the most fucked up of them all." She shakes her head. "Even I have no idea what the hell could happen that he'd get so insane and suicidal. Sometimes, he was brilliant, and sometimes he was an idiot. It was short, but that's probably for the best."

"And I don't even understand half his actions," I say. "I mean, he looks for information, he wants stuff, and the extreme he'll go to is to try to break someone like this?" I shake my head. "I... I've never heard of someone so psychotic in my life. And why would he even be like this, anyway?"

"He probably inhaled too much engine cleaner as a young man," says Daro'Xen coldly. "I do not know. If I had known about half the things Jack has been telling me, I_certainly _would have given pause to think about it first."

I glare at Daro'Xen. "Well, it's too bad you didn't," I say. "Why would you even resort to that anyway?"

Daro'Xen pauses, looking right at me. "I would think you have some fault in that decision, actually," she says.

I jolt, looking at the disgraced admiral. "_Me_?" I ask. "What the hell are you pointing your finger at me for? You're the one who made the shitty-ass decision to bring in an exile you thought you could control!"

Daro'Xen simply crosses her arms. "And you, I think, were involved with things on the Alarei."

I frown. "What does _that _have to do with anything?" I ask.

"It has _everything _to do with your current predicament," she says. "I knew Rael'Zorah was performing AI experiments. I went to the Alarei after the trial to see if I could find anything." She crosses her arms, looking right at me. "There was no research there. And I believe I have a very good idea of what happened with it."

I blink. No, there's no way... "W... What're you talking about?" I ask.

"I knew Rael had gotten something," says Daro'Xen. "I wasn't able to get the data that Rael'Zorah had, but I did get my hands on a piece of data that showed that the AI experiments went further than both of you stated at Tali's trial." She shifts. "You took Rael's research for yourselves, Serviceman. And you and the Zorah clan both held it back from the Fleet."

...

N... No...

"And then you told Kul'Yenvar about that data," I say.

"Yes," says Daro'Xen. "I told him that the Zorah clan had data that could have helped the Fleet." She crosses her arms. "I believe you share the guilt now."

I frown. "Uh... excuse me?" I ask. "I'm not the one who decided that inviting an exile onto the Fleet was a good idea. You could've just dropped your ideas right there, Daro'Xen. Instead... well..." I shake my head. "I think we all have some idea of how it all turned out." Yeah, it's your fault because you couldn't just drop your ideas to "help" the Fleet there.

...

Right?

Daro'Xen remains silent, though, even as Jack leans back. "Whatever," says the biotic. "It's like Art said, bucket head."

"And I don't think the fact that you didn't tighten security on the Moreh when someone else was on the ship helps your case," says Al. "In any event..."

"Yeah," I say. "So Kul'Yenvar was a certified nutcase."

"Yep," says Jack. "Sounds about right."

I nod. "Yeah," I say. "Well... that puts my mind a little at ease. I think. I don't know."

"And it was good to finally see your ass get itself back down here," says Jack.

"Yeah, you've been absent quite a bit here," says Al.

I nod. "Well, I've had a lot to do," I say. "I... I should get back upstairs. Thanks for sharing that, Jack."

"Any time," says Jack as she leans back.

I turn to Daro'Xen, pointing at her. "And as for you," I say. "You're damn lucky we're only exiling you. I hope the fact that you're probably the last exile the Fleet will ever have will give you something to think about."

Before that blasted witch can say anything else, I've turned around and left. There's no way that it's somehow my fault that she couldn't just drop her plans to develop a weapon that could control the geth.

* * *

><p>Shit... did I lead to this?<p>

I shake my head as I sit on my own bed. I know Daro'Xen has most of the blame, but what she mentioned is beginning to eat away at me. What if... what if I was partly responsible? I... I can't even think of how horrible that would be.

No, no, Art, Daro'Xen was the one who had the brilliant idea of bringing Kul'Yenvar to the Fleet. She's the one to blame here.

I shake my head, staring ahead at the drive core. Tali is sitting next to me of course, and has been since I first came here. She hasn't said a word since I dropped her off here, according to EDI, and... well... So we've just sat there, staring ahead of us for God knows how long. I think it's been an hour since I came in. I think. I'm not sure.

Time sure acts funny when you're trying to sort things out with yourself. Especially with your guilt. I mean... I wasn't around Tali when it happened. That, I can definitely take the blame for since I ran back to the Normandy instead of waiting a bit. I didn't even... And now there's the fact that I could've potentially set this whole thing in motion. Even if that blasted witch could've just dropped her plans to create that geth-controlling weapon she wanted to immediately... she wouldn't have done it otherwise.

Damn it. I hate _everything_ involved with this.

I look to Tali for the fourth time in I don't know how long. She remains quiet, staring ahead of her as her body remains perfectly rigid. Damn it... I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to tell her. I mean... here we are, with Tali suffering from something that traumatic, and... and I don't...

I inhale a relatively small amount of air through my nose, closing my eyes again as we sit next to each other in the silence. I turn again, looking back in front of me. The light of the drive core illuminates the area yet again, and we just continue to sit in silence. Damn it...

How the hell did Kul'Yenvar get that toxin Mordin said led to her getting captured into Tali's bloodstream, anyhow? I don't get that at all. I mean, how did he corner her? How did he do all that? This is... This is something I don't get. How did Daro'Xen think she could control Kul and then lose control. I don't...

I can't...

I sigh, shaking my head and looking back at Tali. She looks ahead of her, not seeming to notice my rather heavy sigh. She simply stares ahead of herself, looking at the wall. It's like she doesn't even know I'm here...

I shake my head.

I turn away from her as I feel a tear slip out of my eye. Damn it... I just... _Damn _it all to hell.

* * *

><p>I sit in the mess hall some time later. It's actually rather lonely out here, but... Well, here I am. I nurse a cup of water that has long since warmed in my hands, but for some reason I can't let it go. My food remains on my plate, only half-eaten. I'm pretty sure it's cold right now. I can barely eat right now, I'm so worried about Tali. I sigh, realizing how cold the food is.<p>

It's so bizarre, really. I came in during the end of the dinner shift, for some reason, which was later than I normally go. Rael already brought Tali some nutrient paste from the kitchen, but when I left her under his watchful eye, she hadn't even started applying the whole complicated procedure. I went to get some hot food while I still could, but... well, by the time I could get my first bite in my mouth, it had already cooled a bit.

And apparently, seeing your girlfriend become the victim of major psychological trauma also kills your appetite. Who knew?

I take another very slow sip, setting the cup down. God, I can't stop thinking about this. I mean... that happened to Tali, and... What the hell am I supposed to do? Okay, maybe that's a stupid question given that I talked to Kelly earlier about that, but... with the way Tali is now...

I don't know what'll happen next. Tali's basically been silent ever since she came back. Except for maybe one or two times, she's always been silent, and she hasn't moved a muscle. It's almost like she's become a statue. Like... Niobe, maybe. Except that instead of mourning for her children, she's mourning... well, whatever the hell it is you lose whenever you get raped like that. I don't fucking know.

Either way... I'm not sure how Tali will act. And honestly, that part scares me the most. What... what happens when she starts just getting over it?

"Well, look who's here."

I jolt where I'm sitting, looking up to see James with a tray half-full of food. I blink in surprise.

"James?" I ask. "That's... don't you usually take meals in your room?"

The marine shrugs. "Eh, I decided I'd do something different today," he says. "Carhon's grilling me about always staying cooped up in that observation room." James shakes his head. "Doesn't suit me."

I shake my head, placing my cup down. "I don't doubt it," I say. "Honestly, James, you look like the kind of guy who'd brag about everything you've done and just... y'know..."

"Yeah, I get that a lot," he comments. He picks up his fork. "I think I was just... _thinking _a lot. About everything with Shepard."

I nod. "Yeah, you would," I say. "I heard that Anderson picked you up hoping to help you out of a desertion charge."

James grunts. "I figured that would've been the first thing you'd ask about," he says. "But..."

"Well, I don't have access to any Alliance records," I say. "Remember, you still technically outrank me in that regard. But..." I gesture with my hand. "Being a friend of the Shadow Broker has its perks." I shrug. "You finally got that all sorted out?"

"Yep," says James. "I'm disappointed Shepard isn't here, but who knows? Maybe when those _pendejo _politicians finally get their heads out of their asses, we'll finally see some action with her."

...

Did he just drop some gratuitous Spanish?

I blink. "Uh... _Pendejo _politicians?" I ask.

"Yeah," says James. "That's not a good thing, in case you don't know what that means."

Okay... uh... wow, this is a new revelation. James Vega apparently speaks Spanish. Or is Hispanic. I have no idea which one it is. Either way... Hm... what is it... ah, yes, that's it.

"_No no,_ _esto no es que sorprende a mí,_" I reply. "_Lo que sorprende a mí es... bueno, que puedes hablar en español._"

At this, James jolts in surprise. "_¿Usted también?_" asks James.

I nod. "_Ahi, sí,_" I say. I wave my hand dismissively. "_Acuerdense que soy un cubano de pura raz_." I lean forward. "_Y ahora... tenemos usted, quién era tirado por el mixto que es el..._ _el..._" Damn it, how do you say 'travelling freak show' in... yes, I think... "_'espectáculo de anomalías viajeras' que es la Normandy_."

"_Sí, sí_," says James. "_Bueno, yo entendí que usted es hispano, pero_ _¿de verdad no podía notar que soy un_ _hispano?_"

I shake my head. "Yeah_... el nombre 'Vega' no es un nombre típico por hispanos_," I comment. "_¿Y con un nombre como 'James'? ¡Por favor! ¿Quién puede imaginar un hispano con el nombre_ _James?_"

"_Mi padre no era hispano,_" he replies.

I nod. "_Yo veo..._" I pause, glancing to the side. "In all seriousness, though, I _never _would've taken you for a Hispanic guy."

"You and a _lot _of other people," says James. "Good to know that it's not limited to my drill officers now."

"I'll bet," I comment. "Which is funny, 'cause you weren't dropping that gratuitous Spanish earlier. Actually, you weren't this confident."

"Sorting out my disappointment," he says. "But I think I've got it now. Going on Rannoch helped a lot with that, especially being under Miranda's command." He shrugs. "She sounds like my old drill sergeant sometimes. But... not as intense."

I nod. "Yeah, Rannoch was crazy," I comment. I glance to the side, and... "And it was hard on some of us too."

James nods. "Yeah, Carhon told me about what happened to Tali," he says. "That's some crazy shit, no?"

My expression instantly falls, and I instinctively reach for my cup of water. "Crazy isn't even the right word," I comment. I surprise myself with how bitter it sounds, but... "I'd say that it's pretty fucked up."

"I don't even get what's so bad about it," says James. I frown at this as he continues. "I mean, he just took her clothes off, right?"

I lean forward. "That's not the only issue, James," I reply with a small amount of anger. "Quarians take removing their suits pretty fucking seriously. Culturally, forcibly taking your suit off is a form of bad touch."

"Really?" asks the marine. "I didn't really think of it like that."

"You wouldn't," I say. "It's not something they like to talk all that much about to other races."

"Right," says James. "So how do _you _know."

"You can figure that stuff out on your own," I comment. "Just know that what I have with Tali is... special." I see his expression take on a quality of confusion, but right as realization dawns on his face I tap my fingers against the table. "So anyway..." I lean forward as I say this. "You say your father wasn't Hispanic."

"Uh... No," says James. "He was Joshua Sanders... and he wasn't the best father in the world." He shakes his head. "I didn't really look up to him. My uncle Emilio, though..."

I nod, smiling. "Yeah, I can see the Hispanic side of you a little better now," I comment. "Yeah, Emilio is kind of a dead giveaway there." I lean forward. "He's the guy you look up to, I take it."

"Yeah," says James. "He was one of the reasons I joined the Alliance." He smiles fondly. "I still remember when I was first recruited. It's a long story..."

I shrug. "I'm interested," I say. "What happened then?"

"Well... my father had sent me to get some drugs," he says. "High risk run, and I almost got arrested doing it."

I frown. "Wait, your father made you buy drugs for him?" I ask. "Wow, _there's _a major asshat if I ever saw one. Let me guess, he tried to blackmail you into not joining the Alliance with that."

James nods. "Yeah," he says. "That didn't help me at all. And then, Tio Emilio came along and told me that my father wouldn't have told the Alliance unless he wanted to implicate himself too."

I nod. "And that lifted your spirits," I comment.

"Like you wouldn't believe," he says. "Just... don't tell anyone I told you that. If it gets to Alliance high command..."

I snort. "Don't you worry about a thing," I comment. "I'm very familiar with keeping secrets, _trust _me." I sit back slightly. "It's weird how we Hispanic folk are attached to our extended family, you know. You with your uncle, and then there's me with my grandmother." I smile fondly, thinking about her once again. "My family in general was a good family, but my grandmother especially..."

James nods. "Tell me about her."

I nod.

"Well... the first thing you have to know about my grandmother is that we all called her 'Pupa', and we would always saunter on over to her house every Sunday evening..."

* * *

><p>Well... that conversation with James turned out to be very therapeutic for me. Well, in the kind of therapy where it gets me to stop thinking about my problems for ten seconds so I can actually step back and look at it objectively, anyway. Even then, I still feel a bit crap about it, but... well, I have some distance from it, and that's always good for the soul in many, many ways.<p>

I think.

I'm not really all that sure. Either way... I feel better now than I did earlier, so...

So with this, I end up heading back to my quarters, feeling a little better. Right when I walk in, though, I notice that Rael is standing by the window, looking out the drive core. Tali is still sitting there, silent as a rock. I notice that Rael is out of his suit, and is instead dressed in that thing that I'm sure was stolen from Thane's wardrobe. I walk forward, standing next to Rael.

"Rael?" I ask.

The older man sighs. "It is... difficult," he says. "I don't know how best to put it." He covers his face. "She has barely said a word to me. I... I don't know how to deal with it."

He turns to face me, and I find myself blinking in shock at the sight of tears that are slowly rolling down his face. "I..."

I shake my head, placing a hand on his arm. "Don't say anything else," I say, shaking my head. "I... I can understand."

But Rael simply turns around, looking away from me as he walks towards my desk. "I do not think you ever will," he says softly. "That man has ruined my daughter in ways that I cannot fathom. And to see her like this..."

I step forward solemly. I shake my head, leaning forward. "I..." Rael pauses, unable to form words with his mouth. He closes his eyes, and that is literally as far as he can get before I see his eyes water. He lets out a choked sound as soon as I see this, and I see his hand curl up into a fist.

I drape my arm over his shoulders almost instinctively. We both end up standing there in silence, and I feel a tear come to my eyes again. The old feelings return, though they are not as intense as they were earlier, and before I know it, I've pulled Rael into a hug.

He doesn't resist. I feel his arms surround me, actually, and then I feel some slight moisture collect on the part of my shirt that's over my shoulder. I shake my head, pulling him closer. The two of us share this embrace for a few seconds, and I continue holding him there as he sheds a few tears on my shoulder.

As soon as I feel his arms slip away, I take a step back. I look at his eyes to find that they're twinkling in sadness. His eyes seem a little duller than they were when I first saw them, and... well, they just don't look as full of life as they were when he was beginning to find hope for the quarian people.

"Thank you," he says. "I... I know this is hard for you as well as for me."

I nod sadly. "It is," I say. "I..." I glance at Tali, feeling my heart break a little bit when I look at her. I lean closer to Rael, letting out a dejected sigh. "Why?" I ask under my breath.

Rael hangs his head. He says nothing, but in a way, he doesn't really need to say anything. The same question is written into his hollow expression.

I shake my head, looking back to Tali's father. "You should go clear your mind. It might help. With this." I glance back at Tali before turning back to Rael. "I'll be here if you need me."

"Thank you," says Rael once again.

I nod, giving him a sad smile. He leaves almost immediately after, and I watch him walk through the door. His gait is considerably slower than normal, but I don't feel like it's because of possible disease or anything like that. It's more the gait of a man who feels like he's lost something valuable and knows that he may never quite get it back completely.

When the door closes behind him, I turn to Tali to see that she's looking at me. There's something in her eyes that isn't all that happy, and honestly, can I blame her? I sense something in her posture that wants to run away, but...

I turn to Tali, walking up to her. I lay my hand on her hand, and...

She flinches at first. She slowly relaxes, however, and I can see some change in her expression. Well, from what little of it I can make out behind her face mask.

I think she's gotten over the initial shock. Well, there's one step down.

And... shit, now comes the hard part. The part where I try to help her cope with what happened, and try to get her to terms with it all... _Fuck_, the hard part is only beginning. I glance down briefly, letting out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

"Tali..." I say.

"Don't..." Even Tali is surprised by how hoarse and... and how _broken_ her voice sounds. It's not as bad as when she spoke in Mordin's lab, but it's still pretty bad. "I can't..." She shakes her head. "Don't touch me..."

I blink, looking at my hand. I feel Tali's hand shivering gently under mine. It's not very pronounced, but I can still make out how it seems to be bothering her that I'm touching her.

Gingerly, I take it away from hers. The change is instantaneous, and I see Tali relax. I find my bottom teeth graze the underside of my lower lip, but I keep my mouth closed as I look up to Tali. Finally, she turns to look at me, and I can see the way her eyes shine from behind her face mask. They don't... Her whole posture doesn't look happy in any way at all.

I nod. "I'm sorry," I say as I sit next to her on the bed. "I..." I shake my head. Crap, and now _I'm _the one who can't speak here. Fuck, what should I say?

"Art...?" she says questioningly. "I..."

...

Well, that makes my life a little easier. But... Does it? I don't know. She still hasn't asked the question, and already I don't like where it's going.

I look back up to Tali. "Yes, Tali?" I ask softly.

She shudders as she looks at the bed. "Don't..." she says, her voice squeaking slightly. "Don't hold me down here. Please." Her voice cracks on 'please', even as she turns her head in what I think is shame. I see her body tighten up again, as if in anticipation of something dreadful.

I blink. I... No, I... Maybe... Maybe it's the fact that she was restrained. Yeah, maybe that's it. Madison and Carhon said something along those lines. I...

I'd never do something like that to her in a million years. I'd never forgive myself if I did. And even if I did do that, I'd have to be either ragingly drunk or in the middle of a session of sleepwalking to do something like that. I'd never tie her down willingly.

That's what I want to say.

I open my mouth.

"All... all right, Tali. I... I won't do that."

Tali relaxes visibly. And I feel all of the hairs on my body stand on end when I say it. I can barely look at her, I feel so guilty.

Damn it... I should've just said that right off. Maybe... No...

I bring a hand up to my head. Man... it's been such a long day. I... I'm going to need some rest now, I think.

The quarian turns to the bed, and very slowly begins to lie down. I feel the exhaustion of the day finally catch up with me, and I slowly stand up and walk around the bed. I settle in finally, noticing that Tali hasn't snuck under the covers. I thus pull the covers over my own person, and find myself facing the opposite direction from Tali.

I don't feel her arm drape over me invitingly as I strain to hear her breathing. I simply lay there on my side, feeling my eyes water as I listen to Tali. My back is facing her, and I'm fairly certain her back is facing mine. All is quiet, and yet... at the same time, it just feels so _wrong_ in so many ways.

This thought keeps me up for I'm not sure how long as I lay on my side. Eventually, the tears start falling as I listen to the silence coming from the other end of the bed. She seems all right, but... but what is she really feeling?

I let the tears run down my cheeks. I don't even blink them away as I try to let the horrible feeling that I'm having right now pass over. I simply stare at the wall, the dim glow of the drive core illuminating the room in a light that somehow seems gloomier than normal.

Eventually, I close my eyes.

And as I drift off to sleep, I can hear a faint rustle of the bed sheets from behind me. The bed's weight shifts noticeably, but the motion rocks me to sleep, and I enter my dream pondering what nightmares Tali must have woken up from.


	21. Chapter 20

_A/N: Okay, so yeah. Crazy times are had with the last chapter. I have to be honest, it was probably the hardest chapter I've ever written in Mass Vexations history. Partly because I had to get myself in the proper mood for it, and partly because it was so hard to write well. I'm glad to see it paid off, though, so yeah. Crazy times are had with that._

_This time, we turn back to Will and the gang on the Citadel for some more B Story goodness. Along with some other things. You'll see what happens._

* * *

><p>Chapter 20: B Story: It Thickens<p>

"_It came as a shock to many turian families waiting to hear on family members in the military. What may stand as one of the great cover-ups in the history of the Hierarchy began unravelling yesterday with a report from one of Palaven's most notorious investigative journalists. His report claimed that there had been several ships in the Turian Fourth Fleet that have vanished without a trace. Today, the turian Hierarchy has confirmed what so many military families have feared._

_'We regret to inform the populace that the reports by [BLEEEP] are correct. We are indeed facing a mass disappearance of smaller ships in the Turian Fourth Fleet.'_

_The Hierarchy has further stated that investigations have turned up no causes for why these ships have vanished._

_'These ships have never vanished in the same place twice, and the circumstances are always different. We are still attempting to piece together what may have happened.'_

_The turian Hierarchy estimates that at least thirty ships have vanished. Nearly all of them were frigates, however, with only one or two larger ships being documented as having vanished._

_The news has stirred discontent on Palaven and on various turian colonies. Many are citing that the Hierarchy is hiding a major military event from the populace._

_'They shouldn't be hiding something like this from us! What are we supposed to do if our government is hiding the fact that thirty ships worth of good soldiers has vanished?'_

_When the Hierarchy was reached, they cited that the investigations were already underway before the report of the vanishing ships was shown to the general public._

_'We were alarmed at the vanishing of ships. There may be more ships from the Fourth Fleet vanishing as we speak. Of course we are investigating the cause of action. However, we cannot risk the populace panicking at this time.'_

_This is the first report of vanishing ships from the turian fleets since the reported disappearance of the Aurigos last year. The journalist who unveiled the recent wave of ship disappearances is in hiding, and could not be reached for comment._

_For the Alliance News Network, I'm Diana Allers. Back to you, Jill._"

I shake my head, leaning back in the bed as I turn the holo projector off. I shake my head, looking over to Nadeire.

"It seems that the turian Hierarchy is in heated water again," says Nadeire as he pulls off his shirt.

"Yeah, it looks that way to me as well," I comment. "First the _Aurigos_, and now the Fourth Fleet. It's almost like someone is out to get the turians these days."

"It seems highly unlikely," he replies as he lifts the covers and scoots into bed. "And yet... I cannot help but feel that it may be the case."

"Probably," I comment as I scooch closer to Nadeire. "Do you think it'll affect the Council's standing on the trial?"

"I think not," says Nadeire. "Aren't _you _the legal expert here?"

"I am," I reply. "But you know me, Nad."

The drell smiles. "Indeed I do," he says. "Are you satisfied now that Samara is on the Citadel?"

"Yes," I say. "I think she'll provide a good testimony. I spoke with her when we met at the spaceport. She is... _very _articulate, and was very clear to me on where she stood in this trial." I roll my eyes. "She thinks it's a sham as much as I do."

"With a prosecutor like Paellix Mirani, I can see why," says Nad softly. His expression turns serious. "And after the trial..."

I nod, my expression becoming a little grim. "Yes," I say, laying my hands over his. "I'm certain, Nadeire. This may be the only chance we have to counter Paellix's accusations that Shepard faked her death and willingly entered the employ of Cerberus for two years."

"It will be dangerous," says Nadeire. "And it may be inadmissible."

"Well, if it's inadmissible, I simply don't submit it in the first place," I comment. "I will remember to ask about that."

"I am more worried about you, though," says Nadeire as he turns to face me. "As I said, this will be dangerous. I don't know what would happen if..."

I nod. "I asked Lalia to look into a couple more things when I went to the office today," I say. "Hopefully, she will have found something that will help me."

Nadeire leans forward, placing his head over my heart as his arms surround me.

"For your sake, I hope so as well," says Nadeire. "Please, be careful."

I nod, placing my arm over his shoulders. "I will do my best," I state.

He pulls himself closer to me, and I lean my head back, massaging his left shoulder with my hand.

* * *

><p>I sit at my desk in the trial, looking over at Paellix and the Council. Paellix seems a little more on edge than usual, but oddly the Council looks unwaveringly stony. I imagine it must be a front: if they showed any weakness in the face of what was reported last night on many major news outlets, I imagine it might not be good for the galaxy. That must be it.<p>

I turn back to Shepard, who sits there as the courtroom fills up. I lean towards her, shrugging.

"Well, I think this day will serve to turn the trial around," I tell her.

"I hope so," says Shepard. "I'm worried about some things." She glances past me to Paellix Mirani. "I can't help but feel that there's something to the disappearances within the Turian Fourth Fleet that nobody knows about."

I frown. "I hardly think that would be an issue," I reply.

Shepard simply shakes her head. "You haven't seen what I have," she replies. "When you've seen as much as I have, you tend to question things more. And there is something about these disappearances..." She shakes her head. "These ships aren't just vanishing. They're being taken, possibly repurposed for someone else's ends."

"And how would you know that?" I ask. "You weren't there."

Shepard shakes her head. "If I were trying to destroy all life in the galaxy, it's what I would do," she states. "Something tells me that it's the work of the Reapers, I know it."

I blink in surprise, looking at the Commander. Is she...?

Before I can comment on this, however, the door opens, and we all watch as the judge enters. I stand up, along with everyone else. We watch as the judge enters quietly, and then settles down. I sit down at the same time everyone else does, but find myself missing some of the judge's comments to bring the trial to order.

Is it true that these... Reapers are around? I have never believed the theories in any capacity. I am not sure what to make of it now, however... Is it true? Shepard has mentioned them quite a lot, and there are some who say that Sovereign was not a geth ship. If that is true...

I cannot concentrate on this here. For now, I have a client to defend.

I hear the judge gesture to me to open the floor, and then I stand up. All right.

"The defense would like to call Justicar Samara to the stand."

* * *

><p>Samara sits, looking passively at the courtroom. Her gaze is actually a little cold, but his does not faze me as I step forward. Her attention turns to me, and I nod at her as she shifts in her seat. I glance at Shepard before turning back to Samara, seeing the commander is a little more at ease.<p>

"Thank you, Justicar," I state softly. "Before I question you, I just want to let you know that it is an honor for you to be in this courtroom today to defend my client."

She nods. "I am glad to defend the Commander," she says. "We have been through much together, and she has helped me with many things."

I nod. "You say that you have been through much together," I begin. "Perhaps you can begin by telling us how you first met the Commander."

The Justicar nods. "I first met Commander Shepard on Illium," she states. "She sought my aid." She looks out. "I was searching for someone at the time. She helped me find a ship that someone had been smuggled out of Illium on. I swore an oath to the Commander when she helped me."

I blink. "I see..." I say. "You say you swore an oath to her, and from what I have heard that is a _very _serious thing for a Justicar to do."

"Her morals became my morals for a time," says Samara. "It is gravely serious."

I nod. "So too, was her mission," I say. "Were you at all alarmed that she was working with Cerberus?"

"I was aware of it by the time I entered her ship," says Samara. "I noted how curious it must have been that Cerberus was funding a mission that involved more than simply humans." She looks at me. "And I was not the only non-human on the ship."

I raise my eyebrows at this. "Elaborate, please," I comment.

"There were members of other races there," she continues. "While I was there, I saw a turian, a salarian, a drell, and a krogan, all working with Cerberus operatives." She shifts in her seat. "There were even some non-Cerberus human personnel on the ship."

I nod. "I see," I say. "So this was a mission whose importance stretched beyond humanity."

"From how I understood it, yes," says Samara.

"I see," I say. Hm... should I? No, I'll let Paellix ask that question. It will be better if he does, I think. "Did you see the mission through to the completion of the objective?"

"Yes," says Samara. "Shepard's assessment of the situation that awaited us there was correct: in the state it was in when we discovered it, the issue was of a scope that demanded the Council's action on the matter." She looks at the prosecution. "I believe you would understand the importance of ensuring the safety of the human colonies that vanished."

I nod. "No more questions, your honor." I take my seat soon after. I didn't ask some things on purpose, but... I am sure Samara will handle it when she is asked those same questions on the cross-examination.

I sit down next to Shepard, who leans over to me. "You didn't ask Samara about what I did for her," she says.

"I'll let Paellix ask those questions," I say. "She will be able to handle it."

And with this, the turian prosecutor stands up, looking directly at the Justicar. "So... Samara," he says. "You were recruited to the Commander's mission, there is no doubt about that." He crosses his arms. "But before the examination began, you made mention of the fact that Shepard helped you with something."

Samara nods. "You understand correctly," she replies.

The turian nods. "What, exactly, was the nature of this 'help' she gave you?"

The Justicar glances at the asari councillor briefly. I don't quite see the quality of Samara's glance, but I can see that the asari Councillor can already tell something is not right. Samara holds this for a second, and then turns her attention back to Paellix.

"She helped me chase an extremely dangerous murderess to Omega," she says. "This murderess was someone I had been chasing for over five hundred years and who left a body count greater than I can put to words."

"What... sort of murderess?" asks Paellix.

"One who was able to control minds and enjoyed the hunt." I hear a few gasps from the asari in the courtroom, and even the judge seems to lose some of her stoicism for a second. "Any asari will tell you that the woman I was hunting was one of the most feared individuals in asari society."

"So she would have been a danger to the galaxy, then," Paellix observes.

"Yes," Samara states simply.

I look to Paellix, smirking slightly as I watch him. Right as I begin wondering why the silence is a little lengthier than it should be, I hear a low growl come from the prosecutor. And almost as soon as it vanishes, he shakes his head, and the courtroom is silent again. He nods, taking his notes and glancing at them before turning his attention to Samara.

"Very well, then," he says. "Let us go to another topic. Your order follows a Code. Now, from what I understand from speaking with one of my employers, the Code of the Justicar is absolute."

"Yes," says Samara. "It consists of over five hundred sutras. I know every sutra from memory."

"And yet your Code would forbid you from allying with the Commander," says Paellix.

"You forget that I pledged an oath to Shepard," she says. "As I stated earlier, her morals became my morals." She leans forward. "I have since broken my oath to her, but I see nothing in the Code that makes what she did wrong. She acted in the defense of billions of innocents. If she had not taken action, untold numbers of innocent men, women, and children would have died." The Justicar leans back. "Is the safety of the galaxy not one of the parts of being a Spectre?"

Paellix looks absolutely enraged at this. He shakes his head. "_I _am the only one who can ask the questions here," he says, his voice sounding slightly different. "Are you saying that preserving the lives of innocents and committing treason are not equally punishable offenses? And... and are you further saying that Shepard is above being punished by the Justicars?"

Samara leans forward. "The Code is absolute, but it is not as black and white as you suggest," she says. "In this case, the Code allows Shepard to remain unpunished by it since she acted in the interest of saving innocent lives." She then gives Paellix a hard look. "It seems you do not fully understand the Code. Shepard accepted my oath with the full understanding that she could be punished by the Code once I absolved myself of my oath. I have seen no reason to punish her since I have broken the oath."

Paellix grumbles. He shakes his head, glancing back at the Council before turning to Samara again. "And even if you did not think this way and this was all an act, then you are content to let the Council do the work for you?"

I hear some gasps coming from around the stands. When I look at the Council, I see that even they seem to realize that Paellix just torpedoed his cross-examination of Samara. I look over to Shepard, who looks like she wishes me to object. I nod, raising my hand.

Before I can voice my objection, however, Samara speaks. "There is one final piece of relevant information about the Code," she says. "If I had found her guilty of any charge at all, the Code would have impelled me to kill her on sight." I hear a few more gasps in the courtroom, interlaced with a few other vocal utterances. I smirk, and sit back down. Samara takes the time to look at the Commander. "The fact that she is still alive should tell you everything about how genuine what I say is," she says. She then looks at Paellix, and there is a new harshness that takes hold in her eyes. "Frankly, I am offended that you would even suggest that I am feigning my defense for the Commander." She shakes her head. "I also believe that the question contains grounds for an objection, would it not?"

I stand up, placing my hands on the table in front of me. "That is correct, your honor," I say. "The question is irrelevant and a leading question, not to mention that it is argumentative and could possibly count as badgering the witness."

The judge nods. "Sustained." As the judge says this, she glares at Paellix. "And in my opinion, he is doing _much_ more than badgering the witness."

Samara sits straighter as she looks at Paellix. "Commander Shepard has done nothing that would impel action from the Code," she says. "If she did, you would have received my answer to that and many of your other questions upon my entrance in the courtroom."

Paellix looks completely dumbfounded. I smirk, looking at the prosecutor as he stares at Samara. He holds this position for around six seconds, during which he proceeds to stand very still.

And then, Paellix frowns, and shakes his head.

"No more questions, your honor."

As he half-spits the last syllable of what he says, he almost stalks back to the prosecution's side of the courtroom. When he takes his seat, he places his datapad on the table with slightly more force than I think is necessary.

My smirk breaks out into a smile, and I sit back down. As I do, I turn to her, and gesture at Samara.

"See?" I whisper to the Commander. "She has it under control."

Shepard rolls her eyes, but a grin lights up her face all the same.

* * *

><p>The rest of the hearing goes on as usual, but the atmosphere completely changed. Throughout the rest of the hearing, Paellix seemed a little more on edge and volatile than he had throughout most of the rest of the trial. I honestly thought he was going to lose his bearings, but somehow he managed to reign it in.<p>

He did have a witness of his own to testify against Shepard, with which he attempted to deconstruct the theory behind the Reapers. I must admit it was a solid deconstruction, but as I pointed out in my cross-examination, the science behind the Reapers had no actual bearing on why Shepard worked with Cerberus. The jury seemed to notice this, because when I turned back to look at them after I had sat down from the cross examination, I began to see some of them nodding their heads.

So all in all, it was a very good day at the courtroom.

I smile as I walk out of the courtroom. Shepard is being led in cuffs, but the C-Sec officers have allowed me to walk with her to the cruiser.

"Well, that went well," says Shepard. "I can't believe the case turned around so quickly."

I nod. "I think people are beginning to sense that this trial is rather biased against you," I comment. "Just today, the tables have turned in our favor. And I think that they have turned _very _favorably."

"In no small part thanks to the prosecutor," Shepard adds. "I have never seen a prosecutor get so noticeably angry at anything."

"Paellix is under a lot of pressure right now, no doubt," I comment. "But either way, I think his behavior is also suspect, and it's making our lives easier. With any luck, the whole thing might be declared a mistrial because of him."

"That would be the day," says Shepard.

I nod. "Indeed it would," I say. "In case that ruling isn't reached, however, we still need to cover our defense here. It shouldn't be too hard after Samara's testimony, though. I think that was the best call of the whole trial." I shrug. "Well, aside from the fact that it basically stated our case in the most blunt terms possible, it showed that Paellix probably wasn't a good choice for prosecutor. And the rest of the day sort of made the prosecution's case rather weak. I don't know why the Council hasn't dropped charges yet."

"We'll see," says Shepard. She then looks ahead of her, and I follow her gaze to see the Justicar standing by the rapid transport terminal. "Tell her I say thank you. This is the best way she could have repaid me for helping her find the criminal she mentioned."

I nod. "You know, she never did tell me what criminal it was," I say.

"Only time will tell if she will tell you," says Shepard. "You should speak with her. I'll await you at the usual time?"

"Yes," I say. "I'll see you later, Commander."

With this, I give a polite nod to the C-Sec officers who are escorting her away. I break away from them rather quickly. They head towards their cruiser, and then I walk to Samara as she stands by the rapid transport terminal. The Justicar turns to me and gives me a look that is... well, I'm frankly not sure what to make of it. I walk up to her, however, and she pushes herself off the wall she was leaning against with a strange dignity.

"Thank you," I say as I approach her. "That was the best testimony I could have asked for."

Samara nods. "It was an honor to defend Commander Shepard," says the Justicar. "If you ask me, I think this trial is a _mockery_."

I sigh. "You know?" I ask. "I had that feeling myself when Paellix tried to use the science behind the Reapers to help bolster his defense. The fact that he was even allowed to testify was shocking enough. I am not certain how the Reapers existing or not existing is relevant to Shepard's working with Cerberus." I shrug. "Hell, it ignores the fact that the Reapers actually existing is irrelevant to his case, as well as to the trial at large."

"Precisely," says Samara. "I believe this trial will unravel before long."

"As do I," I say. "I can almost see the acquittal coming..." I turn to Samara. "You never did tell me what sort of murders this... Morinth committed."

"I would prefer to keep it that way," says Samara. "Something I did not mention in the trial, however..." She pauses, and I can see her posture falter for just a fraction of a second before she regains her composure. "I believe you have a right to know. This criminal... she was one of my daughters."

I blink. "You... you had to kill your own daughter?" I ask. I glance to the floor in shock before looking back at Samara. "I... I'm sorry. I can't imagine how hard that must have been to have to be forced to kill your own daughter by the Code..."

"I did what I must," says Samara. "Morinth was always a fighter. Even as she became overtaken by her lust for power, I remained proud of her. She was the bravest and the smartest of my daughters."

I nod solemnly. "It must have been difficult to ask the Commander to help you with that," I say. "This... this makes your testimony even more poignant."

"And yet I left it out," says Samara. "You were wise not to call attention to opportunity Shepard gave me. I hope such wisdom will guide you and Shepard in the days to come."

"Thank you, Justicar," I say, as I extend my hand. "It was an honor to be in your presence."

Samara takes my hand and shakes it. I see no change in emotion from her, but she acknowledges the gesture with a nod. "There is one more thing I must tell you," says Samara. "Councillor Tevos spoke to me after you went to see Shepard. She told me that she wishes to meet with you."

I blink, looking at the Justicar. "The asari Councillor wants to see me?" I ask. "Why? And why didn't she tell me herself?"

"She would not tell me," Samara replies. "She did tell me, however, that she cannot be seen speaking to you." Samara shifts her weight onto one of her feet. "Tevos is in a difficult position, Mr. Moskas. It is one that I am sure she will be willing to enlighten you on when you meet with her."

"Right," I say, frowning. "Where and when?"

"She told me that she would be in a bar called Purgatory in approximately three hours," she says. "She told me that she will be present with Councillor Valern in a bar that nobody would suspect them to enter. They will wait for you then."

The Justicar leans closer. "They told me that it was of the upmost importance that they meet with you," she says. "And that you be as discrete about it as you can be."

I nod. "Thank you, Samara," I say. "i... I think I'll take them up on that, if you say so."

Samara nods. "Good," she says. She straightens her posture. "In the meantime, I must return to asari space. I have much unfinished business there." She nods graciously, giving me a kind look. "It has been an honor defending Shepard. Goodbye."

And with this, she walks away. I stand there looking at the Justicar as she struts away from me.

I stand there. Is it true...? This is very strange. First the Shadow Broker seems to have changed allegiances, and now the asari and salarian councillors wish to speak with me. This trial is getting more surreal by the second, and I am not sure what to make of it. It seems there are many forces riding on this, but there are more than even I could have counted on.

I feel a shiver run down my spine before I remember that I have other business to take care of as well. I look at the rapid transport terminal, frowning at the display. Damn, I need to meet Lalia in a few minutes at my office. I...

I need to let her know that there has been a rather big change in my plans thanks to recent events.

I graze my teeth over my lower lip, selecting my destination on the terminal. I only hope Lalia is there as she promised me she would be.

* * *

><p>I quickly walk into the firm, looking at the desk and finding that Lalia is there as she said she would be. As soon as I enter, the asari stands up, nodding to me.<p>

"Will, you're back," she says. "I heard the hearing really went in your favor."

"It did, Lalia," I say. "It did. At this rate, I'm not certain I need to see the Shadow Broker's operatives anymore."

"Honestly, I can't blame you," says Lalia. "The talk on the news is that public opinion is turning towards Shepard." She shakes her head, smirking as I enter my office. She follows me in to continue the conversation. "Paellix effectively harpooned his own case."

"That he did," I say. "And yet... I think there's something strange brewing behind the scenes."

When I turn to Lalia, she frowns. "Why?" she asks.

I chew on my lower lip briefly. "When I spoke with Samara after the hearing, she told me that the asari and salarian councillors wished to see me. Independent of Udina and Sparatus. Even stranger, they want to meet me in a bar rather than in a C-Sec office." I shake my head as I sit down at my desk. "This... I'm not sure what to make of it, Lalia."

"I'm not sure either," she says. "Do you need someone to come with you?"

"I... I don't know," I reply. "On the one hand, Samara never specified if they wanted to see me alone. But on the other hand, I'm feeling all kinds of uncertain about this."

"As would I, in this case," says Lalia as she walks up to the desk. "Why do you think they'd want to talk to you?"

"I don't know," I reply. "I honestly don't know, Lalia. And it makes me a little nervous thinking about what they could tell me."

The asari nods, and places her hands on the desk. "Then I'm coming with you," she says.

I blink, looking right up at her as my hand tenses slightly. "Lalia?" I ask. "You're...?" I shake my head as I lean forward. "You're certain about this?" I pause, lifting my hands and gesturing with them. "Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do for me, but are you sure? I don't know if they'll react well to me taking a stranger with me."

"Well, I _am _the person who's been contacting your witnesses to get them over here," says Lalia. "And I _am _your secretary. I think this is a little shady, and I don't trust you to go alone."

"You trusted me with the Shadow Broker's operatives," I point out.

"That was before today's hearing," she says. "And that was before we remembered that Paellix is probably likely to torpedo his own case. This time, I'm less certain that we will get information crucial to the case."

I nod. "Fair enough," I say. "From the way Samara put it, I'm not expecting any evidence." I sigh. "Very well, Lalia."

The asari nods. "Samara told you where the meeting spot was, yes?"

"Yes," I reply. "I was told to meet them at 'Purgatory'. You know where that is, right?"

Lalia blinks. "They picked 'Purgatory'?" she asks.

"That's what Samara said, anyhow," says Will. "I have never heard of it."

My secretary sighs, shaking her head. "I can see why they wanted to talk to you there," says Lalia. "Nobody would suspect any councillors to go there, and the music is loud enough that random passersby can't actually hear what you're saying." She shrugs. "The place isn't on the list of approved bars according to the Citadel's tourism board, though."

"Really?" I ask. "So I should expect it to be the last place someone would think to see us?"

"Yes," says Lalia. She shakes her head. "Okay, now you _definitely _need someone to go with you. I've never been, but I know a lot of friends who have. They tell me it can get _really _frisky in there, not to mention that it's huge."

"It can get frisky?" I ask. "Oh my..."

The asari smirks, leaning closer. "Exactly," she comments. "You might need someone to help you get around, and Nadeire isn't exactly going on break anytime soon..."

I nod. "Then get ready," I say as I stand up. "The meeting is taking place in two and a half hours, and if we want to blend in, we'll need to get ready."

"I'll meet you at the transport terminal in front of Purgatory five minutes before we're supposed to meet with the Councillors," says Lalia. "I have some business I need to take care of here first."

"Very well then," I reply. "I'll see you soon, Lalia."

* * *

><p>A few hours later, I have <em>greatly <em>dressed down from the clothes I wore at the trial. I walk off of the transport vehicle, looking right up at Purgatory. The lighting of just the entrance comes as a stark contrast against the Citadel. It's almost like a black hole, really: it's a spot in the universe that has this magnetism to it that draws you towards it even while you second-guess yourself. I can see all sorts of people standing outside, and I can even see a pair of turian C-Sec officers standing on the other side of the platform.

I shake my head, stepping forward. I glance around for any sign of Lalia. Well... I'm here on time, so maybe she's...

There!

I notice Lalia in a completely different dress. Normally, her office dress is reserved, but here I can see that she's showing a little more skin than usual. She's wearing one of those dresses that has the triangle that exposes a rather good amount of her cleavage, and I can notice that the dress runs to just under her knees.

I shake my head as she notices me. "I didn't think you'd have a dress like this," I comment.

"You never know when a dress like this might come in handy," she comments. "In my case, this was from when I used to go clubbing on Thessia. I haven't worn this Goddess-forsaken dress in nearly two hundred years."

"And it still fits you?" I ask, crossing my arms. "That's very surprising."

"Make that two people who are surprised, then," says Lalia. "I wasn't even sure I still owned it." She shrugs. "Well, the fact remains that you look club-appropriate, and I look club appropriate. Let's hope the Councillors look club-appropriate too."

"Yes," I say, turning to Purgatory's entrance. "Come on. We should go find them."

With this, the two of us set off towards Purgatory. The techno beats get louder and louder as Lalia and I approach the entrance, but it's not until we enter the club itself that we get some idea of how loud it is. For as soon as we enter the club itself, I can feel the beats vibrate in my very being.

I end up shaking from it for a few seconds, looking around at the club. It's much, _much _larger than I was expecting, and for a second I begin to wonder what possessed the Councillors that they thought entering a club like this to talk about secrets was anywhere near a good idea. It's with another beat from the music that I remember that the music is loud enough that it can cover up what we say.

"You all right?" asks Lalia.

I turn to see her looking at me in concern. I shake my head, taking a tentative step forward. "For the record, Lalia, _this _is why I don't usually go clubbing," I say. "Well, this, and I don't want people to start hitting on me."

"Fair enough," says Lalia. "I can already see lots of people getting into the scene. Let's find the Councillors."

I nod, and then Lalia and I step forward. I notice how close Lalia stands to me, but soon enough I find myself not caring as I notice a bunch of eyes all over me. The two of us simply walk up a couple of flights of stairs to the nearby dance floor. All the while, I keep an eye out for the Councillors, but I do not see them anywhere yet. I shake my head as we walk to the dance floor. I see a bar on the far end of the floor, but the seats are almost filled to capacity and there are no salarians or asari seated there. I see some of them at the dance floor, however.

I sigh. "Well, they're not at the bar, I don't think," I say. "And I can't tell who's who on the dance floor." I shake my head. "We need to attract their attention somehow."

Lalia looks directly at me. "Are you suggesting one of us starts dancing out there?" she asks.

I reply with a nod. "I think so," I say. "If... Well, I don't know, but if one of the Councillors is here they might've noticed us by now."

"How?" my receptionist asks. "I mean... we're just two people in a sea of other people."

I shrug. "I don't look any different from how I usually do, and I think they would've noticed me by now," I say. "And if they see me talking with you... well, they might figure out that you're with me." I lick my lips nervously before turning back to Lalia. "If one of us starts dancing, it might look like we're trying to hook up here. That'll make it easier on the Council."

Lalia nods. "Yeah, that sounds like a plan," she says. "Let me. I used to dance at bars like this all the time before I hit my matron stage. You hang out at the bar and keep your eye open for anyone of interest. If I find one of them, I'll get you."

I nod, patting Lalia's shoulder. "You be careful," I say.

The asari nods, and then steps onto the dance floor. I stand in front of the dance floor for a second, watching her take a position and then begin to dance. She gyrates around wildly, and I can tell that indeed she has had experience on the dance floor.

I shake my head, turning away and heading to the bar. I take a seat there, looking at the bartender. He's a turian who looks a bit gruff. He spares a look at me before returning to cleaning off the glass of water that was in his hands already.

I shrug, looking ahead of me and at the wall behind the bar. I wonder how Nadeire is doing today. I have a lot I need to tell him about today, but we'll see how that turns out. It's been a very strange day. Now I might get in on some greater intrigue... I'm not certain how that would happen.

I vaguely feel the seat next to me vacate itself, but I pay no attention to it at all. I look forward, sitting there while tapping my foot nervously. I inhale softly, and notice out of the corner of my eye that the turian bartender is approaching.

"Can I help you with anything?" asks the bartender.

"Gin and tonic, please," I reply.

He shrugs, pulling a glass out. "That's one I don't get very often," he comments. "But sure. Gin and tonic, coming right up."

He pours the mixture, and as he does, I notice that an asari has filled the seat next to me. The bartender leaves the drink in front of me, and nods. "Thank you," I say as I take the drink in my left hand. I close my eyes, sipping the drink calmly.

"You look a little lonely."

Even though it's half-drowned out by the techno, I can recognize the voice of Councillor Tevos almost immediately. I open my eyes, and then glance to my left to see that she is indeed sitting next to me. Her clothing is _very _different from what I am used to seeing her in, but given that we're in a bar on the Citadel with a dance floor and techno that is just beginning to make my head hurt, it is understandable. I nod, setting the drink down. I then turn to look at her.

"Well... you could say that," I say, looking at the Councillor as she looks to me. "I've got a friend with me, actually." I glance to the sides, checking for people before leaning forward. "You could say she's looking for company right about now."

Recognition dawns on her face, and the asari Councillor nods. "I see," she says. "Well, it just so happens I have a friend of my own."

"Is he salarian, by any chance?" I ask. "She's into salarians, if you must know."

"Yes," says the asari. "And we do quite a bit of... _work_ together."

I nod, smirking. "Good," I say. "Well... you interest me in a way nobody else does."

"I'd like to capitalize on that," she comments. "But this is a little public, don't you think?"

"Yes," I comment. "I don't suppose you have a booth anywhere..."

"I do, as a matter of fact," she replies. "Should we get over there?"

I nod. "Let me collect my friend first," I say. I turn to the bartender. "Bartender, can I take my drinks with me?"

"Sure," says the bartender. "I'll keep your tab open."

"Thank you," I reply before turning my attention back to the Councillor. "Well, I think we've had enough of the dance floor. Let's meet your salarian friend, shall we?"

* * *

><p>When Tevos, Lalia, and I walk up to the booth, I can see Councillor Velarn sitting at the table. He looks <em>drastically <em>different, though I chalk this up to the wardrobe. Velarn would look almost completely unrecognizable in anything but that blue hooded garment he has, but I know his face when I see it.

Tevos sits first, before Lalia and I take our places at the booth. I lean back, looking at the Councillors. "I hope you don't mind that I brought a friend along."

"I only hope she can be trusted," says Velarn. "We're in a difficult position here."

"I'm his secretary," Lalia replies. "I contacted every witness that's testified for the defense, I help him keep track of his appointments, and I'm a close friend of both him and his husband Nadeire."

"I think we can consider that trust-worthy, then," says Tevos. She looks over at me. "I didn't think you'd be able to maintain a cover like this."

I shrug. "Some of my friends used to drag me to bars when I was getting my degrees in criminal justice," I comment. "I never wanted to go, but obviously I must have learned a thing or two from their exploits."

"It seems that way," says Tevos. "Now... I'm guessing we should get to the matter at hand."

"The elephant in the room, so to speak," I comment as I look to Velarn. "You asked Samara to tell me to see you two here now over something that you're in a difficult position about. Is this about the trial?"

"Yes," says Velarn. "But that is only a part of it."

"There's a larger picture involved that disturbs the two of us greatly," says Tevos. "And we needed to come to a place where nobody would suspect we would come so we can be certain we are not overheard." Tevos leans closer.

I nod. "I guess you're having second thoughts now that Paellix is basically torpedoing the prosecution's case," I comment.

When I look to Valern, though, he is shaking his head. "We were second guessing the trial even before today's hearing," he says. "If we could have our way, actually, we would have dropped all charges against the Commander."

I frown, looking at the two Councillors in confusion. "Hold on," I say. "You... You say you want to drop charges against the Commander?"

"If we had our way," Tevos replies as she leans forward. "We do not. There is a sort of... _deadlock _in the Council right now. Udina and Sparatus wish to keep the trial going, and we wish to end it now." Tevos leans back. "I think it is clear to anyone who has been following this trial that Shepard has done nothing wrong."

"Yes!" says Lalia as she leans back. She promptly pumps her fist in victory before looking back at the Councillors. "I heard the Councillors say it!"

"You heard us say it," says Velarn. "Unfortunately, we cannot seem to get Sparatus or Udina to agree with us." He shakes his head as he leans forward. "We came as soon as we could from deliberations concerning dropping the charges. Sparatus... well, he believes that Shepard was allied with Cerberus for reasons that we cannot tell you, and Udina is more convinced than Sparatus that Shepard was abusing her position as a Spectre." He shakes his head. "If Anderson was still on the Council, we would be able to break the stalemate. As is, we can only sit here and regret that we essentially forced Anderson into resigning."

I shake my head, leaning forward. "I hope the Alliance regrets it too," I comment. "Anderson was a damn fine Councillor, and you all ought to be _ashamed _that you and the Alliance forced him to resign the way he finally had to."

The two Councillors bow their heads, and I can tell from Tevos' face that she at least is ashamed. I'm not so certain with Velarn's case, but it's difficult to read salarians in that manner. The salarian finally looks up at me after a few seconds, and says nothing.

Lalia looks between the two before holding her hands up. "B-but of course, there's nothing we can do about that now," she says a little nervously. "We're here now, so..."

"This is true," says the salarian Councillor. "The fact is, we have Udina there."

"This of course puts us in a very difficult situation," says Tevos. "Unfortunately... I need to warn you about the latest development in this case from the side of the prosecution." She leans forward. "I'm hoping the sound system at Purgatory is loud enough that people can't listen in on us, because what I am about to tell the both of you is classified."

"Then why tell us here and not in a C-Sec office?" I ask. "I'm certain Bailey would have been happy to help."

"There are... certain pieces of information that lead us to believe the C-Sec offices may not be the best place to speak of this," says Velarn. "Trust us."

"Very well," I say as I lean forward with a frown on my face. "So, what kind of information are we talking about here?"

"It's a matter of galactic security that is classified at the highest level," says Tevos. "We have recieved... _word_ from some of our STG operatives that Cerberus is investigating something big."

I lean forward. "And you think that the remaining crew of the Normandy might be involved."

"Yes," says Velarn. "That's what we think. The truth could be entirely different with how much information we have about it. See..." He leans forward, as if not certain that even the extremely loud techno will cover what he is saying. "It's about a cure for Kepral's Syndrome that is being developed on Kahje."

I frown, leaning back as I look at Tevos. "Why would Cerberus be interested in that?" I ask.

"We think they may attempt to sabotage what progress the hanar have made on it," she replies. "But there is speculation that it may interest the crew of the Normandy as well."

I nod. "That sounds about right," I comment. "Shepard told me that one of her crew members was a drell who is dying of Kepral's."

"But how does it relate to the crew of the Normandy?" asks Lalia.

"We don't believe it does," says Tevos. "In fact, if I know the crew of that ship, they will go to attempt to save the cure."

"But that is not what Udina and Sparatus think will happen," says Velarn. "Thus, they decided to send Spectre Alanya Sorshis to Kahje with Staff Commander Alenko." The salarian councillor shakes his head. "Their hope is that they will be able to capture the crew of the Normandy with the aid of a group of asari commandoes that we have sent with her."

I frown, leaning forward. "Hold on," I say. "So... Spectre Sorshis may throw a wrench into the defense if she can bring the crew of the Normandy?"

"Perhaps," says Tevos. "But as you know, such decisions cannot be decided on unless the Council agrees with them." She looks to Lalia and I. "We allowed them to send Spectre Sorshis, but we contacted her recently."

I raise my eyebrows. "Really?" Lalia asks. "Why?"

"I had my doubts," says Velarn. "I only agreed to a trial to confirm that Shepard was not commiting treason. I had the confirmation I needed today, and we had sent Spectre Sorshis before today's hearing. We called her off the record to inform her that the parameters of her mission have... changed." He sits back, looking at me and then at Lalia. "We told her to observe their behavior first."

"If Cerberus arrives independently, our hope is that Shepard and her crew really have cut ties with them, and that Spectre Sorshis will be able to witness Shepard's crew fight them," says Tevos as she leans forward. "It is a very unlikely scenario, but provided that it happens, I have ordered Spectre Sorshis to allow the Normandy's crew to go free, and to testify for the defense upon her and Staff Commander Alenko's return to the Citadel."

I rear back. "Wait, you're giving us a witness?" I ask. "I..."

"This is mind-boggling," says Lalia. "I... I don't even know what to say."

"It is all that we can do in our present situation," says Velarn. "If Paellix Mirani does not cause the whole trial to be declared a mistrial first, you will have a witness who can prove that not only has Shepard cut ties with Cerberus, but that even now their crew is acting in the best interest of the galaxy."

"This is our hope," says Tevos tentatively. "And this assumes many, many things, though most of all if the crew of the Normandy will indeed go to Kahje." She shakes her head. "But it is all we can do."

I nod. "I see, then," I say as I place a hand on the table. "I'm... I'm not certain what to say."

"Neither am I," says Lalia. She shakes her head and leans forward. "Is there anything else we should know?"

Tevos nods. "We have reason to believe that Shepard has been correct all along," says Tevos. "We have reason to believe that the Reapers exist."

I frown. "And why are you telling me this?" I ask. "And... wasn't Sovereign geth technology?"

"I was not so sure," said Velarn. "Thankfully, the Council's salvage teams managed to find a piece of Sovereign's debris recently that evaded everybody's attention. We are not certain how, but we're thankful for the break." He leans forward. "I sent the piece to an STG team on Sur'Kesh for analysis. Their research revealed that Sovereign dates before the geth. Before the Protheans, even, which suggests many things."

Tevos nodded. "And then... there's this," she says as she opens her omni-tool. As she does, she glances around. Instinctively, I glance around too to see that the club's crowd is still going about its business as if it hasn't even noticed us at all. "This is very recent, but if it's true..."

She then brings up an image for us to see. In the tinted lighting, it gets a little more difficult to make out, but we can clearly see the remains of... _something _that looks almost _exactly _like Sovereign. I frown, leaning forward and noticing that it looks... _destroyed_.

"Is that...?" I ask.

"According to what we can tell, it is another ship that greatly resembles Sovereign," says Tevos. "The resemblance is exact, which means that it was not a fluke." She leans back and closes the omni-tool. "But the most interesting thing, is that this ship's ruins were recovered from Rannoch."

I stiffen almost immediately. "Rannoch?" I ask. "Isn't that under the geth's control now?"

"It would be, except that some of the pictures and the method of acquisition of those pictures suggest otherwise," says Velarn. "We received this information on our terminals this morning, along with a report about how the wreck was found."

Tevos frowns, holding her hands together. "If what the report said is true, and the geth helped to take it down-and that is a _very _big uncertainty which I do not trust-then Shepard was correct, and Sovereign was not a geth creation," she says.

"I am going to order the Dalatrass to send an STG team beyond the Veil once we leave," says Velarn. The salarian holds his hand up. "I will not say anything for certain until we see the results of that. But if it matches other pieces of data that we and even Shepard herself have compiled..." He shakes his head. "Then it will mean that Shepard was right all along. The Reapers exist, there is more than one of them, and there is a possibility, however slim, that there will be more that will come."

"And you want Will to tell this to Shepard," says Lalia.

"Not exactly," says Tevos. "We wish him to tell her that at least two of us have reason to believe her." She shakes her head. "Paellix may be correct: the Reapers do ultimately have some association with the trial. Sparatus and Udina wish to bury the rumors of their existence once and for all with this trial." She shakes her head.

"But unfortunately, we have put ourselves in a difficult position," says Velarn. "We will do what we can, and if Shepard is out of prison the next time we see her we will update her personally. But for now, this is all we can do."

I nod. "Thank you, Councillors," I say. "I'll tell all this to Shepard." I then look out to the crowd, seeing that it has changed quite a bit since I saw them last. "Well, I don't know about you, but I think I'm getting bored of this place." I turn to Velarn, flashing a smirk in his direction. "I say we get out of here."

A look of confusion comes to Velarn's face for a second or two. However, Tevos elbows him, and then he seems to get her implication. "Well... uh... I have... _never_really been with a human before..."

I glance over to Lalia to see that she has facepalmed in disbelief. "Really?" she asks, partly in derision. "How in the name of the Goddess did you manage to get this far without attracting suspicion?"_  
><em>

Tevos shrugs. "I think he had a good guide," says the asari Councillor. "But I should be going as well. I have other things to do today."

Lalia nods. "As do I," she says. "You boys comin'?"

I stand up. "Uh... yeah, yeah," I say as awkwardly as possible.

I stand up, and in short order the four of us are making our way out of Purgatory and back to the rest of the Presidium.

* * *

><p>"Are you... are you serious?"<p>

"As serious as I can be, Commander. Technically, I shouldn't be telling you this, but... well..."

I glance out of the cell, looking at the two turian guards. I'm sitting in the cell with Shepard, and she looks amazed to hear about what I just spoke with the Council about. Well, to have read it, anyway. I ended up returning to my office briefly to write it all down in message form so that the guards don't hear it. I'd hate to have to see the Council go through all that effort to seek me out to tell me something that ears couldn't hear only for the guards to hear about it and report it to the higher ups. No, I'm making sure this remains confidential. My omni-tool is still open and the orange light illuminates her face rather eerily. I turn back to her as she leans forward.

"I... I can't believe it..." she whispers. "Are you sure?"

I nod. "Sure as I can be." I lean back to a sitting position. "Trust me, I couldn't believe it either."

"This... this changes things," says Shepard. "This is..." She shakes her head. "Damn it. Now I have plenty of reason to want to punch Udina in the face."

I frown. "You wanted to do that before?"

"It wouldn't have been a good idea," says Shepard. "Mostly because I likely wouldn't have gotten away with it if I had tried. And as Anderson said once, Udina had his uses." She shakes her head. "Except that he should never have gotten the opportunity to call the shots." She looks up. "And if what this said is true..."

"I think we've got a winner," I comment. "Well, provided Paellix doesn't cause the trial to be declared a mistrial first, anyhow. In which case, her testimony will be entirely needless."

"Yes," she says, hugging her knees closer to her. "I can barely believe it, Will. This trial will be over soon, I can feel it. Now it remains to see how it ends."

"We will see," I say. "Either way, the Citadel does have a double jeopardy provision, so you will be out of here soon."

Shepard nods. "Thank you, Will," she says. "I don't think I could have made it this far without your help."

I raise my eyebrows. "Nothing about 'Mr. Moskas'?" I ask.

"I think you earned the right to have conversations on a first-name basis earlier today," she says. "Trust me."

"Very well then... Jocelyn," I say, hesitating slightly when I call Shepard by her first name. "It feels weird to do that."

"Trust me, you'll get used to it," she says. "Either way... I may be able to leave this place soon. Let's hope, right?"

"Yes," I say. "Let's hope." I look back to her. "So your brother is on the Normandy?"

"Oh, yes," says Shepard. "I hope he's all right..."

"I hope your crew is all right, She-Jocelyn," I say as I look to her. "I wonder how they would react to news of your acquittal."

"They'll take it well," she replies as she smiles. "Hopefully, they will return once news of that breaks out."

"Unless they're in the middle of something important," I postulate. "You never can tell, there may be a pressing matter that demands their attention as much as your acquittal."

"That too," Shepard concedes. "But when they get out of that, I'm sure they will come for me."

"I'd like to meet them," I say. "They seem like such a great bunch, if the ground team of the first Normandy was any indication."

At this, Shepard smiles fondly. "I think you will like them a lot," she says. "And I think... _most _of them will like you."

I nod. "Let's hope."

The Commander nods in agreement.

* * *

><p>As soon as I walk through the door, I notice that Nadeire is sitting on the couch. He is looking up at me, and I can see the coy smile on his face even before he shifts.<p>

I nod. "Hello Nadeire," I say.

"I heard about your little visit to Purgatory from Lalia," says Nadeire playfully. "Did you _really_ try to hit on the salarian Councillor?"

I roll my eyes. "We were in a club that's not authorized by any Citadel tourism boards," I say as I place the datapad I've been carrying on the coffee table. "We had to stay in character for that kind of situation, you know?"

"Uh-huh," he says. He stands up, crossing his arms, but still maintaining the coy smile. "I just think it is weird that you went to a club. I shouldn't think that the club was necessary."

I shrug. "That's one of the things I said," I comment. "I'm not sure why they didn't tell me in a C-Sec office, but... Apparently, everything has ears these days. Including C-Sec offices, for some reason. They never explained it fully..."

The drell nods. "So it would seem," he says. "I hear the news was good."

"Good for Shepard, anyhow," I say. "But that is neither here nor there." I look over to the kitchen. "You are not cooking tonight?"

"I am," says Nadeire as he walks over to the kitchen. I follow him in there right as he opens the oven. He frowns, and closes it. "I would say we need about... five or ten more minutes before it is ready." He shrugs, turning to where the silverware is stored. "I take it you did not see that Ganserig fellow you mentioned."

I nod. "I didn't," I say. "Not as if I needed to, with Paellix destroying his own case."

Nadeire chuckles at this. "I believe he has 'had it coming'," he says. "In a manner of speaking."

"Perhaps," I say, leaning against the kitchen counter. "The trial will be over soon. And I am certain that it will end well for Shepard. As it should, really."

"Yes," Nadeire agrees as he checks the clock on the oven.

I smile, looking over to my husband. "So how was work today?"

The drell shrugs. "The usual," says Nadeire. "The lunch crowd was busy as usual, of course. Though... Junchiro had to call in sick today."

"Did he?" I ask as I lean forward. "What exactly happened?"

"It is a very complicated story, but from what I understand..."


	22. Chapter 21

_A/N: And indeed, that went off without a hitch. Things are looking up for Shepard on the Citadel in ways that they couldn't have seen. And now, Art is still stuck with the aftermath of what happened with Tali. You know how it is._

_So... I ended up playing ME3 all the way to the end recently, with the Extended Cut as I was waiting for that to come out. To be honest? The Extended Cut makes it okay, but I don't think I'd pick anything other than Destroy because the implications of Synthesis aren't all that pleasant and Control is extremely risky. Since I'd pick the same thing every time, I think it drastically reduced the replayability of the franchise. In a weird way. You know?_

_Either way, the EC made the ending okay rather than complete crap. You know?_

_And now, we have to get right back to the action. And this time, the main story comes in talking about the rachni. What'll happen there? You'll see. So for now, have a chapter!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 21: Debussy: Nocturnes<p>

"And that's what my resistance group has told me."

We're gathered in the shuttle, looking over at Carhon as he sits there. He has his arms crossed, though for what reason I can't really tell. It hasn't taken off yet, and most of the team isn't there yet. So for now, it's just Jenny, Miranda, and myself sitting there. I'm seated across the shuttle from Carhon, Miranda is leaning on the wall, and Jenny is leaning against the chair of the shuttle's cockpit.

"And you're certain about this?" asks Miranda.

"Yes," says Carhon. He leans forward, holding his hands together. "And I only found this out recently." He shakes his head. "I don't know what to think of the fact that a batarian ship was in a system where I only now find out the rachni have started inhabiting." He looks at me. "And your commander allowed them to inhabit that system in the first place."

I raise my hand. "Hey, would you rather we have caused a genocide right then and there?" I ask. "Because you realize that _that _was the alternative, right?"

"It's not a question of that, I think," says Jenny. "I think it's more a question o' 'what kind o' danger are we unleashin' on the galaxy'."

"Exactly," says Carhon as he gestures at Jenny. "Thank you, Jenny."

I shake my head, leaning forward as I lean on my right elbow. "That's not how the rachni usually are," I argue, holding my hand out. "They're not always dangerous."

"I don't know..." says Miranda. "They caused a war that only the krogan could stop. And you're telling us they're not always dangerous."

I shake my head, leaning back so that I'm sitting against the wall of the shuttle. "I guess it also helps that Shepard and I spoke to the rachni queen," I say. "She described what happened during the rachni wars as..." I breathe in, looking up. "As something along the lines of 'songs the color of oily shadows'."

"Songs the color of oily shadows?" asks Jenny. "What, did this suddenly turn into some kind o' musical fo' culchies?"

I shake my head. "Not really," I say. "As the queen herself explained it, they talk through... touchings of thought. Whatever the hell that means. Long story short, they don't think of songs the same way we do. I _think _that's what it is, anyhow." I smirk. "Don't tell that to Wrex, though."

"Indeed not," says Jenny. "Probably since 'e's still busy hangin' about with that article that's gone 'n' talked 'im half to death." She shrugs, looking over at Carhon. "Seriously, the way Liselle talks to 'im... It's like it's awakened somethin' new in 'im."

I shrug. "I'm sure it's just his old story-telling self trying to corrupt Liselle's impressionable mind," I comment. "He'll be here. He usually is."

"Let's hope he doesn't shoot a rachni if what you say is true," says Miranda. "The last thing we need is for another incident to occur." Her expression softens a little. "Especially after what happened."

I sigh, nodding regretfully as I feel a wave of sadness take over my mood. "Yeah," says Jenny as she looks at me. "How're you holdin' up?"

"As best I can," I comment. "Can we not bring this up now?"

I look down even as the others nod. "Sorry," says Miranda. "I didn't mean to bring that up."

I nod. "It's fine, Miranda." I lean back, looking out to the door. I look at the rest of the ship beyond the opening and shrug. "Well... so now we have to find a downed batarian ship, _and _the rachni. All on the same planet." I shake my head. "This has got to be the strangest coincidence ever."

Carhon shrugs. "I can imagine," he states, looking up at the ceiling of the shuttle. "I hope you're right and that these rachni aren't aggressive. Otherwise, I'm feeding you to the vorcha back on Omega."

I don't feel much better, but I nod nevertheless. "I'll keep that in mind," I say as I cross my arms.

* * *

><p>The shuttle touches down about an hour later. I look to Thane as he sits across from me, staring off as if he's lost in thought. He seems a little more under the weather than usual, but he hasn't coughed yet, so... I just hope nothing happens around here.<p>

Wrex stands up from where he was sitting next to Carhon, and that is right as I feel the shuttle land on the ground. I look over to Miranda, Carhon, Garrus, and Liselle as they all follow suit. I'm not sure why Liselle is here, but she insisted on coming along, so... I shake my head, standing up myself. The shuttle door opens, and I see Jenny walk out from the cockpit area.

"Y'think I should come along?" she asks.

"No," says Garrus. "We'll need you to stay by the shuttle in case we need an evac."

"You're not expectin' a fight, though, are you?" she asks.

"I'm not," I say. "Most of us are expecting differently, so..."

The pilot nods. "I'll be right 'ere, then," she says, walking back to the cockpit. "You let me know when somethin' goes bad down there."

I nod, and step off the shuttle. I look at the world around me to see that it's rather arid. Well, it looks that way from the surface, anyhow. I can see several cave mouths around where we are...

Shit, should I really have brought Thane along? Crap, if there's water in those caves, and I know there probably will be...

I shake my head. I'll worry about that later. For now... I glance over to the side, and see a wreck. Or, rather, part of it.

I turn towards the wreck, walking towards it. Everyone else follows suit, and then we come up to see that it's a relatively small ship. However, the front part of it is barely hanging over the edge, with the back half situated comfortably close to where we are. That said, it is still teetering along the edge. I'm not sure why the hell it looks like the cockpit got cut off with a pair of scissors, but the fact that it's hanging over the edge of an admittedly very steep fall is something.

I glance to my squadmates to see that Carhon has taken a step forward. He pauses for a few seconds before walking up to the wreck. He dares not enter it, but he comes to stand next to the wreck.

"This looks like a batarian ship, all right," he says. He gingerly touches the hull, and then looks a little further. He shakes his head, looking back at us. "I'd have to enter to know if it's the right ship. We're not overly fond of decorating our ships with our symbols."

The rest of the squad and I all walk over. "Too easy to alert the Hegemony to you?" asks Liselle.

Carhon nods, smirking. "I like this lady already," he says. His smirk promptly falls, however, and he looks back at the ship. "But seriously, yes. We have to make sure the Hegemony can't track us. It's odd that Cerberus puts its symbols all over the shuttle..."

I glance back. "We used to, right?" I ask.

"We used to, yes," says Miranda. "I believe Liara may have painted over the shuttle."

I nod. "That's what I thought," I say as I turn to Carhon. "So it's a batarian ship, you just don't know if it's the resistance yet."

"To figure that out, we'd have to enter," he says.

Wrex lumbers forward. "Well, that shouldn't be too hard," he says. "The ship looks safe from here."

"You do that, then," I say, pointing at Carhon. "You let me know if there are any signs of the resistance in there. And meanwhile, look for survivors." I glance at the ship. "Oh, and be careful. You never know when it'll tip over and dump you to... below."

"Will do," says Wrex.

Carhon nods. Miranda steps up to the wreck, and opens her omni-tool. I look around the rest of the wreck, and find myself walking along it.

I glance off to the side to see some batarian bodies there. The smell hits me instantly, and I find myself reeling back. Good lord, why the hell does decomposition have to smell so damn icky? I mean... ouch. I open my eyes, feeling them sting slightly as I look at the bodies. Hm... it looks like there are only two guys, and there's a pool of blood where it seems like a third batarian would have been. Hm...

I shake my head, looking up to see that Thane has walked up to me. I nod as he stands next to me, though I briefly glance back at the dead batarians.

"We did not get a chance to speak recently," he says.

I feel a pang of sadness hit me like a stab in the gut. I shake my head, and I have to inhale sharply so the smell of dead batarian can distract me from... from... "We didn't," I say. "I'm sorry, Thane. I'm dealing with a lot right now."

"I understand," he says. "We can speak of what happened to Tali when we return to the Normandy, then."

I nod. "Yes, we can," I say. "But I can't really talk about it here. Not while we have a job to do."

Thane nods. "Of course," he says. He then looks out to the landscape around us. "Are you certain the rachni mean no harm?"

I look to the drell, and sigh. "Not really," I say. "I didn't get to see how that turned out." I sigh. "But I trust the queen's judgment."

"Hopefully this trust will not be our undoing," says Thane. "We must exercise caution."

I nod. "I'll keep that in mind, Thane," I say. I then look back to him. "It must be strange, being unable to contact Kolyat."

"I have-"

Before Thane can continue any further, I hear a loud groan. I turn to look behind me just in time to witness the shipwreck as it suddenly leans over. I barely get a chance to run over before the ship leans over the edge and starts falling down the cliff.

"Holy shit!"

I rush on over, right as I hear a loud grinding sound. I get to the edge of the cliff that the ship was teetering on just as I hear a crash from below. I look down, seeing the dust clear rather quickly as the wreckage settles in place. I breathe in uncertainly, and feel the goosebumps race up my arm.

Thankfully, that doesn't look like it was too long a fall. I'd say it was thirty, maybe forty feet from where I am to where the ship is now. So it probably wasn't fatal, but I should still check.

"Miranda? Wrex? Carhon?" I shout at the wreckage. "Are you guys okay?"

I hear someone punch some glass, and immediately I see a fist covered in red armor appear from where the window was. The figure emerges, and I can see that it's Wrex.

"We're all right!" shouts Miranda as Wrex climbs out of the wreckage.

I sigh in relief as everybody who's still at the same height I am looks down. "Did you find anything?" I ask.

Miranda climbs out of the wreckage, and I see Carhon haul himself out of there. "We did," shouts the batarian. "It's definitely one of the ships from the rebellion."

I nod. "Okay, so we're in good-ish hands here," I say.

"Are there any survivors?" asks Garrus.

"No!" says Miranda. "What little of the ship we got to see was empty, and EDI didn't detect any life-signs from a preliminary scan."

I nod. "Then that means those batarian bodies over there are the only people who didn't make it," I comment, pointing at the bodies I was just standing close to.

Thane leans closer to the bodies. "And from what I can see, one of the bodies is missing," he observes.

"And that means someone found them," says Garrus. "Thane, do you think you can figure out where our missing body went?"

"I think so," says Thane. "Any trail of blood would have dried by now, but batarian blood should be visible in this environment." He nods, leaning close to the bloodstained ground. He looks first at the pool of dried-up blood, and then glances up. I watch how his head seems to follow some kind of invisible trail. His head turns, he looks to some point beyond the edge of the cliff, and then his hand rests on his knee.

He stands up, and then turns to us. "It seems as if his body was dragged away," he explains. "The trail ends at the cliff-face, but the if there is batarian blood down there..."

I nod. "Okay then, let's take care of that." I walk over to the edge of the cliff. I look down to see that Wrex, Miranda, and Carhon are all looking at us expectantly. "Hey, Carhon!" I shout. "Can you see any batarian blood down there?"

"Yes!" says Carhon.

"It seems to lead into a cave about a hundred yards off!" adds Miranda.

I nod. "Then down we go," I say, nodding to Thane.

"Wow, he's that good," Liselle comments.

I smile, looking at the drell. "That he is, Liselle," I comment. "I didn't think assassination skills would come in handy, though."

"The hanar trained me very dilligently," the drell observes. "Come. We should find a way to get down safely."

"That we should," I comment. "Come on."

* * *

><p>We move long, with Thane tracking the trail of blood. Eventually, it comes to a point where the trail of blood looks less like it was dragged and more like it... stood up and walked around. Thane makes no comment about it, however, for eventually we find something even more worth commenting on.<p>

And that something worth commenting on is currently about to enclose us. I look up as we enter, and am awed at how the light seems to faintly shine on everything.

"Whoah..." I say.

Wrex grunts. "Well, if nothing else, they're good at finding caves to hide in."

I somehow lose the will to frown at him. I mean, with the ambient blue light here... I look up, seeing the rest of the cave we're in. I see some groundwater collecting in pools off to the side, and I glance around at the various stalactites and stalagmites all around. The cave is _very _expansive, though, and our footsteps echo in the chamber.

I breathe in, glancing at Thane. Fuck... this place has water in it, so it's probably too humid for him to be in here...

I step closer. "Look, Thane, if you want to go back to the Normandy..."

"It is fine," says Thane. "I do not think that a visit into a cave will be enough to bring me to a point where I will hinder missions."

I frown. "Are you sure?" I ask, tilting my head at one of the pools. "If I know caves, the humidity might get worse as we go on."

"I will be all right," he reassures me.

I frown. "Fine," I say. "But the second your Kepral's starts acting up, I'm ordering one of the squad members to escort you back out."

"Fair enough," he says.

And with this, I nod, looking around. "Good," I say. Hm... the layout of this cave is a bit... "Is anyone else getting the feeling that this cave wants to lead us somewhere?"

I hear a snort from Liselle. "Finally, someone _else _who notices that," she says.

We all look at her, and in the ambient lighting I can make out that everyone is about as unpleased as I am. "Liselle, we only just entered the cave half a minute ago," Miranda points out.

The asari shrugs. "Well, just look at this place for a few seconds," she says, aiming her pistol in front of her. "Doesn't that look like a pathway to be followed?"

We all look as she draws her pistol. Almost immediately, she turns on her flashlight, and it illuminates the cave in front of us.

...

The cave in front of us, which seems to have a surface that winds a little bit, almost as if someone dug around in there and created some kind of road...

I blink, crossing my arms. "Well, will you look at that?" I say. "It looks like the cave does follow a path-like thing."

Wrex chuckles. "I'm liking you more and more every second, Liselle," he comments.

I roll my eyes, but I also smirk, so I shrug. "Maybe the rachni dug that path when they found this place," Garrus suggests. "I wouldn't put it past them, anyway."

"I always thought they might prefer a subterranean environment," says Miranda. "And this cave certainly looks expansive enough..."

I nod. "Yeah, it seems like they'd dig into this place to me too," I say, opening my omni-tool and activating its flashlight feature. I point ahead of me, and see that the path definitely curves like a walkway. "Come on. Let's see where this path goes. Maybe we'll find our batarian buddies while we're at it."

"That would be great if we could find them sooner rather than later," says Carhon.

With this, we begin moving, our footsteps echoing in the cave.

* * *

><p>Before long, we lose our ambient lighting, and the cave goes very dark. By that point, however, everyone has opened their omni-tools' flashlights, and we're pointing them in various directions. For some reason, Wrex, Liselle, and Carhon insist on pointing their lights everywhere but the pathway directly in front of us. I don't blame them that much, though: Wrex is a krogan, Liselle seems to get on rather well with him, and Carhon... well, he's got rebellion followers to look out for here, and you never know where they might pop up. So Miranda, Garrus, Thane, and I all point our flashlights forward.<p>

Our path has definitely wound around a _lot_, though. But no matter what, the pathway we follow seems to have been dug in, and it's almost impossible for us to get lost. Seriously, I've seen a couple of stalagmite roots that seemed like someone took a lawn mower to the stalagmites and cut them right out of the cave, it was that obvious at points. We move tentatively, of course, never knowing when we're going to expect a rachni.

I step cautiously, tentatively pointing my light up to the ceiling above me. Hey, if the rachni have suddenly developed the ability to climb up walls and ceilings, I've gotta be prepared for that, I guess. I shake my head, seeing nothing there before pointing back in front of me. I continue forward, looking ahead and-

Ah, crap, I think I missed a step!

My foot suddenly falls out from under me. I let out a loud cry as I suddenly find myself falling face-first into a level area below me. The light thud of my fall echoes in the cave, as well as the frantic shuffling of everybody who's behind me. Did...

Yes, I'm back on solid ground...

I shake my head, moving my arms when I feel a pair of hands grab me.

"Art, are you all right?" That sounds like Miranda, and when I stand I see the light from somebody's flashlight shining on her.

I nod. "I'm fine," I say, getting to a standing position and brushing my armor off. "Thanks." I shake my head. "Looks like I _really _didn't watch my step there."

"Does this mean we're getting closer?" asks Carhon.

"I don't know, but I hope so," says Garrus. "We should have run into _something _by now. The fact that we haven't is a little scary."

"Yeah," I comment, turning my omni-tool's flashlight back... wait, it got turned off? When did _that _happen? "Hopefully we'll run into-"

I raise my hand and shine my omni-tool's flashlight ahead of me.

The light shines on a small green spider.

And there goes my ability to speak.

I hear Liselle squeak slightly, but we all gather around as I look at the small green spider in front of me.

"Is that...?" asks Carhon.

"A worker," I comment. "Tiny little buggers." I shake my head. "We shouldn't get too close. They tend to explode when people get too close."

"Well, we found our rachni," says Miranda. "But where is the queen?"

At this, the rachni flitters away. I shine the flashlight on it, pointing at the worker as it flits away. As it rounds a corner, I find myself chasing it while keeping a light on it.

"Come on!" I say, glancing behind me as Wrex and Garrus begin moving. "Maybe it'll lead us to the queen!"

Our footsteps pick up in volume immediately after as we follow the worker rather quickly. I keep my flashlight trained on him as best we can in this environment. Thankfully, there are the others that are helping me keep track, and while I do eventually forget where my light is I can still see the rachni worker. That's gotta count for something. We follow it around many winding pathways, and this time I'm actually paying attention to where I'm stepping. Good thing too, since it goes up and down various little... 'steps', I think is the best way to refer to them. Even if they are larger than the average stair.

We follow along for what feels like several minutes before it finally flees into a small hole that looks like it was burrowed there by a worker previously. It's not a dead end where we lose the small creature, but... It doesn't really clue us in on where to go from there.

I shake my head. "Well, at least we know we're in the right cave," I comment. "If that worker was there, then there's plenty more where it came from."

"I hope so," says Liselle. "I can't really tell you how _silly _that felt."

"Silly?" I ask.

"Yes, _silly_," she says. "What if we walked into a-?"

We then hear this distinctive little clicking noise. And instantly, I freeze up, looking into the darkness surrounding us. I've only heard that noise once...

...and that 'once' was on Noveria. when those things started moving around.

I raise my hand, and-holy shit, it's a rachni soldier!

I gulp, looking at the soldier. It seems to be looking at us, and before long I hear more clicks like it. I glance at the rest of the group, and find myself looking around when suddenly I start seeing soldiers appearing all around us. They seem to appear from the stalagmites almost like thieves or assassins or something that comes out of the shadows. We all look around as the clicks eventually become a chorus of strange alien sounds, and I find myself subconsciously taking a step back.

I shine my light at one of the soldiers, seeing how it looks about ready to attack.

"Uh... hi?" I ask, raising my hand as if in greeting.

The soldiers don't respond to this. I look back at the others, and I see them all glancing at the rachni nervously.

I nod. "Whatever you guys do, do _not _reach for your weapons," I say. I turn my attention back to the rachni soldiers in front of me. "Uh... hi. You probably don't know who we are, but... I'm sure your queen knows a lot about us." I shake my hand. "See... uh... We're friends of Commander Shepard." I hear a strange kind of whooshing roar come from my left, but I hold my ground. "Uh... well, she's not here, but some of us were there when she let your queen go free on Noveria. So... uh... we thought we'd just check in, see how everything is going, and... Uh..."

"Wait!"

I involuntarily jump at this, but thankfully nobody seems to notice this. I look at the soldiers directly in front of me, and suddenly I see them part slightly. Huh? Wha...?

I raise my hand, and...

Oh.

I see.

An asari in civilian clothing walks up to us from behind the rachni. She's purple-skinned, and walks towards us like she has a purpose. I breathe in nervously, watching as the rachni soldiers then close the circle as she walks up to us. This asari gives us a look that seems to be scanning, and she stands perfectly still.

...

Uh...

Why isn't she moving?

Before I can voice this, however, she nods. "Yes, you are familiar to her," she says as she looks at me. "You were... the serviceman. The one who argued that the Commander should not cause a genocide."

I nod. "Yes, that's right," I say. "Wrex even said something about how bugs would be singing songs about us."

"I still think that you'll regret it," I hear Wrex say from behind me.

"Bugs are singing songs about you?" asks Liselle. "And I thought chasing a tiny green bug was silly."

I frown. "They're not bugs, Liselle," I retort. "Bugs would imply that they're not sentient." I shake my head, turning my attention to the asari. "Sorry about them."

"We understand," says the asari. "It is wise to exercise caution in this place. The queen understood this when I was brought to her the first time."

I nod. "So she's hiding out here, then," I comment. "Well, she's got good taste in interior design, I'll give her that."

"We're dancing around the point here," says Carhon. I then hear someone jump down, but for some reason the rachni soldiers don't prepare to attack. I look to my right to see the batarian standing there. "We've got things to do. We need to talk with the queen, and I... I need to search for a batarian crew that came by recently."

The asari simply looks at Carhon. "Are you... related to them?" she asks.

"You could say that," says Carhon. "We both fight for the freedom of batarians on Khar'shan, if that's what you mean."

"Then you are part of their organization," says the asari. "You need not worry. Your friends are safe, and have plentiful food and water. We can bring you to them, and to the queen." She looks at me. "We must ask that you trust us."

I nod, shrugging. "Just as long as there's good lighting somewhere down the road, I think we'll be fine," I say. "Right guys?"

"I'm beginning to think that maybe Shepard was right," says Wrex.

"Yeah, I think so too," says Garrus.

The asari nods. "Follow me."

With this, she turns around. The rachni soldiers follow suit, and then I find myself following them immediately after. Soon enough, we form a procession that wanders further into the cave, and our combined footsteps seem to form some kind of strange, out of time march as the sounds echo off the walls of the cave around us.

* * *

><p>Eventually, we did have to turn off our omni-tools' flashlights. But then, it was because an eerie blue glow had begin to emanate from various parts of the cave, such that the entire place got lit up. It's actually beautiful, how the blue light<p>

It took a bit, but eventually our eyes adjusted to the ethereal subterranean light. And when we did, the cave somehow became even more wondrous than before. I wonder how the rachni managed to get those lights in there...

As we walk along, I see various workers and soldiers come out of the woodwork. They stand there, observing us, and honestly it gets a little unnerving. But I swallow that sense of foreboding as best I can. After all, it's kind of hard to be level-headed around them when their brethren were on the opposite side of my gun the last time I encountered them. The way they look at me is kind of... creepy.

But I'm sure they're just watching.

We move along rather slowly, and eventually, the asari pauses. The workers pause around us, and I find myself stopping where I stand. I look to our asari guide, watching as she looks ahead.

"The queen is beyond this point," she says. "And the batarian crew is there as well."

"So can we get on with it?" asks Carhon.

She turns to us. "Not yet," she says. "She is very stringent about maintaining her security. From this point... I'm afraid we must relieve you of your weapons."

I look behind me to see Liselle stiffen. "You want us to give our weapons to you?" she asks. "No way. That's never going to happen."

"Liselle, calm down," says Garrus.

"I understand your trepidation." Our attention goes back to the asari guide. "The rachni do not have the best reputation in this galaxy. However, the queen would ask that you trust her. This is simply a precaution."

I look back to the others. "They have maintained an ample opportunity to attack us," Thane points out. "They have yet to act on it."

I gesture to the drell. "See?" I ask. "He gets it." I nod, pulling my pistol. "They outnumber us greatly by this point. If they wanted to attack, they would've done it now."

"That's what I was thinking," says Miranda as she looks around. "And I can understand the need for added security." She nods, pulling out her SMG.

"And hey, if we run into problems..." I gesture at Liselle. "You, Miranda, Thane, and Wrex can just use your biotics."

"True enough," Liselle replies. She unclips her pistol and nods. "Very well, then. I'll trust them with this. For now." She looks up. "But at the first sign of trouble, I will fry their brains."

I shake my head. "That's probably not the best way to get on their good side," I hear Garrus say.

I shake my head, laying my pistol on the ground. I lay my assault rifle and shotgun on the ground right as some of the soldiers grab my pistol. They grab my assault rifle and shotgun as well, and then I turn to see everybody else's weapons being held by the soldiers.

"You have my word that they will be returned to you," says the asari. "Come."

With this, she walks forward. Soon enough, we follow her, but I see the soldiers that were surrounding us stay where they are. We walk forward...

...and then we walk into an open area. The ground is completely level here, and the blue lighting is most intense at this point. And right away, I can see that there's a pool in the center of the area that seems to have an electric light that was thrown in there. It highlights the rest of the small clearing... well, if you can call it a clearing in the middle of a cave, anyway. The ground looks like it was manufactured, almost, and it seems to open out from where we're standing. I look ahead of me to see a group of about five or six batarians sitting, their backs turned to us. I look up above them, though...

I'll be damned.

"Well, looks like we're meeting an old friend again," I say, looking up at the queen as she sits on what looks like a throne tailor-made for the queen.

The batarians turn to look at us, and their eyes widen in surprise. I look up at the queen, but before I can say anything I hear footsteps. When I look back to the-

Okay, it was creepy enough when this queen possessed the dead asari commando.

Now that I'm going to be talking to a possessed batarian who's dead, I've only now realized how sane that sounds in comparison.

"You are... familiar," says the rachni queen through this dead batarian. "Our songs concern some of those among you, and yet we do not see the main subject of our song..."

Before I can reply, I hear footsteps. "What the hell is the meaning of this?" Carhon bellows as he comes out from behind me. "What kind of sick joke is this? You're possessing the dead!"

"There are no other ways for me to communicate," says the queen through the dead batarian. "We speak by touchings of thought. You would not understand."

"And now you're talking through a dead batarian," says Wrex as he walks forward. I look to the krogan to see him smirking. "Should've known you would do that."

"Trust me, Carhon, you should've seen the time the queen possessed a dead asari commando," I comment. "That was a fun conversation."

"Carhon?"

I turn behind the dead batarian to see the rest of the group walking up to us. I step away from Carhon, and the rachni queen's speaking vessel steps back as the living batarians look at him in wonder.

"You're... you're _the _Carhon Erash," says one of the batarians. He looks no older than a teenager... which is weird, considering I never thought I'd see a teenage batarian in my life.

"I am," Carhon replies. "Why are you all crowding around me?"

One of the older batarians in the group steps forward. "You mean you don't know?" he asks. "Everybody in the resistance group knows who you are. You're the man who served with Archangel. You're the man who found Dsrondo Ba'tal. And you're the man who joined a human ship to further the cause of the batarian people."

I smirk as Garrus comes forward. "Well, looks like you've got a fan club," says Garrus. "Maybe you can take them to Omega, give them a few dances."

Carhon glares at Garrus. "You wouldn't dare make me do that," he says.

"And why not?" asks the turian. "I'm sure you could show them your flexi-"

"Aaaand we're getting off topic here," I say, raising my arms to stop the conversation. "Anyway... yes, this is Carhon Erash." I gesture to our resident batarian with a sweep of my hand. "That's not important. What's important, is that we have a rachni queen to talk to. You can get your fanboying out of the way later."

"Thank you." The rachni queen's host steps forward again. "That was... quite the pointless diversion."

"It kinda was," I comment. The batarians all reel back in disappointment, but I shrug. "Anyway, yes, we're here. Unfortunately, our Commander couldn't join us today, and I regret that she couldn't be here to see you again." I look up at the queen herself. "I see you've kept your promise. You're doing well for yourself."

"Yes," says the queen. Damn, I'll have to get used to the fact that it's a batarian's voice to my left rather than the queen herself, but... "We have rebuilt. I have taught my children harmony. They have listened, here in a place where no man dares enter."

I nod. "It's certainly a nice place you got for yourselves," I comment. "All... mysterious and lovely and all." I look up. "And you've even saved lives."

"Yes," says the queen. I see the rachni's physical form turn so that she's looking at the asari. "My children saved Rilara. She has been an immense help to us ever since, and a good companion in dark times." The queen turns to us. "And now, we have met again thanks to her, it seems."

"I was procuring resources on the Citadel when a Shadow Broker agent approached me," says the asari... Rilara. "I told that agent where the rachni are when he was certain that nobody overheard us."

"So you showed up and gave him the tip after all," I comment. "I see... It's good you did. The Reapers are coming soon, and we have some things we need to take care of here."

"It is just as well," says the rachni queen through her batarian host. We all turn to the dead batarian as the queen speaks through him. "I have something I must speak about concerning the Reapers. We have found out what happened during the Rachni wars."

I nod. "I see," I say. "Well... we're all ears, so... what's up?"

The queen emerges from her throne. I look up, seeing her peer at the rest of us.

"It is... complicated," says the queen through her batarian host. "We heard songs the color of oily shadows, not knowing their source. But... we have sent scouts to our old homeworld. We discovered much lost technology. And then... when they returned home, the children I sent there said they began hearing the songs again..."

I look at the rest of my group before turning my attention back to the rachni queen. "You heard those things again?"

"Yes, and this time we were able to determine something astounding." I look up. "The technology we found... it was leagues above anything the galaxy has ever seen. Except for one time..."

I blink. "Sovereign..." I hear Miranda say behind me.

"We heard of the attack on the Citadel," says the rachni queen. "We grew curious."

"It was one reason why I went to the Citadel recently," says Rilara. "I had previously contacted an agent of the Shadow Broker for information on Sovereign. He gave me a report while I was there. The report... it matches the rachni queen's suspicions."

"So the rachni were indoctrinated all those years ago," says Wrex. "Could've fooled me."

"Could've fooled you?" asks Liselle. "What about all of us?"

"We know it is difficult to believe," says the rachni queen, again through her batarian host. "But it is the truth. We suspect this... _indoctrination... _might have been involved in the rachni wars."

"What would the Reapers get out of that, though?" I ask.

"Who is to say?" asks the queen. "We dare not venture further. We know what happened when we fell sway to the Reapers once. We do not wish to repeat it, nor can the galaxy afford for us to repeat it with the Reapers so close."

"Good attitude to have," says Garrus. "Though, I think you'll forgive us if we're not all convinced just yet."

"I understand your reserve," says the rachni queen. "To this end, there is something that you must see."

I nod. "Then lead the way."

* * *

><p>Carhon stayed behind to debrief his fellow freedom fighters. They were all fanboys, I have to say, and I could hear them pile on the questions almost as soon as the queen uses the dead batarian to lead the rest of us forward. I'm not sure what's up with that, but we'll see what happens.<p>

The queen leads us beyond the chamber, and I can see through the various stalagmites and stalactites that the queen is walking at about an equal pace to the dead batarian. We walk through more of the cave, seeing how there are a bunch of rachni eggs peppering the ceiling and floor. I can see several workers walk up the walls of the cave rather quickly, and some of the workers are even able to get pretty far up before they have to stop at various outcroppings that look manufactured.

I'll say it again: this is a nice place they got here.

We eventually come to what looks like a small antechamber. Rilara and the dead batarian are the first of us to come out, and then I manage to follow them. The glow here is also eerily blue, but it's a little darker here. But in this antechamber, there's a pedestal in the middle that Rilara and the dead batarian are both moving around. I catch a glimpse of the rachni queen behind and above us before I walk to the pedestal.

And on this pedestal is this... thing. It's black, though it has a few glowing green lines on it. It looks no thicker than a deck of cards, and it seems to float in something, I don't know what. I look to the others as they crowd around the pedestal, and they all look down at this object.

"What is this?" asks Miranda.

"We believe it is a Prothean device," says the rachni queen. "Rilara recovered it from a prothean dig site on a human colony."

I groan. "Really?" I ask the asari. "You're stealing objects from dig sites even if they may be the next great archaeological find?"

"It was from my... _old_ occupation," says Rilara. "Before I found the rachni, I used to steal items from archaeological dig sites."

"Which made you the perfect ambassador for the rachni," says Miranda. "You can hide in plain sight."

I shake my head. "I'm sure you pissed off a _lot _of scientists and possibly screwed the safety of the galaxy with this old occupation of yours," I comment sourly. "Why keep this, anyway?"

"It... seemed to speak to me," says Rilara. "I do not know how, but... whenever I held it in my hand, I would see... pictures. Memories. I could never make sense of it, but then I met the rachni queen." She looks behind us. "She was able to make sense of some of the things. And while holding it, she heard that song that was the color of oily shadows."

I see the others lean forward. "So you believe that this may have memories of an indoctrinated prothean?" asks Thane.

"I know so," says the rachni queen. "Unfortunately, it may only be possible for one of you to see what is in this object..."

"So why bother keeping it?" asks Wrex.

"There is... hope that you may see," says the queen.

"Yeah, if 'She Who Steals From Graves' over here is barely able to see things, then what do we do?" I ask, pointing at Rilara. I shake my head, looking at the shard. "We... can touch this, right?"

"Of course," says the rachni queen.

I shrug, looking at this thing. "I just don't see what the point of it is if we-"

And then, I pull the object off the pedestal.

Immediately, I feel a very strange rush of energy that causes me to pause where I'm standing for a second. The whole world suddenly seems tinted by an eerie orange glow, and it causes me to stop in my tracks. I step back, and look at the people around me as the world seems to go in slow motion.

_And then, the whole world rushes away from me. Everything goes black for a split second, and then I'm thrust into new scenery. It all comes out a little garbled, but I suddenly feel my limbs moving around as the world around me comes alive._

_When the world comes into focus, I see that I am on a planet. The skies are tinted orange, and... holy shit, are those Reapers over there?_

_Jesus Christ on a pikestaff, they are..._

_I'd turn my head to get a look, but I find that I can't, really. I'm moving as if on autopilot, running forward in the body of something I don't know. I'm feeling rather uncomfortable seeing as how I feel like a square peg trying to fit in a circular hole. But I look forward, and see..._

_Holy shit, those're protheans! They... they look a lot like Orange, but their armor..._

_I find myself unable to shake my head, but I can see the protheans firing at me. I look at one of them, a fellow in red armor who seems to be eternally angry. He barks out orders to the rest, though I'll be damned if I know what he's trying to say since it all comes out garbled and gibberishy, I guess._

_I find myself firing at this group of protheans against my will, and I take down a prothean standing next to the dude with red armor. I'm vaguely aware of something scratching at the back of my mind as I do this..._

_Is it me, or is that vague presence getting stronger? It feels like..._

_Is this what indoctrination feels like?_

_Before I can get an answer to this question, one of the protheans shoots me with a particle beam. I find myself unable to scream at the excruciating pain that blossoms in my belly, and I fall to my knees._

And then, I find myself able to scream.

When I look around, I find that I'm back in the antechamber, with everyone having crowded around me. I pant for a few seconds, finding that I'm clutching my stomach like there's no tomorrow, and that the pain doesn't exist there, except as a lingering memory.

I... What the hell was that...?

"Art?" asks Miranda. "You... Are you...?"

"I have _no _idea what the shit just happened," I say. "I... I saw this vision. I was trapped in this body that was running around. I could see and hear everything that was happening. Mind you, I couldn't understand anything they were saying, but..." I shake my head. "I heard a scratching sound in the back of my head. And... and while I was in this vision..." I shake my head. "I... I killed a prothean..."

I'm almost shocked at how amazed I sound.

"So you saw something," says Rilara.

"I have no idea how," I say. "I... I never got the Cipher..."

"The Cipher?" asks Liselle from behind me.

I shake my head. "It was some... thing," I comment. "We found it on Feros when we helped out at the colony there. Shepard got it, and it helped her think like a prothean would. But here... I was able to see what this person I was possessing saw. I felt what he felt. I couldn't understand the language, but..." I shake my head, looking at Rilara. "What the fuck just happened?"

I look up at the asari to see that she's completely motionless. "Uh... Rilara?"

I glance around me. What...? They're all staring at me with absolutely no ability to move. I glance around nervously at the others, seeing them all kneel over me in concern.

"Uh, guys, this is kinda creepy," I comment. "Can you...?"

And then I look behind Liselle to see that the dead batarian seems to be standing still. Somehow, the dead batarian managed to find a way to stay completely still even though he's in the middle of falling.

...

"Oh, hell, it's _this _again?" I ask.

"So you have experienced this before."

What? This... this new voice... it's like... it's like a thousand female choirs are speaking at the same time. It's strangely melodious in that way, and yet... It's almost voluptuous, really. It's like the song of the sirens...

I stand up, and look to see that the rachni queen has descended. She now approaches the pedestal, and comes to a stop right around where Wrex is. I...

No way...

"You can stop time too?" I ask.

"Stop time?" asks the queen. "I... I am not stopping time." One of those weird tentacle arms flits about. "However, you may perceive it as stopped time." She comes closer. "I did not think that any other species could be so attuned to the beyond. And yet, there was a wild burst of energy when you touched that prothean object. It was a burst so powerful that I cannot believe I will see it again."

I frown. "Wait, you're in tune with the Fade?" I ask. "No... no way!"

"It is how we speak," says the rachni queen. "We operate by touchings of thought. This... is how we touch thought." The queen moves around. "And you say you have done it before."

"I... Matriarch Benezia did it back on Noveria," I comment.

"I thought I felt a disturbance in the beyond then..." the queen comments. "I had no reason to believe that this was what had happened. Did you see it anywhere else?"

"On Ilos," I comment. "There was... there was an artificial intelligence there that managed to do it there too. I have no idea how because, you know, it was a form of artificial intelligence and all."

"This is quite strange," says the rachni queen. "The protheans seem to have had an affinity with the beyond at least as much as we do, and yet I have never known that a human could have such a strong connection with the beyond."

"I'm... a _special_ case," I say, glaring to the side. "Apparently. It's a _really_ long story how that happened. Let's just say I and two other people on the crew of the Normandy are _not _like your average human in any way at all." I shake my head, lifting the object again. "I still have no idea how I was able to make any sense of this, though. I don't have the Cipher."

"Perhaps this Cipher was not the only thing you need to understand prothean visions," the rachni queen suggests. "I felt exactly what you described when I touched that object..."

I look at the queen in surprise. "You mean... you and I saw the same thing?" I ask.

"I believe so, unless it is sheer coincidence that we both killed a prothean when we touched it," says the rachni queen.

I bring my hand up to my head. "This is some freaky-ass shit, I'm not gonna lie," I comment. "I suddenly find out you've got something with the Fade... the beyond... whatever you call it. This..." I shake my head. "This is freaky."

"Perhaps we can speak of this further," says the rachni queen.

"Maybe," I comment. "I guess it also helps that I have to talk to you about a couple other things."

"Ah..." The rachni queen moves forward. "I was not certain why you came to us only now. It seems you have something to gain from this visit."

"You could say that," I comment. "I guess... we'll talk about this later?"

"As you wish."

I suddenly find myself kneeling again, looking up at all the others. I flinch slightly, but I immediately hear the thump of the batarian's dead body hitting the floor. Everyone's attention is suddenly focused on that.

I turn back to Rilara as the rest of the crew walk over. The look the asari is giving me is a strange, knowing look, but before she can say anything I place my finger over my lips. She nods in understanding.

"What just happened?" I hear Liselle ask from behind me.

I turn to look to see that the dead batarian is in a standing position again.

"I lost control for a split second," says the rachni queen through the batarian. "I apologize. It hardly happens."

I stand up, walking to the rachni queen's host. "It was very sudden," Miranda comments.

"As are many things," says the rachni queen.

I nod, looking over as Garrus looks at me. "What else did you see?" he asks.

"I... I thought I heard this strange scratching sound at the back of my head..."

* * *

><p>It's some time later when we've stepped away from that strange object. We're now going around doing things elsewhere in the rachni's home. The queen needs a few minutes to bring Rilara up to date on stuff. No doubt it's about the whole thing where she spoke with me... in stopped time? In my mind?<p>

God damn, the Fade can get complicated.

I end up looking around. the clearing we stopped by earlier. I see Carhon and the batarians from the resistance chatting it up to the side. I'm not sure what they're talking about, but from the looks on their faces it looks like it's pretty serious business. I glance off to the side to see Miranda and Garrus looking at all the rachni around us. Yeah, the soldiers really piled in pretty fast, as did the workers. They've piled in, but even then they're respectful. It's like I have an extra pair of eyes watching my ass rather than someone trying to follow me, which is good for everybody.

I shake my head, looking on. I see Thane meditating to the side. You know, I'm almost relieved right now: Thane's Kepral's hasn't acted up since we entered. And this is a good thing, really. Hopefully we'll be blessed with that good luck throughout the next few things. And off to the side of that... I see Wrex and Liselle talking to each other. The young asari looks on in admiration, sitting on a rock as Wrex tells her something. Knowing Wrex, I'll bet he's telling her one of his exploits again. Man, those exploits are fun.

I nod, crossing my arms. I hear some footsteps behind me, and I look to see Rilara standing there.

"There is... much about you that puzzles me, Serviceman," she admits. "Humans do not quite have a connection to the rachni's beyond, and yet..."

"Let's just say there's more than one way to get there," I comment. "I guess the queen wants to see me now?"

"Yes," she says. She gestures, and then I follow her immediately. "You said you had something to speak to her about."

"A few somethings, now," I comment. "Now that she can see the Fade..."

"The Fade?" asks Rilara.

I shrug. "It's the beyond," I comment. "I just call it something different from the rachni. Old associations and all that."

"I see," she says. "This will be quite the interesting conversation."

"Understatement of the century," I comment.

And with this, I follow Rilara to where the queen is. We end up having to climb a short ways to see her, but when I do, I see the queen standing there. The dead batarian has been propped up against an outcropping, and now he sort of hangs there. I don't know how the hell he got up there, but I've got bigger things to worry about. Rilara nods to the queen, and then the batarian comes to life again.

"We have much to speak about," says the rachni queen through the dead batarian. "I hope you understand if I decide to have Rilara listen in."

I glance to the asari in question before nodding. "I... I'll try not to mind," I say. "But this is some _very _sensitive stuff."

"It is indeed," says Rilara.

"I believe I should ask the most obvious question first: how are you a 'special case' among humanity?" asks the rachni queen.

I roll my eyes. "It's an _incredibly _long story," I say. "See, I'm not actually from this galaxy."

And with this, I begin to tell them everything: I tell them about my past life, I tell them about how the ME galaxy was a game, I tell them about Orange and how I found her, and I tell them about how I got here in the first place. It takes a while to get through everything, but... hey, it's a complicated story, there's not much I can do.

When I finish, Rilara looks at me with a dumbfounded expression on her face. "I... I can scarcely process it," she says.

"Join the club," I comment. "But... that's how I have a better affinity with the Fa-the beyond. Apparently, dying and being sent right to the city at the center of that place means you automatically have more of an affinity to it."

"It would explain why I felt a stronger spiritual presence from you when I first met," says the rachni queen. "I simply thought that it Lady Benezia's daughter. Knowing this, however..."

"Yeah," I comment. "So that's how I know about that." I frown. "But how the hell did I see what that object had to show me?"

"Perhaps it seeks out people who know the beyond intimately," says Rilara. "When I melded with the queen, she said that I had a very basic connection to the beyond. I was able to get an inkling of some of the images."

"But it only takes one who has a true connection to the beyond to see what the two of us saw," says the rachni queen. "I suspect it also happened with this... Orange character you bring up."

I nod, taking the orange paperweight out of my vacuum pocket. "Yes," I comment.

"Keeper," I hear Orange say. "Did... I believe you saw what I..."

"I did, Orange," I say, looking to Rilara and the queen. "I believe you can hear her talk if you touch her."

Rilara does so hesitantly. "You are... a representative of the rachni." I see the asari start slightly, her eyes widening.

"Yes..." says Rilara hesitantly.

"I see." Orange pauses. "I do not sense the taint of indoctrination anywhere nearby."

"You... you can sense that?" asks the asari.

"I am always sensing things through the Fade," says Orange. "There are some instances where I have needed outside help, however. I would not be able to speak with you through this if I had not gone through the Conduit on Ilos, for instance."

"True that," I comment. I look to Rilara as she takes her hand away from Orange gingerly.

"They can be trusted," says Orange. "When checking the field, I saw no possibilities of their betrayal."

Good. Maybe this time you'll-

"Out of the question," says the oracle angrily. "You do not know the Fade, or the unpredictability of the visions."

Then why are you staying by the possibilities presented with the rachni queen, Orange? Shouldn't those visions be unpredictable too?

"I... I..."

Exactly. You do realize you're making it apparent that there's more to your refusal than 'they're unpredictable', right?

"You would never under-"

"I suspect there is more you wish to talk about."

I am snapped out of the conversation with Orange by the rachni queen. I nod, quickly storing Orange back in my vacuum pocket.

"There is," I comment. "I'm... not the only special case out there."

"You're not?" asks Rilara. "I..."

"Who?" asks the rachni queen.

"Two other people on the Normandy," I comment. "One of them... one of them actually came from several hundred years in the future." I turn to the queen. "And that's one of the things I needed to talk to you about. He's busy creating schematics for a ship that can attain FTL jumps that can get people from one cluster to another without using the mass relays."

"What?" asks Rilara. "But... but that is impossible!"

"Not for people from a galaxy that has no mass relays," I comment. "And not for people who were engineers in that galaxy that has no mass relays." I cross my arms. "He hasn't finished the schematics yet, but when he does, he'll need people to build it."

"And we built a ship capable of relay travel in less than two years with blueprints I had procured elsewhere..." says Rilara.

"So you wish for us to build it," says the rachni queen.

"Yes," I comment. "There's a place we need to get to that can't be accessed with the mass relay network, and there are no nearby systems which we can use as a springboard to jump into this place from. I don't know what's there, but whatever it is, it's important."

Rilara nods. "I can imagine," she says.

"It is... possible," says the rachni queen. "It is unfortunate that the Commander is not with you. However... perhaps I can do this as a token of gratitude on her behalf..."

I nod. "I'm hoping we can get her back on the Normandy soon," I comment. "When we do..."

"Very well, then," says the rachni queen. "When this engineer finishes the plans, we will aid you in whatever way we can."

I smile. "I'll contact Rilara when he finishes, then," I comment. "As you know, I have connections to the top of the Shadow Broker's network. I'll have Liara send someone with the plans when he's done."

"Very well then," says Rilara. "I would be interested to see what this technology that can allow cluster to cluster FTL travel without relays can do..."

"I'm sure you'll be quite pleasantly surprised," I comment.

* * *

><p>When I return to the antechamber where most of the squad is gathered, I notice that Carhon is walking right up to me. He approaches, a resolution in his step.<p>

"Carhon?" I ask. "What's up?"

"Not as much as I'd like," says the batarian as he glances back at his fellow resistance fighters. "The resistance fighters we found don't really have new information for us. They were being chased by Hegemony agents because they were careless."

I nod, crossing my arms. "And here I was hoping they would have some kind of earth-shattering revelation here," I comment.

"Unfortunately not," Carhon comments. "But we do need to bring them back to the resistance somehow, and I don't think they'll like that they're in the company of rachni."

"So you're saying someone should come and find them while they're on the Normandy?" I ask.

"Yes," says Carhon. "That's the only thing I can think of to get them to our resistance safely."

I nod. "I'll see what I can do," I comment. "But-"

"Art, there you are." I turn to Miranda, blinking in surprise as she comes from behind Carhon. "It's good you came here when you did."

"Why?" I ask, looking to Miranda. "Did something happen?"

"Something definitely happened, all right," she says. "Did you talk to the rachni queen about-?"

"Yes," I say. "I did, and she agreed to it. Why, do we need to leave now?"

"Yes," says Miranda as she nods to Carhon. "Gather your fellow resistance fighters, Carhon. We need to return to the Normandy soon."

The batarian nods, and then runs away. I look back to the rachni queen, who seems to nod in my direction as I look at Miranda.

"What, did Liara figure something out?"

* * *

><p>"<em>Yes, as a matter of fact, I have something.<em>"

Garrus, Miranda, and I are all crowded around the table in the briefing room. Mordin, Jarel, and Thane are also standing inside of there, Thane looking... perturbed? That's weird. Well, thankfully his Kepral's didn't act up back there. I was certain it would, but... well, we're okay, apparently. I shake my head, looking up at the screen as it projects the comm conversation thing.

"What've you got?" I ask.

"_According to some pieces of intel Ethan picked up, Cerberus may act soon,_" says Liara. "_We've caught wind that there are ships moving into Kahje's systems. Some of them were flagged with identifications for corporations that are Cerberus fronts._"

"I see..." I say, shaking my head. "But this is weird."

"Why would Cerberus be interested in destroying a cure for Kepral's Syndrome?" asks Thane.

"_I'll admit that Cerberus being there makes no sense_," replies Liara. "_As it is, Ethan has not been able to uncover anything that shows us why Cerberus would be there in the first place. Unfortunately, I cannot answer that._"

"I guess we'll find out what they want us there for when we go to Kahje," I comment. "Now... if I remember, that cure isn't finished, right?"

"_It's not,_" Liara confirms.

"I believed as much," says Jarel. "There's no way they could be so close to being finished with the cure, especially for the hanar. Kepral's is a complicated disease to try to cure, given that it's genetic and nobody is really certain where exactly the disease begins."

I frown. "Wait, they're trying to find a cure without determining the cause first?" I ask. "Isn't that kinda reckless?"

"It is," says Jarel. "But right now, a lot of the Kepral's research is going into figuring out how the disease starts in the first place." The salarian shakes his head. "I can't tell you how far along they are at this, but they're making progress as best they can.

"_They're _just _on the verge of a breakthrough in relation to that,_" says Liara. "_That is, if the files that I have at the Shadow Broker's base say anything._"

"We can't let Cerberus do anything to the research they have, then," says Miranda. "I still don't understand why they would do this, though..."

"Neither do I," I comment. "But we have to make sure they don't get their hands on that Kepral's cure. Who knows what they could do once they have their hands on the progress they've made?" I shake my head. "We can't risk that."

"_We cannot,_" says Liara. "_May the Goddess be with you._"

With this, the transmission cuts. I look to Miranda, nodding briefly.

"EDI, set a course for Kahje," she says. "And set the shortest course possible."

"_Right away,_" says EDI. "_I will notify you when we are close_."_  
><em>

I nod, looking up. "Thanks, EDI," I say.

With this, I nod to the others, and we all leave the briefing room. Well, most of us do. I see Thane pause at the briefing table as he looks down at it. I stop at the table, and I hear the door close behind me. When I glance at the door, I see that the others have left, so it's simply Thane and I standing there.

"Thane?" I ask, looking at the drell. "Is everything all right?"

"I have an... uncomfortable feeling," he replies.

I walk forward. "It's not the Kepral's, is it?" I ask.

"No, it is not," he says. "It is something else that I cannot place my finger on." He looks up. "I would be wary of this situation. There is more to it than seems apparent at first glance." He shakes his head. "I suspect you of all people would have caught on to that."

I shrug. "I know there's more to it," I comment. "But... this just seems so odd for Cerberus that I'm not exactly sure what they're really after. Are they..." But... No, no. If they wanted us, they should've just attacked the Normandy. I shake my head. "We have to go anyway. If we don't investigate it, it might be too late."

"Perhaps," says Thane. "I would exercise extreme caution if I were you."

I nod, holding my arms together as I look to the drell. "I'll do that," I say. I then gesture to the door. "Would you like to go to back down to Life Support?"

"I suppose so," he says.

With this, he turns towards the door. I fall into step with the drell, and walk with him to the doorway.


	23. Chapter 22

_A/N: Okay. So there's that thing with the rachni taken care of. You'll see what that leads to soon enough. So yeah, crazy times are had with that._

_Though... recently, there are other efforts I did with redoing some parts of MV3. If you'll look to the LotSB arc... well, I've edited out a lot of stuff pertaining to Ethan Sunderland. Why? Well... it's a very long story. Let's just say I had an explosive falling out with... He Who Must Not Be Named, and that this was something I realize I probably should've done a long time ago. Honestly, I didn't even want to put Ethan in the MV trilogy at all originally: I only threw him in because I was trying to be nice to He Who Must Not Be Named._

_Yeah. Apparently, you can't have a healthy friendship with someone when your part of that friendship involves non-stop ass-kissing._

_Either way, here's how Ethan now stands in MV canon: he is no longer from the Fallout canon, and he is no longer so important. Honestly, the whole Fallout business was making the story way too complex, it was demolishing other aspects of the story, and it forced me to focus a lot of time and attention on a character who frankly never would have had anything approaching even a supporting role throughout the rest of MV3 in the first place—except in ideas that He Who Must Not Be Named wanted to use to write his own MV fanfiction. (Yeah, fanfiction of a fanfiction.) So honestly, it's probably better this way, though it probably would've been best if I had stood on my ground with He Who Must Not Be Named and never allowed Ethan Sunderland to be part of the MV cast in the first place._

_That'll teach me to renege on my word and put a character into a story just so I can be nice to some bratty twit who stalks you and your friends everywhere you go when he doesn't understand that no means no._

_By the way, MV:R is no longer canon, either. So there's all that. I regret ever spending time on it, and I'm glad I had nothing to do with the final chapter that He Who Must Not Be Named wrote._

_I know I'm spending so much time on this, but... god _damn _it, did that kid make me angry. And even now, he continues to do so._

_So yeah. There's all that. Uh... what else did I need to get to...?_

_Well, for one thing… I've decided I'd go back and edit some stuff relating to the "Tali got raped" bit. I have to be honest with you guys: as I was beginning to write the fallout of that, I began realizing "wait, shit, I don't know if I can bring this all the way through". For one thing, it's really nebulous trying to write something like that, and even with all the research I had done on the subject beforehand I still felt like I was doing something wrong. So I've been tossing the idea of editing it out of the story for a bit since then._

_Honestly, I have to thank ValentineDiverseOptics for pushing me over the edge, and it's not just because he pointed out how thorny a subject it really is: he also pointed out something within the whole context of the situation about how quarians might culturally view rape that I frankly didn't even _think _about before he brought it up. And honestly, his idea of how it worked works with my ideas better, so I've now edited the relevant chapters to both take out the act of rape itself, and to sort of implement that idea and start towards that track. (It also helps that he wasn't being a completely unreasonable and bull-headed bitch about it, unlike a certain someone whose character I just massively truncated…) So thank you, ValentineDiverseOptics!_

_What else… what else… Yes. There's actually something I've been doing a bit of recently: how many people here use Spotify? Yes, I'm talking to you guys: I'm asking, because I'm compiling a playlist on Spotify that has as many of the pieces that are mentioned in Mass Vexations' chapter titles as I can find on that app. So if you ever want to know what kind of moods I'm going for with each chapter, you can seek out the Mass Vexations Playlist on Spotify and give the tracks a listen._

_So for now... well, you'll see what Cerberus was all about on Kahje. Away, chapter!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 22: Sibelius: Lemminkainen Suite: Part One<p>

I find myself sitting in the shuttle. We're two hours away from Kahje, but I just need some time alone for myself... I lean back, looking up at the hatch. I look down to see Jenny chatting with Kal'Reegar. The marine seems perfectly happy to be standing next to the pilot, and from the little snatches of the conversation I can hear, it looks like they're trading banter.

I think. They both sound like they're having a good time of it, so... Yeah, I'll go with banter.

I shake my head, putting my hand in my pocket. I still don't have my armor on, but... well, you know. I touch Orange, looking at the roof of the shuttle.

Hey...

"Hello, Keeper," she says. "I assume you wished to talk to me."

Yeah, I do. I needed to ask you something. About our upcoming trip to Kahje.

"You wish to know what will happen there," she says. "You realize I cannot give you any direct hints, no?"

Good Christ, this again, Orange? Would you-

"You do not understand," she says. "You would never understand."

Try me, Orange. That's all I'm asking you to do here.

"And how do I know that you will understand?" she asks.

Well, I'm sitting here speaking to a voice that only exists in the mind at any given moment and not calling myself insane. Isn't there a lot of trust that goes into that? I'll try to understand you, Orange. We've gotten this far. Just... just don't take a page from my book, and tell me what's bothering you. Please.

The oracle pauses, and I can hear her think. I sit back, and I can imagine what she is doing. I breathe in, tuning in briefly to Jenny and Kal's conversation.

Finally, I hear Orange clear her throat. "I... I believe I told you once about how the visions work," she says. "I took the word of the visions as possibilities, as one must with the Fade. I was placed in charge of many lives around Feros. Do you understand what it is when I prophesied the deaths of many homeworlds and attempted to give suggestions on how to save them?" She sighs. "There was so much death during the beginning of the Reaper War. Many homeworlds were lost just in the first century of the war. And I had to watch as again and again I gave suggestions that never worked."

So... So this whole thing is because you don't want me to take the visions and run into the same emotional issues you did?

"That is... grossly simplifying it," she says. "But the sentiment at the center of it is not incorrect."

So...

"What would the use of attempting to change the future if anything you suggest can still produce the same outcome?" she asks.

I find myself letting go of the paperweight briefly. I can't... No, she'd find out where I was, and we can't have that.

But... It just brought me back to thinking about that mass relay from the archvision. The one with Dr. Kenson there... and how I might have to kill an entire colony. I don't know where we go, or what happens from there...

...and honestly, I know how she feels. Because... because if I fail, that's on me. But if I don't try to change that outcome however I may...

I shake my head, gripping the orange paperweight again.

That's the thing, Orange. We'll never know how we can change things until we actually try it. Maybe possibilities will still happen. But for me... Well, you know me, Orange, and you know how I sat on my ass most of the time over the past two years.

"I do," she says.

I still sometimes wonder what would've happened if I had told Shepard that she was going to die all those years back. I wonder what it would've changed if I had said that. Even know, I'm wondering what would happen...

"And it is a doubt you live with..."

I don't think about it too much given all that's going on, but yeah, essentially. We may fail with what we have, but we can't stop trying because of too many failures. We have to keep trying. If we don't try, we're left wondering with what could've been. And we have to try even with the failures involved, because they make our victories that much more meaningful.

"Yes..." Orange pauses, and I can imagine her dipping her head in thought. We remain like this as I lean back. "You... you may be right, Keeper. I never thought of it like that. I may have thought this once, but fifty thousand years is a long time to be without hope, and to dwell on your mistakes."

It's a long time for _anything_, really.

"On that, we seem to have reached an agreement," she states. There is a further pause, though this one is shorter than the previous one. "Very well. Your mission... it will have many twists and turns in it, and I am sure you already suspect that all is not as it seems."

Yep, you got that right.

"Maintain caution," she says. "The cure is not all that they will seek. I have seen into the past... from what I gathered, it seems that Cerberus wants you to know they are at Kahje."

So it might be a trap.

"Yes," she says.

Dagnabbit, I knew it. It's a trap... but if we don't go in, we risk what progress we have on that Kepral's cure being destroyed. We don't know if they really want to destroy that cure, but if we don't go in there... Crap, this is a trap we'll have to spring regardless of what might happen, isn't it?

"I believe it is," Orange says. "And yet you are here now. Prepare for it as you must."

I nod. Okay, I can do that. Thank you. You take care of yourself, Orange.

"And you as well, Keeper."

I take my hand off of the orange paperweight.

So this is a trap. Dang it, I thought it might be something like that. Lure us in with stuff... maybe they want to have us in the same system when they destroy the cure so they can frame us. Maybe that's it.

Well... we have to make sure that this doesn't happen...

I look down at the area around the shuttle. I look back out, and then lean out to see Jenny still talking with Kal'Reegar. Hm...

I wonder...

I nod, standing up and walking to the shuttle door. I look down at Jenny and Kal, who both look up at me in surprise.

"Hey, Jenny!" I shout. "Can you come up here for a minute? I need to ask you something about the shuttle!"

* * *

><p>"And you want me to give you a tracker?"<p>

I nod. "Yes, Miranda," I reply.

I look up to Miranda as I stand in her office. Jenny, Madison, and Isaac are all there, and they stand behind me as I look to Miranda. She's seated at her desk, and she looked like she was busy. As soon as I walked in, she had stood up, and we had moved the conversation over to the window.

She shakes her head. "I don't think you're making a good decision there. Why would you want a tracker placed on you?"

I shake my head. "Miranda..." I shake my head. "I just have a terrible feeling about this mission."

"That it's a trap?" she asks. "I believe we know the answer to that."

I shake my head. "I don't think it's a trap like that." I shake my head. "Miranda, doesn't this whole scenario seem odd to you? The Shadow Broker gets information, it's information that we get easily, and it's like we're being invited." I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, looking in front of me. "Miranda, I think they might be trying to get me."

"They might?" she asks. "You mean...?"

"Yeah," I comment. "TIM already knows about me. I wouldn't be surprised if he finally took this time to act on that."

"Damn..." she shakes her head. "That is a very real and very dangerous possibility." Miranda shakes her head. "But if that is the case, Cerberus could track a signal attached to you if they know what to look for. If they do what I think they will, they'll be able to track you. It would be better to lay low."

I shake my head. "But what if they do succeed at taking me?" I ask. "You don't think it'll come in handy to help me later, if we don't use it to keep me from falling into TIM's clutches in the first place?"

"If they do succeed in taking you, they'll probably know to look for the tracker," says Miranda. "You light yourself on fire, and then they can extinguish it. That's the risk we are talking about here, and it may jeopardize the mission."

I sigh. "I know there's a risk in it," I say. "But... we have to try, if nothing else. If TIM is after me, then we can't risk me vanishing completely."

"That is... true..." says Miranda. She then looks to the side, and sighs. "Very well. But when Cerberus figures out what the signal means, then the subsequent falling apart of the whole mission is on your head."

I nod. "Right," I comment.

I can feel the others looking right at me as I turn to Madison, Isaac, and Jenny. "Can I trust you guys to hold on to the thing that can display the information?"

"I... yes," says Madison hesitantly.

I nod. "Good," I say, turning to Miranda. She seems to have prepared a tracking device, which she looks at briefly. The former Cerberus operative then looks back up at me before nodding.

"I hope your decision to do this doesn't end up in the mission going awry," she says. "It is a blind hope, but..." She pauses. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," I reply without hesitation.

Miranda looks down, shaking her head. "Then let's get to preparing it."

* * *

><p>An hour or so later, I'm seated in the shuttle. We've left the Normandy, and I look to my ground team. I nod at Kasumi, who's doing some last-minute touching up of her weapon. Miranda and Jacob are sitting close by, looking forward with a kind of determination I haven't really seen from them before. I then glance to Thane, watching him as he leans against the back wall of the shuttle.<p>

I sigh. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this, Thane," I comment. "But with the fact that Cerberus might think it's a trap..."

"I understand," says Thane. "I may point out that having a drell here will also help us immensely with the hanar scientists."

"In what way?" asks Kasumi.

"The compact goes both ways," the drell replies. "The drell are conscripted into service with the hanar at a young age: however, it is considered an insult if a hanar is disrespectful to a drell who is or was in a compact. If they see that I am with you, perhaps they will be more willing to listen."

"That's true," says Miranda. "If we can engender a feeling of trust with the hanar scientists, we'll be able to help them without being impeded."

I nod. "Yeah, that's also true," I say. "I just hope this trap isn't too bad."

"Let's hope it's not too bad a trap that we're springing here," says Jacob. "If we can find out what Cerberus really wants from us, that would be great."

I look to Jacob. "So you think this is a trap?"

"This is too fishy for it not to be a trap," he replies.

I nod. "True that," I comment, looking at Jenny. "How close are we, Jenny?"

"Almost there, mate," she says. "You're gonna be kickin' 'em in the arse, right?"

"I hope so," I say. "But you know what to do and what to keep an eye on, right?"

"Yep," the pilot replies. "Okay... here we are... and... let's lower this bird."

I feel the shuttle stop in midair, and then I feel it descend. I look to Jenny, and nod as the shuttle door opens. We're treated to a brief view of the rain coming down and down in sheets as we descend. We're hit by a blast of humidity, and a small part of me instantly regrets having to have Thane walk in this weather. Damn it, if the rachni caves didn't exacerbate his condition, _this _most certainly will.

Though, it really reminds me of home. I wonder if there's a hurricane going through... no, no, if there was, the winds would be stronger. I...

Oh, dagnabbit, Art, focus!

I shake my head, looking outside. I see the entrance to the lab a short distance away. I breathe in uncertainly, looking at it as Jenny gets us as close to it as she can. When we're just in front of it, I see Miranda opening her omni-tool.

"This door will be likely to have very strong encryption on it," she says. "But if Cerberus was here, their attempts to get in might have weakened the whole system enough for us to get in."

I nod, looking to the others. "You heard the lady," I comment as Kasumi opens her own omni-tool and steps out of the shuttle. She rushes towards the door.

"Did I ever mention that Kahje is the _last _place I would've wanted to go for vacation?" asks Kasumi. "I hear the temples are nice, but all this rain makes me wonder what people see in it."

I look up. "Welcome to all my thoughts about my home town," I comment as I step outside of the shuttle. I pull out my assault rifle just in case. I look to Kasumi, and blink in surprise when I see that the door she's in front of has gone from having a red panel to having a green panel.

Huh.

"That was fast," I comment. I look around me, noting how odd the doorway looks in a place that for all intents and purposes is a small peninsula with nothing but trees and stuff like that. Hm... Huh, I didn't know Kahje had plants that looked like mangrove trees... Interesting...

I shake my head, looking back as the door opens. Inside, we see what looks like a service elevator.

I cringe inwardly, feeling my foot slide a little bit upon seeing this. However, I simply look back, nodding as Miranda, Jacob, and Thane step outside of the shuttle. "Remember, this is only one entrance of this facility," says Miranda. "There are others."

I nod. "You got that, Jenny?" I ask.

"Yep," she says. "I'm gonna go lie down low somewhere. You be careful down there, mates."

"You too, Jenny," I comment.

With this, the shuttle door closes, and Jenny flies off. I turn to the service elevator directly in front of us, and cross my arms.

"All right," I say. "Let's get down there and get to the bottom of this."

* * *

><p><strong>*Jenny McKansa POV*<strong>

I lean back in the pilot's seat as I drive away. The lot of them are all jumping straight into a trap, I know it.

It's a good thing Art asked me about this jammer and what it could do. I get to sit in the background a bit, but hey.

I maneuver the Kodiak into a nearby area. Good thing there's a clearing here: I thought it was odd how there's a forest conveniently located right there, but hey, the better to hide this thing with.

Hopefully those cafflers with Cerberus will leave him alone, because if they don't...

As soon as I park the shuttle on the ground, I turn the engine off. I then look to the back, looking at that area right around where Thane was standing...

"A'right, boss, you kin come out now," I say to the back of the shuttle.

I see the back wall shift a wee bit, and before long I can see one of the panels fall right out. I hear a groan as Madison then pushes herself out of there, falling to the floor. I glance to the other side of this shuttle, seeing Isaac push himself out as well.

I see Madison stand up and shake her head. "I'd say that was a bit _too _convenient," she comments.

"Yeah, I know what yeh mean, mate," I comment. "Someone musta said 'oh, let's build somethin' for the bloody tossers who'll 'ave to use this thing later."

"Yes," says Isaac as he shakes his head. "I... I never want to cram into a space that's right next to a set of thrusters ever again."

"Yeah, you and me both," says Madison as she whips something out. "Well... hopefully Miranda's tracking device will be able to transmit a signal from underneath this lab."

"You managed to get a layout of this lab, right?" asks Isaac.

I nod, opening my omni-tool and showing that map Art gave me. "Accordin' to the man 'imself, this is comin' straight from the Shadow Broker."

"Sounds about right," says Madison. She then opens her own omni-tool. "Give me a second here, and... there."

Isaac nods. "So we sit here and watch," he says.

"Yep," I say as I sit back in the pilot's seat. "We sit here, we watch, and we pray to God that nothin' too out there happens."

"We'll see what happens," says Isaac. "For now... we watch."

And with this we all huddle around my omni-tool, and watch as a moving dot appears within the map. As I look at this, I hear a loud sound of something flying overhead.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

When the elevator door opens, we move out quickly, making sure to keep low. Almost immediately, I sense that there is something almost drastically different about the air inside of the lab.

I glance over to Thane. "This is around the time when the hanar scientists would be chillin' around doing nothing, right?" I ask.

"I believe so," says Thane. "Unless Cerberus has already infiltrated the building. In that event..."

"We can expect some scientists." I nod. "The air is a bit dry in here."

"Perhaps for any volunteers who asked to be test subjects," Thane comments. "If they are at the stage of developing the cure they are at, they would need the help of many drell, and they would not risk exacerbating each person's Kepral's."

I nod. "I see..." I say. I look to Miranda. "Miranda, you have the map, right?"

The ex-Cerberus operative opens her omni-tool, and brings it up. "There we are," she says.

"Good," I say. "Now... is there some kind of security depot around here? Because that would be helpful if we could see that."

"Let me see..."

As Miranda studies the map, I suddenly hear my comm unit activate. "_Art, can ya hear_ _me?_" Oh, boy, that's Jenny.

I nod. "Yeah, I hear ya," I say. "What's going on up there?"

"_There are a bunch of Cerberus shuttles flying overhead,_" says... Madison. "_They're all headed to your location. I think they're going to start staging their assault down there. Be care-_" I start hearing static. "_The- -y tr- -o-_!"

And then, I get nothing but static from my earpiece. I shake my head. "Dammit!" I comment. "They've got communications jammers!"

"Or scramblers," says Miranda. "That is also a possibility..."

"They must really want whatever it is they're here for," says Jacob. "We can't let them have it."

I nod. "Come on," I say. "Let's find out where things are."

* * *

><p><strong>*Albert Shepard POV*<strong>

Well, we haven't left the hidey-hole since Art and his ground team left the Normandy, but... that leaves us with more time to sit here. Jack would be a little angry at the fact that Art went off to fight Cerberus, but I'm sure he has good reasons for leaving us behind.

In the meantime, I sit on the cot, looking directly at Jack. She's writing on her datapad at the table, and she seems to be paying no mind to me.

I glance at the spot where Daro'Xen used to sit before we dropped her off with the rachni. I cross my arms, looking back to Jack. "You know, it's weird how the quarian exile you once knew had a run-in with you again."

"Yeah, funny how that works," says Jack as she touches the datapad a few more times. "He gets onto the fleet, causes mayhem, and it's all made possible by some lady who doesn't know her ass from her head." She shrugs, indicating the place where Daro'Xen used to be. "I kind of miss Crazy Bitch already. It was kinda fun watching her try to justify what she did."

"Of course, she was bound to fail anyway, but what can we do?" I ask, leaning back. "I still don't really get why it's such a big deal that her suit got removed, though."

"There's some bullshit about intimacy in there," says Jack. "Not like Kul ever gave a fuck about things like that." She's quiet for a few seconds, and then she looks right at me. "It's made me think a lot. About the old days." She leans back. When she speaks, her tone isn't really as... happy as it is when she talks about these things. "I'd go out with pirates and other things like that... they'd use my body... it was good."

"But...?" I ask.

"But?" asks Jack. "When the hell did you figure that out?"

I shrug. "Maybe from the tone of your voice," I comment. "You'd be surprised what you can get when you read between the lines..."

Jack rolls her eyes. "There you go again with this shit," she says. "Don't try to be my psychoanalyst, Al. You know I hate that."

I shake my head, standing up from the cot. "And yet... you don't really seem to be as annoyed by it as much as you were the last time," I comment as I sit next to her. "Remember the first time I asked you that?"

Jack laughs. "It took every ounce of willpower not to toss you up the stairs," she says. "Didn't want to piss off the boss, you know."

"Yeah, I remember that," I reply, smiling. "You threatened to kick my ass over that."

"And then you were like 'but I'm the Commander's younger brother'." She shakes her head. "I thought you were a pussy for calling that card. But I've gotta say, you've held your shit together. I kinda like you like that." She frowns at me. "And you always put up with the kind of things I'd talk about."

I raise my eyebrows. "Put up with?" I ask. "That's not the way I'd put it."

"Really?" she asks. "Then how would you put it?"

"I kind of liked looking at the way a... so-called 'bad girl' puts things," I reply. "There's a brutal honesty to you that I find refreshing, Jack. Don't ever let that go."

"Well, shit," says Jack. "I didn't think you'd be into that kind of thing, but apparently, we-"

She is suddenly cut-off mid-sentence as a klaxon goes off. The sound is loud and jarring, and I find myself covering my ears almost immediately. I stand up suddenly, looking around the hidey hole as the klaxons continue going off.

"_Alert! Alert!_" I hear EDI... uh... shout? I didn't think an artificial intelligence could do that, but... "_I have detected a hull breach on the top deck! I have also detected an attempt to dock with this ship! They are hacking into the door!_"

"Well, shit," says Jack loudly. "Looks like Cerberus decided to throw us a welcoming party! It almost makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!"

I shake my head. "They're trying to take the Normandy!" I say. "I don't think that's anything to feel warm and fuzzy about!"

"That's good for me," says Jack. She then jumps from the table and runs on over to the cot. She pulls the pillow off, and there I see two pistols. She throws one to me, which I catch while she takes the other one. Huh... there's a thermal clip in here. "Come on, let's go kick some ass!"

I frown, looking at the gun. "You had two of these stored under your pillow?" I ask.

"Old habits die hard," says Jack. "Are you going to complain about it?"

Well...

I shake my head. "I guess not," I say. "Come on. Let's go."

With this, the two of us exit the hidey hole, raising our pistols as we begin ascending the stairs up to the rest of the engineering deck.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

The vent to my right basically explodes as I hear the first sounds of Cerberus operatives rushing in.

... Wait, didn't we go in after them?

I shake my head, raising my weapons as I see a Cerberus trooper appear to the right. It goes down quickly, as does another Cerberus trooper who suddenly appears to the left. I look back to the others.

"They're here," says Miranda. "We have to double-time it!"

I nod. "Come on!"

We run down the hallway as more Cerberus troopers appear before us. I heft my assault rifle, shooting at them as they start coming in. I can hear the rush of bullets whizzing past me in both directions, but I hold my ground as I fire away with my assault rifle. I see a trooper flash blue for a second, and then he is sent flying back. Hm, must be Thane or something.

We advance down the corridor, right as I see a kind of Cerberus Trooper I have never seen before. Hm... He looks... less like he should be in a battle, and more like he should be tinkering on a shuttle or something like that. I raise my assault rifle, looking at the strange man as he takes something off his back.

He places it on the ground...

And then I watch as it unfolds.

...

Shit, these guys can deploy turrets?

"Fuck, shit, get into cover!"

I barely manage to squeeze myself behind a conveniently placed pillar before I hear the turret open fire. A few rounds ping off of my shields, and I simply retreat further.

"Well, shit!" I hear Jacob shout. "They've started deploying the engineers!"

"Looks like it," I hear Miranda reply. I glance behind me to see that everyone has taken cover behind something. The turret doesn't seem to be aiming at them, though, and I can't see Kasumi anywhere.

Hm... Knowing her...

I peer back from behind cover and look at the turret just in time to see a burst of orange light form around it. It suddenly turns away, and then starts firing at the engineer. Huh, he apparently took several steps back when I wasn't looking. That's... interesting. Either way, the turret makes short work of him, and then a shower of sparks erupts from it before Kasumi decloaks and uses a charged punch to destroy it.

When she's done, she looks at the destroyed turret and smiles. "There," she says. "I barely blinked."

"And that's how we get an advantage out of a disadvantage," I comment as I pull out of cover. "Nice work, Kasumi." I nod, walking forward quickly. "Now let's keep going."

With this, we continue running around, gunning down more Cerberus guys. We run into another one of those turret guys somewhere down the line, but Kasumi takes care of it without any problems for us. So we continue on...

And after a while, we finally find a security depot. Kasumi had to do some hacking to get the door open, but once we were in we found exactly what we were looking for.

I nod, storing my assault rifle as we rush on in. "All right," I say. "I'll go check the security feeds. Kasumi, do you think you can find out where the data on the progress they've made on this Kepral's cure might be?"

"I'll go check into that right away," she says, opening her omni-tool and walking to a terminal.

"Jacob, stand guard," says Miranda.

"You got it," he says.

With this, Thane, Miranda, and I walk over to the console in front of some of the security feeds. Hm... Well, most of it is glancing down hallways right now. One of them even features the turret that Kasumi made such short work of. Okay... so there's all that. Now where the heck did all the people go...?

I step forward, turning to Miranda. "Let's see where these scientists are," I say.

"Would Cerberus even hold them hostage?" asks Miranda.

I shrug. "If they want to keep the scientists from going in and stopping them, I imagine," I reply.

"But even Cerberus knows that there isn't much a hanar could do to stop them," she says. "Does it really seem necessary to do that?"

I frown. "Hm... maybe you're right..." I shake my head. "Well, we'll find out where they are..."

Thane touches something on the panel in front of us, and then the scene changes.

"...soon enough."

Shit... That doesn't look good.

I see a bunch of Cerberus troopers enter a room with a few hanar scientists in there. The hanar seem taken aback, and I watch as the Cerberus guys raise their guns at them.

"Yes, they're being held hostage," says Miranda. "Damn it, this is all kinds of unusual for Cerberus, and yet we have to protect them..." She looks up.

"Well, whether or not Cerberus is actually after the cure, one thing's for certain by now," I comment. "They definitely wanted us to come here. Even then, though, the cure takes priority, because if they actually are after the cure..."_  
><em>

"We'll just have to stay on our toes and hope for the best," says Miranda. She turns to Kasumi. "Any progress?"

"Just a little bit longer, and... done!" The thief stands up, opening her omni-tool. "Okay, it looks like the data is on the opposite side of the facility. But... the room with the hanar scientists has the back-up of that data, and it doesn't look like anybody's even walked into that room yet."

"I see..." says Miranda. "They must have been checking the back-up."

I nod. "Well, we kill two birds with one stone," I comment. "We run in, we save the hostages, and we make sure that at least one form of their progress remains intact."

"It is better than starting from scratch," Thane observes. "Perhaps..."

"Yeah," I comment. "Come on, let's go. We make sure the back-up is safe first, and then we can go after the actual form of the data. Kasumi, you can tell us where it is, right?"

"Yeah," she says. "Actually, let me upload the information to your omni-tool."

Her hand sweeps across her omni-tool, and then a second later, I hear a beep. I open my omni-tool, and open it to see that she's sent me something with the location of where the actual data is.

"Nifty," I comment, shaking my head. "You've gotta love the future.

"That you do," says Kasumi. "Come on."

With this, I nod to Jacob, and the five of us exit the room.

* * *

><p><strong>*Albert Shepard POV*<strong>

When the elevator door _finally _opens, we see Kal'Reegar standing there. He has his assault rifle ready, and he looks primed for action.

"Well, here we are," says Kal'Reegar. "Our guys leave the ship for a few minutes, and _this _happens."

"Yeah," I say. "We tried raising Garrus on the comms, but he's not responding."

"Looks like they brought some communications jammers with them, then," says Kal. "Or some communication scramblers. Either way, I think we can tell how bad we've got it. EDI's been trying to hail Art, but she's not having any luck."

"Figures," says Jack as we step into the elevator. "I knew we couldn't trust those Cerberus assholes."

I shrug, looking down at my pistol and checking it briefly. "I think we all found that out when we were on Omega," I comment. "So that isn't exactly news."

"Sure." Jack stands there quietly for a few seconds before shrugging. "Hey, where the fuck is Grunt? You'd think he'd be itching for a fight like this."

"I'm not sure," I admit. "We should've seen him there..."

"We should have, but somehow we didn't," says Kal as the elevator comes to a stop. "Maybe he's on another deck or something. I don't know." He shrugs."Come on. We've got Cerberus to deal with."

With this, the elevator door opens, and immediately we find ourselves facing down a unit of the kind that we encountered on Rannoch. I raise my pistol quickly, looking at the strange lady as she turns and begins rushing towards me. Jack, of course, is quick to action, and she glows blue before charging at the Cerberus unit. Phantoms, I think EDI called them during debriefing. I don't know. Jack's punch looks pretty severe, but it's enough to incapacitate the phantom as she reels back. I raise my pistol, firing at the phantom, and before long, she falls.

I hear Kal's assault rifle go off behind me, and then I turn to see that he's backpedaling so he can avoid being slashed by a phantom that is closing in on him. I turn around quickly, raising my pistol and slamming it on the phantom's face. She reels back, a little bewildered before I see Jack zoom in front of me and deal with her with a single biotic warp.

I nod, seeing no other phantoms in front of us, but hearing quite a commotion coming from the mess hall. With this, Kal, Jack, and I run right up to the mess hall.

The scene that greets us is extremely strange. Some of the windows in the med bay have been shot out... Wait, aren't those windows supposed to be reinforced so mass accelerator rounds can't destroy them? I shake my head, turning my attention back to where James Vega and Carhon Erash are hiding out behind the kitchen counter. I notice a hole in the ceiling just in front of where the gunnery bay is, and it looks like it was created by some kind of explosion. The Cerberus agents are all but pouring in from this hole in the roof, and I briefly glance to the med bay to see Sturge and Dr. Chakwas cowering behind the med-bay. I can faintly make out that Tali is cowering there as well, though I can see that she's sitting close to Dr. Chakwas. I see Liselle standing up and using a biotic warp on the Cerberus agents that are pouring in, with Wrex pumping his shotgun.

I nod, taking cover behind one of the mess tables. Kal and Jack follow suit, and I look to James. "Are you guys all right?" I shout.

"We're doin' just fine," says Carhon.

"They keep comin' in through the same hole," James shouts. "It's makin' life easier for us."

"They're coming in really fast, though," says Liselle. "Damn motherfuckers blew a hole in the ceiling with some kind of grenades. I don't know what they were, but if they were able to punch through that kind of floor... I seriously didn't think anything could blow a hole that size into the deck."

I glance again at the hole in the ceiling right as a trooper comes through. As Wrex and James make short work of him, I nod. "Let's just be thankful they haven't created a hull breach," I shout. "Is anyone watching the AI core?"

"No," says Wrex. "Not like we need to, right?"

Jack shakes her head. "Yeah, 'cause there isn't a ladder that goes to the hidey hole in there at all," she shouts. She raises her head above cover, and finds herself sitting back down again as a bullet whizzes by her.

I nod. " Then we need someone in there, stat!" I shout. "James, Liselle, do you two think you can guard that place?"

"What?" asks Liselle? "But this is great! I'm getting my first taste of the fight, and now you want me-!"

"Liselle, this is _not _an issue of having fun on the battlefield," I shout. "This is an issue of can you do it or not." I turn my attention back to the marine just as he pops behind cover. "Lieutenant Vega, can you do that?"

"Yes, sir!" shouts James.

Kal frowns. "Doesn't he outrank you?" asks the quarian.

"I do, technically," says James loudly. I watch as he rises out of cover and prepares a grenade. He tosses it under the hole, and right as a Cerberus trooper jumps through it, the grenade detonates. Thankfully, the Normandy's bulkhead is made of good material, so it doesn't do much damage to the bulkhead. "I could order him to clean my shoes if I really wanted to. But that's not happening here."

"Hey, he _is _Shepard's brother," Jack points out.

I nod. "Thank you, Jack," I say. I hear the sounds of guns being fired behind me, and I come out of cover to see that the others are already dispatching another Cerberus trooper that has fallen into the room.

"All right, then here's what we're going to do," I say. "James, you're going to get into the AI core, and then Kal is going to take your place. Jack, you're with Kal. I'm going to run over to the med bay and take a place there!"

"Yeah, yeah," says Jack as she glows blue and tosses a warp at a Cerberus soldier that came in mid-fall. "Just do it already."

"Right." I come out from cover, seeing another Cerberus trooper come down. I fire my pistol at him twice before some assault rifle fire from James takes care of him. We see one of those women with the swords come down again, and I watch as Wrex vaults out of cover.

"You take care of that!" shouts the krogan. "I'll make these troopers see what a _real _krogan can do!"

I nod right as Wrex charges at the woman. Right as he swings his shotgun and sends her flying against the bulkhead, I turn to Jack.

"Right, you heard him!" I shout. "Move!"

The next few seconds are a bit of a blur. I run over to the med bay, opening the door and rushing in. Jack vaults over the table, with Kal following behind, James jumps over the counter, and rushes at the medical bay. I watch him fire some shots at another form of Cerberus trooper that I don't recognize before he vaults over the med-bay wall. I barely hear Sturge yell something at James before the marine is rushing to the AI Core. He slams his hand on the door panel and enters.

I then take Wrex's former spot there, looking over to Liselle as the krogan turns back to us. I look back out, shooting at a Cerberus trooper that falls through that hole in the ceiling before turning my attention back to Jack and Kal, who have settled in next to Carhon.

"I guess we hold this position?" asks Liselle.

"We're going to have to, with non-combatants all around," I reply. I glance down at Sturge, hiding behind cover and quickly reloading while looking at him. When I speak, my voice is softer. "How are you guys holding up?"

I notice then that Sturge has some form of primitive bandage wrapped around his arm. "Damn bastards grazed me with one of those bullet things you use," he says. "I ran here at the next opportunity I could find."

"Apart from that, we're all okay," says Dr. Chakwas. She glances down at Tali in concern, and that's when I notice that the quarian is shaking. I shake my head as Dr. Chakwas returns to what looks like attempting to calm Tali down before I turn and fire at another Cerberus trooper.

All right... I think... "Yes, we hold this position," I say. "Concentrate your firepower on that hole!"

"This is more like it!" shouts Wrex as he pumps his shotgun, blowing away another Cerberus trooper that was just landing on the floor. "Come on! We can keep this up all day, Cerberus!"

I shake my head. "Or until our ammo runs out," I observe, shaking my head.

I hear a clink, and then look at the bed next to me as Sturge shrugs and gives a crooked smile.

"Always be prepared, like they say," he says. "They were under Carolyn's desk the whole time."

I nod. "Good," I say. I raise my pistol, firing a few more rounds at another trooper. "Then we hold this position, and stay put!"

With this, I duck back behind cover, seeing Liselle glow blue and send a blue disc flying at one of the enemies there.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

We continue moving around the hall, dispatching the many Cerberus troops that come at us. We start seeing those random ladies with the swords again, but since they only come at us one at a time, they're easily dispatched, and I know better than to get close to one of those bitches. Either way, we keep continuing to where the hanar scientists are as quickly as we can.

We move rather quickly, however, and before I know it, we're all at the door. I turn to look at Kasumi as she dispatches one final turret, allowing everyone else to pass. I look over to Thane, and see that he seems to be doing all right for someone who is probably in the wosr possible environment for this stuff. I simply shake my head, looking to the group as we all regroup at the door.

I nod. "Okay," I whisper. "Beyond this door are a bunch of hanar scientists, and possibly a few Cerberus troopers. How do you guys want to handle this?"

Miranda looks at the door. "We... did get a tally of what troopers were in there, right?" she asks.

"I counted one of those ladies, two troopers, and one of those guys that places those turrets down," Kasumi says. "I think we've got this."

I nod, looking to the others. "I think so too," I say. "Miranda, Jacob, take care of the two troopers with your biotics. Thane, I trust you can handle the sword lady. Kasumi, you and I will take the other guy down."

I see the others nod, with Miranda and Jacob preparing positions by the door. I hold out my pistol, and nod to them.

"Go!"

Miranda hits the door panel, and the door opens. I see Miranda and Jacob glow for all of two seconds before I turn my attention. I hear the Cerberus troops start in surprise right before I raise my pistol and fire two shots at the guy with the engineer get-up. The rounds are deflected off of his shields, but then I see them sputter and die pretty quickly, no doubt thanks to Kasumi. As soon as I see this, my third shot hits true, and he goes down rather quickly. I barely get a glance at what the others are doing before I notice that one of the troopers is already bleeding out, Jacob is finishing the other trooper off, and Thane has already used the lady's sword against her.

In another two seconds, it's all over, and I find my gaze drifting towards the hanar scientists.

The scientists stand there, looking a bit bewildered. Uh... I think, anyway. Uh... God damn it, why did the hanar have to be so damn difficult to read? It's just like... seriously? I don't know. All I know is that there are a group of five of them sitting there, and they all look pretty... well... I don't know how they're looking at all this.

"This one... this one is..." One of the scientists nervously says.

"Are you...?" asks another of the scientists.

I nod, holstering my pistol. "Don't worry too much," I comment. "We're here to help you guys out." I nod, looking over to them. "Are you guys all right? Are any of you hurt?"

"We are... safe..." says one of the hanar as he lights up. "This one cannot believe that aid has come."

"And with a drell, no less..." says another of the hanar scientists. "We are grateful."

I nod, looking at Thane. "We had heard about a possible Cerberus attack on this facility," he says. "We wished to stop them."

"Then... then this is good..." says another hanar scientist.

Miranda nods, sheathing her pistol. "What happened?" she asks.

"This one does not know," says the fourth hanar scientist. "It happened so suddenly..." I notice that he sounds a bit shaken up. "We... Not all of us made it. This one..."

I nod. "It's all right," I say, looking at the scientist in question. "Just tell us what happened?"

"The attack began," says a fifth scientist. "This one and the others went to this room to ensure the back-up copy was safe. There was a sixth one..." He gestures to the side with a tentacle, and I glance off to the side to see...

Whoah, so _that's_ what a dead hanar looks like. Okay... I think I could've lived a perfectly normal life _without _seeing that. I shake my head, looking back at the hanar scientists.

"And then they held you hostage," says Jacob. "Is the back-up safe?"

"This one is certain of that," says one of the hanar. "These soldiers did not tamper with anything in this room."

I hear a click from the side, and I see that Kasumi's omni-tool is open. "Yeah, that sounds about right," says Kasumi. "These consoles haven't even been touched."

I nod, looking at the scientists. "So the back-up is safe, then," I comment. "Well, at least there's that." I cross my arms. "Now... for the _actual _data..."

I look directly at Miranda. She turns to me, and I can see that she can kind of already think what I'm about to say. "Do you think you can stay here and defend the scientists?" I ask.

"Yes," says Miranda. "The Cerberus force has not been particularly heavy, so I believe we can handle it..."

I look up. "It's a shame we can't reach Jenny," I comment. "Long-range communications would be nice."

"Cerberus is cutting off communications?" asks the fourth hanar scientist.

"Yeah," says Jacob. "We haven't been able to hail our shuttle since we got here." He looks at the hanar scientists. "You've been having the same issues..."

"Yes," says the third hanar scientist. "There were a group of two scientists that went to ensure the safety of the actual data. We cannot speak to them thanks to the jammed communications. This one hailed them numerous times, to no avail."

"We'll check to make sure about that, then," I say, looking to Thane. "Come on, Thane. Miranda, Jacob, Kasumi, stay here."

"Hey, won't you need someone with hacking expertise?" asks Kasumi.

I shake my head. "The goal is to make sure nobody's touched it, not to steal it," I reply. "And Thane can read stuff that the hanar write. Right?"

The drell nods. "That is correct," he says.

"Then there we go." I turn to the others. "Hold this spot. I don't think we can afford to wait much longer with checking on the cure."

I turn to Thane. "You ready, Thane?"

"Yes," he says.

I look back to the door, drawing my pistol again as I walk towards it. "Then let's get this show on the road," I say.

With this, I hit the door panel and walk out of there. Thane follows me quickly, and I glance one last time at Miranda, Jacob, and Kasumi before the door closes behind them. I turn back to Thane, who has drawn his submachine gun. We nod to each other, and I quickly open my omni-tool to double-check the location of the info on the cure.

* * *

><p><strong>*Jenny McKansa POV*<strong>

"Bloody hell, I can't raise the ship either!"

"Really? So we're essentially cut off from all contact."

"Ya got that right, mate. It's a big bloody load of shite, if ya ask me."

"Now we know that something is _definitely _wrong. And now there's not a goddamn thing we can-"

"Isaac, calm down!"

Madison says this as my hands stop flitting over the screens. Damn it, we can't get Art or the Normandy. Art, we can explain with a communications jammer or scrambler, but the Normandy... Unless they're jamming communications from space, there's no way communications could be blocked. I don't think...

I slam my hand on the panels, turning back to Isaac and Madison. Isaac looks like he's all kinds of pissed off, with Madison holding her hands in front of her defensively. I shake my head, standing up and taking the tracker Miranda gave me and holding it up. I also open up my omni-tool, showing the map of the facility.

I look to the map to see that the white dot that Miranda said would be Art is still moving. "We still got this," I comment.

Madison and Isaac lean forward. "True," says Isaac. "But then... Are we sure this tracker was a good idea?"

Madison shakes her head. "I don't know," she says. "But Art was insistent about it. We have to go along with it anyway."

"But how do we know that-?"

We suddenly hear a click outside of the shuttle. I jump up, but before I can do anything, the shuttle door opens of its own accord.

"Oh me god!" I shout, standing up as Madison and Isaac both pick up their guns. I quickly stand behind them, looking at our two intruders. I breathe in and out rather heavily, and look at...

Wait...

"When did Cerberus start hirin' asari?" I ask, pointing at the asari who has her weapon pointed at us. She's lookin' an awful lot like...

"Wait..." says Madison. "That's not..."

I then look to the side, and...

...

Hey, it's that queer bit o' talent!

"Staff Commander?" I ask, looking behind the asari to see Kaidan looking at us.

"Jenny?" The Staff Commander looks inside, looking at us. "Jenny, is that you?"

I step forward, shoving past Isaac as I look at Kaidan. "Yeah, it's me," he says. "What the bloody hell are you doin' 'ere?"

"I'm chasing a lead," says Kaidan. "I didn't think I'd see a familiar face here."

I shake my head. "Make that two of us," I comment. "What're you lookin' 'ere for? The fight's over-"

"-there, we know," says the asari. "But there's a powerful signal coming from here. It's powerful enough that it's cutting through in a place where my commandos say there's some kind of communications problem."

I nod. "Yeah, communications're jammed," I comment. "Or scrambled."

"I think it's closer to 'scrambled' than 'jammed'," says Kaidan. "We've been able to get a line open, but the only thing we can hear is gibberish, so it must be a scrambler."

"Jenny, are you sure you should be-"

"Trust me, Isaac, I know Kaidan," I reply before Isaac can finish his sentence. "We can trust 'im. The question is whether 'e trusts us."

"I don't know the answer to that yet," says Kaidan. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We're makin' sure this Kepral's cure doesn't get destroyed," I reply. "And I'm guessin' since you're with that Lady Muck that you're here on Council business."

"Doing the same thing you say you're doing," says the asari.

"Then... hold on a second." Madison says, lowering her firearm slightly. "I don't think we should be arguing if our goals are the same."

"And how do I know they are?" asks the Spectre. "Your friends tried to kill me on Sur'Kesh!"

"We 'ave a drell on our ship," says Jenny. "And I think ya saw 'im, too."

"I... did..." says the Spectre, looking at the ground. "But how do we know you're not trying to screw him over?"

"Well, we wouldn't be sitting here in the first place if we were, would we?" asks Madison. "Trust me, we're on your side."

That Spectre... Alanya, I think? She turns her head to look at Kaidan.

"I don't think we can risk that much," says Kaidan. "You have your asari commando units on standby, yes?"

"Yes," says the asari. She holsters her weapon, though I can see that she is very displeased with this. "Fine. I can play nice. For now." She crosses her arms. "But the _minute _I suspect foul play on your end, all three of you are dead, got it?"

I shrug. "Works for me," I say as Kaidan steps onto the shuttle. "I'm just glad ya didn't start shootin' at us. It'd be a good kick in the bollocks if ya tried ta kill us now."

"Yes," says Alanya.

Isaac nods as the asari follows Kaidan's footsteps. "You said you could trace our signal through the comm jamm... scrambling," he says.

"The comm systems were being scrambled, most likely," says Alanya. "Such a thing doesn't affect the kind of signal we were seeing."

"We noticed another signal within the base," says Kaidan. "It was almost as powerful as the signal that led us here."

Madison blinks, looking at the two newcomers. "So... you figured there was some link?"

"Yes," says Alanya. "What the hell were you guys planning? And how are those two energy signatures linked?"

I look at the tracker. "Uh... well... Art was goin' in sayin' 'look, this is a trap'." I shake my head. "I dunno about that, but everythin' about this whole thing makes it a jam on your egg that this ain't a trap. So... 'e asked us to put a tracker on 'im."

Alanya and Kaidan lean forward. "He... he placed a tracker on himself?"

"He thinks Cerberus might be after more than just the cure," says Madison. "He thinks they may be after him somehow."

"They may be after him?" asks Alanya. "That doesn't make any damn sense! Nothing about this does!"

"And yet here it is," Madison replies. "We were gonna update him constantly, but the comms stopped working." She shakes her head. "But the signal is still there from..." She suddenly pauses, looking at Kaidan and Alanya.

"And you... found us here by tracing where the signal was going..." she adds.

...

Wait...

"I knew it," says Isaac, looking at the tracker. "This was a bad idea..."

"I'd say so, considering that Art basically lit himself on fire," says Kaidan. "And now, Cerberus is going to have no trouble following him."

Yep, I knew it!

I rush back to the cockpit, my hands flying across the panels. "How could we 'ave let 'im be such a bloody eejit?" I shout. "C'mon, we need 'elp with 'e comms! Get 'em back on!"

"I have a commando unit trying to unscramble communications," says Alanya. "I can also try to unscramble the communications from here."

"Get on it," says Madison. With a nod, Alanya gets right to this. "_Shit_, I knew this was going to end badly..."

"Then why didn't you stop him?" asks Isaac.

"He's Art." Wha...? I turn back to Kaidan, who crosses his arms. "He will always try to do things his own way. And when they don't work..." He shakes his head. "I don't think you would've been able to stop him this time, even if you tried. He's got that... determination on him."

"And that's about ta ruin all we've done 'ere!" I reply. I run back to the cockpit, glancing outside and seeing nothing. "Oh, this ain't gonna end well!"

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

Thane and I navigate our way through the halls as quickly as we can. We don't encounter as much Cerberus resistance as I was expecting. On the one hand, I know I should be relieved because the assault isn't that heavy. But on the other hand, I can't help but feel that there's something _horribly _wrong with this whole set-up like Miranda said.

Maybe... maybe she's right. Maybe the tracker wasn't such a good idea.

Well, whatever the case, I'm stuck with it now.

I shake my head, realizing this as Thane takes out another one of those women with the swords. We're so close... just another turn of the hallway...

I move around the hallway, and see the door to the room we're aiming for sitting there, unlocked and waiting for us.

I turn back to Thane as he rounds the hallway after me, and I nod to him. "You're not feeling... odd about this, are you?" I ask.

"Expect anything," he says to me. "I believe it is a trap just as much as you do."

I nod. "Yeah, this has been going a bit too well," I say. "Well... there's nothing we can do about it. Let's hope we can get ourselves out of this trap soon enough."

The two of us approach the door, keeping our weapons raised. The drell looks at me, and nods quickly. My fist reaches out, hitting the door panel quickly as we both step into the room. I raise my pistol, aiming inside of the room. It looks like some kind of lab with terminals dotting the wall. I see a table with surgical implements standing off to the side.

The sole occupant of the room looks casually at my gun. My body freezes for a second as I look at him, and I find myself staring at him for some time.

It takes a few seconds for it to register that this man is a human, and that he's got a black coat not unlike Thane's jacket. He's also wearing some kind of black jumpsuit that has a Cerberus logo emblazoned on the chest area. He looks Chinese, though I'm not sure that he's totally Chinese. Either way, he stands there, and he looks at us with a leering glance.

...

Shit, this isn't going to be easy, is it?

"So, you're here," says the stranger.

I raise my pistol. "You say that like you were expecting us," I reply.

"You could say that," says the other person. "But that's not the important part. The important part is you're here."

So this _was _a trap... "You do realize we can just kick your ass and walk out of here and that's all it'll take to get out of this, right?" I ask.

"I do realize that," says the stranger. "But the Illusive Man himself sent the best. And I don't believe you can handle the best."

With this, he draws a sword, glaring at Thane. I shake my head, looking at him in derision. "Really?" I ask. "A sword? What is this, the Crusades?"

This stranger only flashes me a smirk. "Did nobody tell you that you should fear the wielder, not the sword?"

And it's only then that he springs to action.

I'm completely unprepared for the punch that hits me in the gut. I... holy shit, how the fuck did he get here so fast?

I don't get to process the first question that comes to mind before I'm suddenly tossed to the side. The pistol flies right out of my hand, and then I feel myself crash right into one of the medical tables. I can barely process a clattering of medical materials above me as I suddenly find myself winded.

Holy shit, how the fuck did he do that at such a speed? That's not natural, and yet...

I look up at this mysterious newcomer as he looks at Thane. No... there are no implants there. So how the hell...?

The stranger then rushes at Thane, but Thane seems prepared for it. The stranger thrusts his sword at the drell, but Thane blocks the stabbing motion with his pistol. Thane throws a punch at the stranger, which he seems to catch pretty quickly. However, Thane is pretty fast, and so he smacks this new guy across the face with his pistol. The strange person takes a step back, but rather than stumbling back like I suspect, he turns around and slashes the sword. This effectively cuts Thane off as the motion knocks Thane's shooting arm away. I hear the sound of a mass accelerator round being fired, but I'm still too winded to really react.

I see Thane get pulled to the side again, and I watch as the drell flies to the wall clear across the room. Of course, Thane manages to recover from this rather quickly, and he lands on his feet without looking the slightest bit winded. Thane then takes a shot at this mysterious person, who's rushing towards Thane while preparing a slash. The slash is created, and I watch in dismay as Thane's pistol gets sliced in half.

...

Wait, things like that are actually possible? Whoah... Okay, I think I greatly underestimated this guy.

Thane, however, only shows his shock for a second before throwing the useless pistol at his opponent's face. He then follows this up with a punch that this strange person manages to block.

The fight continues with Thane and this mysterious newcomer exchanging fisticuffs. They move almost like water, their fighting is so intense. This guy slashes at Thane with a sword, but Thane not only manages to flip under it, but manages to make it an opportunity to counter-attack once he's back on his feet. Thane goes in with a punch, but this guy blocks it, and sometimes even gets to toss Thane around. It's strange, and I can see why Thane was regarded as one of the best assassins ever.

I slowly stand up, feeling my windedness go away. I look up, grabbing my assault rifle slowly. Damn it... I see Thane and this new person get really close to each other... Fuck, I've gotta be careful. If I mis-aim, I could accidentally get Thane... Fuck...

I raise my assault rifle slowly, looking directly at Thane's aggressor. I aim slowly, watching the fight unfold... Fuck... Aim this properly... C'mon, Thane, get his back to me so I don't accidentally hit you... Come on... Yes, that's it...

Fuck... Okay, almost-

Before I can see this stranger's back, he manages to block a punch from Thane with a kick. He then turns around and faces me, his hand splayed out and revealing some kind of electronic thingamabob.

It fires at me, and then I find myself getting blown back. I feel a bit winded, and then I look to my left shoulder and...

Holy shit... He actually drew blood!

I look back to this other guy, quickly standing up. I aim my assault rifle again, but by then, the stranger has flipped over Thane so that Thane's back is now to me. I then watch as Thane and this new person re-engage the fisticuffs again. Damn it... Can't fire now, or I could get Thane by accident. And I can't risk that.

So I'm left to watch helplessly when the stranger manages to punch Thane in the lungs. I can faintly hear something crack, but that's immediately drowned out by the drell's violent coughing. I watch helplessly as Thane stumbles back, unable to control his coughing, and then I watch in shock as Thane falls over...

Fuck! I've got an opportunity!

I raise my assault rifle and squeeze the trigger. But I'm only able to fire two rounds before I see that this strange man is already a step ahead of me. He's vaulted over a medical table and dodged my assault rifle, and I can see that the second round is deflected by shields. And before I know it, this strange man is standing right in front of me.

He quickly pushes my assault rifle out of the way.

Holy- how the fuck did he get here so fast? And how-?

I don't get a chance to think too hard about it, because then he raises his sword, and the next thing I know the hilt of the sword strikes me on the temple, and it hurts like a motherfucker.

Everything becomes blurry after that. I feel myself fall to the floor, letting go of my assault rifle. All sounds become dampened, but I can faintly make out this stranger saying something about how drell are filthy. I watch as the legs of our attacker walk to where Thane is seated.

I don't get to see what happens then, for I promptly black out, my head falling against the floor.

* * *

><p>The first thing I'm aware of when I wake up is that there are two people holding me by the shoulders. I feel them prop me up against something, and I let out a soft groan... Fuck, my head... what the fuck is up with my head...?<p>

I then briefly remember bits and pieces... the Kepral's cure... Thane... that strange Chinese dude... the cure!

Despite my sudden shock, I find that my eyelids are opening rather sluggishly. I open them, and see everything is a blur. I'm... I'm somewhere I don't recognize, but I can see three or four Cerberus troopers and that strange guy all around me.

"Hm, so he's woken up," I can faintly make out I can't tell who the speaker is, but... "He's more resilient than we give him credit for..."

Shit, it's the Chinese guy! Damn it...

I open my eyes slowly, seeing the world come into focus. It's still swimming slightly, but I have enough awareness that when the world does come into focus I can see this strange man kneel in front of me.

"I didn't think you'd be up now," he says. "But... well, here we are."

"Wh... who the hell are you?" I ask. It comes out a lot less angry than I intend just because I'm this out of it right now.

"Kai Leng," he says. "Though you don't need to know that."

"Then why the hell did you tell me?" I ask, feeling the rest of my senses come back into focus.

"Because you'll be hearing that name a _lot _in the coming days," he says. He then smirks. "I have to say, you were a splendid target, doing all the work for us. After we figured out that the strange signal we were getting was from a tracker, we found that we could coordinate our trap much more efficiently. So we've got you to thank for that."

...

Fuck... Miranda was right after all...

I...

Damn it, it doesn't matter!

"I only did that because I figured the Illusive Man would want me," I say. "So don't you go telling me I helped you, you son of a bitch!"

Kai Leng's smirk blooms into a full-on smile, and I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. "He counted on it," he says. "It could have happened without your help, but he knew you would find some way to make it easier for us." His smile falls, and there is a more serious expression. "I wouldn't count on that tracking device, by the way. Comm systems are still being scrambled, and your tracker has been given to one of my troopers. When we make the final push, it shouldn't be too hard to overwhelm Miranda and her friends." He smirks. "You have aided us more than you could have imagined."

I... this son of a-

I move to punch him, but I suddenly find I can barely move my arms from behind me. W... what...?

I wriggle in place, suddenly noticing that there are some kind of restraints on my wrists. I... Fuck!

"What the fuck were you planning?" I shout.

"Simple," says Kai Leng. "We were going to delete the Kepral's cure."

"You have nothing to gain from it!" I shout.

"Maybe not," he says as he crosses his arms. "But with your crew present..." He pauses, and... no. Oh, no no no no no... "I wouldn't trust the Council to allow Shepard to run free when it comes out that you and your friends were directly responsible for deleting all copies of the hanar's attempts to cure Kepral's syndrome with a mandate from the Illusive Man himself."

"So... you were trying to _frame_ us," I reply.

"We _are _framing you," he says. "You coming here and allowing us to capture you has pretty much solidified that."

"I still have a ship in orbit!" I reply angrily, looking at Kai Leng.

"And I believe they may be... _occupied_ at the moment."

...

No... Oh, no he...

"You... you sent a squad there, didn't you?" I ask.

"I would say it was an entire army," says Kai Leng. "They may think they have the upper hand, but they will eventually be overrun."

"You son of a bitch!" I shout, wriggling against my restraints. "You... you son of a bitch!"

"I wouldn't yell too loudly," says Kay Leng. "Besides, I wasn't the one who led them into a trap." Kai Leng's expression furrows. "And I wasn't the one who disgraced humanity by bedding that suit rat on the Normandy."

That suit rat...?

...

Oh, no.

Oh _hell _no!

"You did _not _just say that about Tali," I say angrily.

"I would not have if you had decided to have better standards," he says.

I roll my eyes. "Great, I'm getting love advice from a narrow-minded, ignorant _racist_," I comment. "On a scale of one to ten, how seriously do you think I'm going to take that advice? Because you realize that you're what's disgracing humanity, right?"

Kai Leng leans closer. "It would do you well to realize that _I_, the one who's supposedly 'disgracing humanity', is the one who managed to capture you," he says. "I would have killed you earlier myself just for that."

"Then why the fuck haven't you?" I ask.

With this, Kai Leng stands, and walks away from me. He then turns to me, and pulls someth...

...

No! No no no no no!

Not... No, he's got Orange!

"W-when the fuck did you get that?" I shout. "How the fuck do you-"

"-know what it does?" asks Kai Leng. He then turns to face me, holding the orange paperweight in his hands. "You're more useful to the Illusive Man alive than you are dead. You know things about something called... the _Fade_, as I seem to think you called it." He walks right back to me, and then holds Orange's paperweight right in my face. "He wants to know _everything _about the Fade. And he will _not _be denied." He then places the object back in his pocket. "Our orders were also to capture you, in addition to framing you for the deletion of this Kepral's cure. I believe the Illusive Man will have _plenty _of wonderful conversations with you in the coming days."

I... That... TIM...

"He... he _lied _to me..." I say as I grit my teeth. "That... that son of a bitch-"

"-will be the one who you will be given directly to when we get off this filthy planet," Kai Leng says. "The Illusive Man's goals will be fulfilled. And you have no room to bargain." He then crosses his arms. "Especially since your friend from the Fade likes to keep her lips tight when we ask her. You will be a much... _better_ target."

He then gestures to the Cerberus troopers that are standing around. "Load him onto the shuttle," says Kai Leng. "I have some final orders to give."

With this, I see two Cerberus troopers approach me, and I look right at Kai Leng. Shit... The Illusive Man... that...

"That _motherfucker!_" I scream after Kai Leng. "That lying, scheming motherfucker! I'm going to _kill _that son of a bitch, you hear me? I'm going to fucking _kill _that son of a-"

"Shut up!"

One of the troopers smacks me hard across the face, and then I'm dazed out of it.

And as they haul me to my feet and drag me to the shuttle... I... Fuck... No, this whole thing failed... and Thane... fuck, what the hell happened to him...? I... And everyone else... Miranda... Garrus...

Tali...

I find myself staring at the ground as they haul me off to their shuttle, and I suddenly realize how fucked we all are.


	24. Chapter 23

_A/N: Okay. And now, Art is in the middle of a massive snafu that has gone down, because he has done something that is extraordinarily stupid. And now, he's gonna have to pay the price for it._

_How, exactly? Well... Art'll have to rely on others to get him out of this situation. So you'll see what happens and how they get out of that._

_Here's the next chapter, guys, and enjoy!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 23: Sibelius: Lemminkainen Suite: Part Two<p>

***Albert Shepard POV***

I'm just ducking down from firing at another trooper when an explosion goes off to my right. I quickly reload my pistol and come out of cover, aiming past them to see that a hole in the hull has opened right where Miranda's office would be.

"What the hell?" I ask.

"Must be that experimental grenades again," says Sturge from where he's huddled against cover.

I glance over to the hole that Kal and Carhon are firing at before looking back to see one of those sword ladies coming out. "The ones that punched through the hole of the CIC deck," I say. I fire my pistol twice, but thankfully Jack has already tossed a warp at her. Kal finishes her off as I turn to a trooper that is coming out of the other hole. I shoot my pistol at this trooper, watching as Wrex blasts past my field of sight. As soon as I fire my gun a few more times, I hear a loud yell, and the sound of someone being whacked with a shotgun.

"I thought there was only one of those things!" says Liselle loudly.

I turn to the other hole as Wrex shoots one of the other sword ladies with his shotgun. "Apparently not," I reply as I take aim at another trooper as it falls through the hole.

"Just how many more of these guys are there going to be?" asks Dr. Chakwas.

"I have no idea," I comment as I see a guy get pulled into my line of sight. Liselle's doing, probably. "But it is a bit weird how they seem to have an unlimited supply of soldiers..."

I shake my head. I then shoot my pistol at another trooper before looking at Dr. Chakwas. "Does EDI have a terminal in here? I'm not in here much, so..."

"I believe so," says Dr. Chakwas, pointing at one of the berths. "EDI, can you hear us?"

I see EDI's blue avatar come up. "_Yes,_" the intelligence replies.

All right, that will help us a lot. "EDI, can you tell us anything about the numbers we're facing here?" I ask.

"_I cannot provide an exact number,_" says the artificial intelligence a short distance away. "_Communications have been incessantly scrambled, but from the pieces I have been able to unscramble it seems we should expect a large force._"

I frown, shaking my head as I duck back behind cover. "And they'll keep coming until we're down..." I shake my head. "How are the people on the other decks?"

"_The CIC deck is holding fast,_" says EDI over the sounds of gunfire. "_There have been three casualties among the crew, but for the most part the upper deck is handling itself rather well._"

I nod. "Good," I say. "And where is Grunt?"

"_He is on the CIC deck,_" says EDI. "_He was speaking with Anahit when the attack started._"_  
><em>

I nod. "I see," I comment, looking at the ceiling. I hear the sound of Jack's biotics in action, and I hear a random person yell in pain immediately afterward. "So everyone is fine so far..."

"_Yes,_" says EDI._  
><em>

I nod, looking up. "And how the hell are we still sitting here?" I ask.

"Yeah, you'd think we would've tried to fly away by now," comments Sturge.

"_We have been effectively pinned down by Cerberus forces, who somehow managed to dock with the Normandy without our knowledge,_" says EDI. "_If we were to attempt to free ourselves now, it would result in severe damage to the ship._"

"So we hold them off, then," I say, standing up and watching as a form of trooper I don't recognize drops in. "Got it." I look to Kal and Carhon on the other side. "How are you guys holding up?"

"We're fine!" I shoot at the trooper as soon as I hear this, and then turn around to see that a sword lady has come a little too close to Carhon. Before I can comment, however, I see a suited, three-fingered hand dart out and pull the lady right over the counter. A few short bursts of assault rifle fire later, and Carhon's attention is already turned back to the hole.

I nod. "Okay," I say. "We need to continue holding this spot." I turn to Jack. "Keep it up!"

The biotic smirks, glowing blue as she tosses a warp into the crowd. "Oh, I'm just gettin' warmed up here!"

* * *

><p><strong>*Jenny McKansa POV*<strong>

"Got it!"

I hear Alanya exclaim this as we all look to the asari. "You've got something?" asks Madison.

"Yeah," she says. "I've managed to unscramble communications from here at least. I can't promise you I can contact your team, but I should be able to contact the asari commando units." She nods, looking at her open omni-tool. "And actually... with a bit of tweaking..." She manipulates some more displays on her omni-tool, and I hear some beeping as we watch her. "There. We can now listen in on Cerberus comm chatter."

Madison looks to the asari Spectre. "You can do that?" she asks.

"It's experimental Spectre tech," Kaidan explains. "Well, maybe it's not so experimental for Spectres only, since it was co-developed with Alliance tech specialists."

"Sounds about right," I reply as I lean against the wall. "Well, what've we got?"

"Nothing so far," says Alanya. "But we don't have to worry too much about-"

"_This is Kai Leng to Alpha Squad leader. Do you copy?_"

We all suddenly look at Alanya's omni-tool. Whoah, that fast?

I lean forward, looking at the asari. She leans closer in surprise. "_This is Alpha Squad leader, we copy_," says another voice I don't recognize. "_What's the status of the package?_"

"_The package is secure,_" this... other guy replies. "_We're loading him onto the shuttle now, and we'll be leaving in a few minutes._"

"_Very well, sir. I know that there are still people down there in the facility. When do you want them to be taken care of, sir?_"_  
><em>

I can literally hear the smirk in the other guy's voice. "_I want them taken care of by the time I return from handing him over to the Illusive Man._" I look right at Alanya. "_Relay those orders to Charlie Squad on the Normandy as well. The Illusive Man wants Miranda Lawson and the lady known as 'Jack' as prisoners. You can kill everyone else._"

Alanya looks right up at the rest of us, her eyes widening in shock. Wait... they wanna kill us? Oh, they're bad eggs, the lot of 'em!

"_Understood, sir,_" says this guy who's... alpha squad leader? I dunno. "_And what about the data on the Kepral's Cure?_"

"_Delete it,_" says the other man. "_And when you take care of Miranda, you can delete the back-up as well._"_  
><em>

"_Understood, sir._"

With this, we're all left looking at each other in shock. That was just... holy _shite_, man, that's just...

"So Shepard was right after all," says Alanya. "You did leave Cerberus..."

"We did, mu'um," I reply, crossing my arms. "But... the Normandy's under attack?"

"That would explain why the Normandy isn't responding to our attempts to contact it," says Madison. "Basically, they've got their own set of problems to deal with..." She shakes her head. "Shit, and we're stuck down here."

"That shouldn't be a problem," says Alanya. "I don't know how well some of the asari commandos will take it, but I can send them in to help the crew of the Normandy. It sounds like they were going to double down on the attack on the facility as well."

Madison looks pretty surprised at this. "So you're going to help us?"

"If I'm getting communications like _that_, I think there might be more truth in your statement than I thought," says Alanya.

"And besides, orders are orders," says Kaidan. "We were ordered to help you by the asari Councillor herself."

I jolt, looking directly at Kaidan. "Wait, what?" I ask.

"The Council told you to help us?" asks Madison.

"Well, the asari Councillor, specifically," replies Alanya. "I know the salarian Councillor was on board with her, but I don't know if the whole Council knows about her orders." She shakes her head. "I don't have many commando units at my disposal, but I'll send more people to the facility since I'm sure there are a lot of other people on the Normandy."

Madison nods. "That would be appreciated," she says.

Isaac shakes his head. "I'm more worried about the 'package' they mentioned," he says.

"I'm worried about that too," says Kaidan. "I don't think 'he' is a pronoun you would use to talk about a package unless they're talking about someone."

I nod. "Yeah, that sounds about right," I comment. "But what would..."

And then I pause, watching as Isaac's posture shifts. He's not looking very good there... He then stands up. "He's talking about Art."

I blink, and then... Wait a mite there...

Oh my... if that's true...

Kaidan stands up as well, lookin' at Isaac. "What are you saying?" Kaidan asks.

"He's talking about Art," says Isaac. "He knows some things that the Illusive Man would want to know. He's more valuable alive than he is dead as long as he has that information."

"What information?" asks Alanya.

Madison steps forward. "We can't say," she says. "But if anyone else finds out about it, we're doomed. Try to understand."

I blink. "So if this package is Art..."

...

...

Holy shite!

I rush back into the cockpit. I take my seat and begin manipulating the shuttle's controls quickly. Shite, this is really bad! "We've gotta go after 'im!"

"That we do, Jenny," says Madison as she runs into the cockpit after me. "But where is this Cerberus shuttle going to leave from?"

"We'll figure that out soon," says Alanya. "For now, we can at least save the Normandy and her crew." I turn back to her, seeing her open up a comm channel. "This is Spectre Alanya Sorshis to all asari commando units. The Normandy and her crew are our allies: I repeat, the Normandy and her crew are our allies. We will begin aiding them on their ship and in the facility! Move out!"

I hear a series of 'understoods', 'roger thats', and other military stuff I don't really give a shite about. I simply shake my head... okay... there we are...

"Engagin' thrusters," I shout as I feel the shuttle lurch slightly. "Allright, mu'um, we're ready to move this bird whenever ya like."

Madison nods.

"First, we need to figure out where they're going, so wait for them to come out first..."

* * *

><p><strong>*Miranda Lawson POV*<strong>

I frown as we stand there. It has been a while since Art has left us to our own devices here. I know he can't hail us thanks to the communications scrambling that is occurring, but he would have returned by now.

"This should not be taking so long," I comment. "Art would have attempted to return to us by now."

"Our data is on the other side of the facility," one of the hanar scientists comments. "The resistance may simply be heavier than we expected."

Hm... Well... "That is true," I comment, looking at the door. "But there should not be so much resistance right now..."

Kasumi frowns. "You think that tracker you gave him...?"

I nod. "Probably," I reply. "I _did _tell him something like that could happen. If I know Cerberus, they are good at picking up on clues very fast, especially if they send their best."

"Which means we should expect hostiles to start trying to ride our asses," says Jacob. "Well, this just started going badly."

I look to the hanar scientists. "You are going to seek your friend?" the second one asks.

"We can't just leave you here," I reply. "Cerberus could try to use you against us, and if that happened we would be doomed for certain." I shake my head, checking my pistol. "No, we will need to stay here and hold our position as best we can."

Jacob nods at this. "Sounds like a plan," he says. "Now, when do the-"

And immediately, an explosion rocks the room. I watch and only have enough time to erect a biotic barrier as a piece of the door on the far end of the room flies at us. The biotic barrier manages to deflect the object from the hanar scientists, but it does impact a nearby security terminal. As I lower the barrier, I rush forward, firing shots into the smoke that is seen at the door. Soon enough, I hear rounds begin to be deflected by my shields, but I can hear the panicking of the hanar scientists behind me.

"Looks like they're already here," says Kasumi. I watch as the dust settles, and I begin firing my pistol again, this time aiming at the troopers that are beginning to come out of the smoke.

"Keep the hanar scientists safe at all costs!" I shout over the sounds of the firefight's beginning. "We cannot let Cerberus get into this room!"

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

God... how much time has passed by now? A few minutes? I don't know, it's so easy to lose track of time when you're being held as a fucking prisoner.

I am propped against the back wall of the shuttle, though they don't gag me for some reason. It is how it is when the Cerberus Troopers come in. They give me a leery, almost reproachful look as I find myself inswardly pushing myself away from them. It _really _doesn't help that they're staring at me from behind those creepy-ass helmets they've got.

I find myself shivering, the fight having left me by the time I hear footsteps get onto the shuttle. I look, and there's Kai Leng, stepping into the shuttle.

"The orders have been given," he says. "Let's get off this filthy planet and let the drell rot like the filth they are."

"Yes, sir!" The other Cerberus troopers all prepare to lift off. I look... Damn it, no, it's hopeless. Goddamn futuristic handcuffs, with their goddamn keys that are held by the goddamn racist in the room.

I close my eyes, finding I can pull my knees towards me. I feel the compulsion to hug my knees towards me, but a quick tug reminds me that my hands are still cuffed behind my back. Damn it, I...

Shit! Thane!

My knees give way, and I look at Kai Leng. "Thane," I say, looking at him. "What did you do to him?"

The Cerberus operative gives me a furtive glance of surprise. "What, that lizard you entered that room with?" asks Kai Leng.

"That 'lizard' was my _friend_, you son of a bitch!" I retort. "What did you do to him?"

"Oh, him?" asks Kai Leng. "Surprising you only ask now."

I frown at him as I feel the shuttle rock underneath me. "I went out right as you were walking up to him," I say. I... "Answer my goddamn question!"

"I don't have to answer _any _of your questions," he says. "I think you know what happened to him just as well as I do."

I... No...

No. I can't believe it. Thane wouldn't allow himself to get killed by Kai Leng. Not like that. There's no way...

...is there?

"Just answer my question," I say as the shuttle begins moving. I think it's moving forward...

At this, I watch as Kai Leng smirks. He leans forward, and I can see in his eyes that he's all too happy that I said that. "You're not in... _denial_, are you?"

I... what?

"O... of course not!" I frown, glancing to the side. I feel my eyes sting with something. "I- W-why the hell would I do something like... like that?"

The Cerberus operative pauses, but in the silence I can almost _feel _his satisfied smirk. And immediately, I feel a horrible feeling bloom in my chest. "Oh, you're not?" asks Kai Leng. "So you really don't care all that much about _it_, do you?"

"Of course I do!" I reply, turning back to look at Kai Leng. "But he wouldn't die so easily to some racist bastard like you!"

But he simply shakes his head. "I think you are in denial," he says. "Maybe you slept with him too?"

W-what? No! That's... yech! "He was already taken!" I reply. "And... and on top of that, there's... God, there's a seventeen year age difference in... no!" I shake my head. "Why the hell would you even _ask _that?"

"I figured you slept with every alien you befriended," he says.

I shake my head. "That's just... that's just _wrong_," I say, shaking my head. "You're _still _not answering my question here!"

"And I already told you, I'm not going to answer," says Kai Leng.

I look away again, tears threatening to spill out of my eyes. God damn it, I just...

No, you know what, Art? Just shut up. Maybe... maybe if you shut up, he'll leave you alone.

I attempt to shift slightly, but find that it's hard enough to do when my hands are bound behind my back. God damn it, more with the hand bondage... I just don't get why-

"I wonder about something else as well. How _did _you meet your friend?"

I find myself looking at Kai Leng again, this time seeing that he's taken Orange out. "I'm not answering that," I reply.

"And why not?" asks Kai Leng.

Damn it... I shouldn't answer that. I really shouldn't. But something... I just... I can't believe this guy would be so _blind_.

"Galactic safety," I reply. "But then, you probably wouldn't understand that, given what you're doing here."

"And we're looking out for the safety of humanity," says Kai Leng. "Or did you forget that we're the ones who did something about the Collectors?"

"You had something to gain from that," I point out. "Or did the Illusive Man forget to mention that he tried to get the Collector base intact? Because he made a pretty big point of-"

Kai Leng leans closer. It happens so suddenly that I find myself unable to reply. "There were many valuable resources on that base that could have been used to our advantage," he says. "And your Commander blew that place up."

"She was only doing the right thing!" I retort. "And you sit there blindly following someone you shouldn't trust!"

"The Illusive Man was the only one who stood by me when the Alliance left me to rot," replies Kai Leng. "I would trust him with my life."

I shake my head. God, I don't want to talk to this guy, but... Good Christ, why does he keep saying such stupid things? "Yeah, and that trust'll do you a _lot _of good when he stabs you and the rest of humanity in the back," I retort.

"He would do no such thing," says Kai Leng.

"And why not?" I ask. "I've heard that he hasn't been himself lately. If that's the case, then I have no idea why you're still following him around. I don't think he knows what humanity's future has, Kai Leng, and I don't think you-"

My head suddenly slams against the back of the shuttle, and I suddenly see Kai Leng in my face. It's not until I try to move my teeth in reply that I realize that his hand is clamped on my mouth.

"Shut up," he says, softly and threateningly. "There is one thing you do not seem to understand. The other races? They have only shunned us, and they will continue to do so. We need to show them who has the power. The Collectors had a key to that power, and the Commander knew that." Kai Leng glares at some point behind me. "It is something that you can help us attain with your friend that lives within this device. It is power we _will _acquire, and with it we will deal with the Reapers.

"And when we emerge from this Reaper war, those cuttlebones and those whores and those suit rats and everyone else will know that humanity is-"

There's a loud boom, and suddenly the shuttle lurches off to the side. We're both briefly jolted out of whatever conversation we're in as the shuttle rights itself, but whatever happened is enough to get Kai Leng to stand up and look to the driver of the shuttle.

He abruptly lets go of my mouth and walks over. "What the hell was that?" he asks.

"I... I don't know, sir, but-"

And then, I feel another impact of that variety. It's almost like there's a shuttle that's trying to offset this one. It's...

...

Of course! Jenny! She came for me! But how... maybe Isaac and Madison found some way to unscramble the communications. I'm not sure how Isaac got used to this technology so fast, but whatever, they're coming for me!

"Someone must have known we would..." I then see Kai Leng turn back to me, the shock apparent in his eyes as he walks over to me. "Who are these people?"

I glance to the side. Hm... Well, I don't want them to know that I know how they found out, but... "Well, I _may _have left a shuttle off to the side." I shrug. "Good luck figuring out how they found out I was on this shuttle, though, 'cause your guess is really about as good as mine."

"That means..." Kai Leng frowns. "Damn it, someone unscrambled the communications!"

The shuttle is bumped a third time, and this third time is the bumpiest bump yet. It literally causes one of the troopers to lose his footing, and I can hear a thump from the cockpit.

Kai Leng runs over to the cockpit, and from there I hear Kai Leng argue with the ship's pilot. I tune out of it pretty quickly as I start hearing the air of Kahje whistle into the shuttle. Wow, that idea actually paid off.

Well... hopefully Jenny will be able to take this bitch down. Because really, that's the only way she'll be able to help me. I don't know if she can help me do things from here, but if she can bring the shuttle down, then that'll mean that any travel off of Kahje will be impossible for these guys.

I then hear a pop from somewhere behind me. At that same time, I feel the shuttle rapidly begin to spin out of control. I'm tossed against the wall, and I hear general shouting from everyone within the shuttle. I myself let out a loud grunt as I feel myself spinning around with the shuttle, and then I'm yelling along with the rest of the troopers.

This feeling lasts for a few seconds. And suddenly, the floor rises rather abruptly. I hear something scrape the underside of the shuttle, and I suddenly get tossed clear to the other side of the shuttle. The Cerberus troopers are also tossed about as the shuttle seems to slide on some surface. It only takes another second for another sound to make it known, and when it does I see the entire opposite side of the shuttle shift inwards. I barely have time to process the fact that the dent occurred inwards before the chaotic sounds suddenly come to a dead halt.

I find myself breathing heavily, suddenly noticing that one of the Cerberus troopers is unmoving close to where I am. I hear a grunt come from the cockpit, and then I turn and see Kai Leng standing up. He growls in indignation, and then I watch as he stalks to the door.

* * *

><p><strong>*Albert Shepard POV*<strong>

I duck, reloading my pistol as I hear another blast. Barely a few seconds after I hear the explosion, I turn towards Miranda's office to see that there are Cerberus troopers rushing in.

Damn it! I watch as Kal and Carhon rapidly turn around to face their new opposition. Wrex is unfortunately on the other side of the room completely, and I watch as multiple troopers swarm their positions.

"Damn it!" I shout. "Liselle, use a singularity!"

I hear the asari yell out, and before I know it the signature ball of a singularity appears in the midst of all the troopers. This causes them to rise in the air, and it gives Kal and Carhon a brief respite from the new fire they've just taken. I turn around, firing at some more Cerberus troopers that are coming down one of the other holes.

"Kal, Carhon, get over here!" I shout.

They don't have to be told twice: immediately, the quarian leaps over the stove and rushes towards us. Carhon follows suit, but not before firing his assault rifle at a trooper that comes running in. They have some difficulties getting over the sheer number of bodies that have begun littering the deck, but they move as quickly as they can. Kal pauses right as he's about to vault into cover to shoot at another one of those ladies, which gives Jack enough time to toss a warp at this unit. The quarian then leaps over cover and fixes himself against the wall, with Carhon following suit very shortly afterwards. I briefly catch a glimpse of Wrex as headbutts a trooper before nodding.

"Well, that didn't last long," says Kal.

"We were able to stay there longer than I thought we would," says Carhon. "So they _definitely _have more than one of these things."

I nod, turning my attention to the ceiling. "We can expect one of them to punch a hole through the med bay, then," I comment. "From the looks of things, the new troops are coming in through Miranda's office."

"Then what the hell do we do?" asks Sturge as he gestures to himself and Dr. Chakwas.

I nod. "Get into the AI core with James, and stay there," I say. "From the looks of things, they want EDI alive: they're not going to risk blowing up a part of the AI core and possibly damaging her."

"_We find this assumption to be accurate,_" says EDI.

The cook nods, and then turns to Dr. Chakwas. "Then we should get going," says the medical doctor.

As Dr. Chakwas turns to Tali, I turn my attention back to Wrex. He has grabbed someone by the neck and is slamming him against the table when I notice a sword lady come up to the krogan. However, Kal'Reegar manages to put a couple of rounds into her before she can reach Wrex, to which the krogan responds by sweeping out the corpse of the Cerberus trooper he just killed.

I nod, looking up at the ceiling, and the pile of dead bodies. For a few seconds, all is quiet with the exception of Dr. Chakwas trying to get Tali to calm down enough to go into the AI core. It gives us a rare opportunity to breathe, and it's only then that I notice that there don't seem to be any troopers coming in.

I frown. "It seems a little too quiet in here," I comment. "EDI?"

EDI's avatar comes up. "_We have detected a decrease in incoming Cerberus troopers,_" she says. "_There aren't as many troopers coming up here, either._"

"Which means they're probably going to send in a larger wave," I comment. "Or they're going to ambush us from above." I turn behind me again, looking at the ceiling. I look up, imagining the layout of the CIC before crossing my arms.

"EDI, is anyone in the tech lab?" I ask.

"_Yes,_" says EDI. "_Some of the people on the ship have also taken cover behind a makeshift piece of cover on the CIC deck._"_  
><em>

I nod. "Tell everyone on the upper decks to concentrate their fire on this side," I say. "And if they know what the experimental grenades looks like, make sure that Cerberus can't use them again."

"_Of course,_" says EDI. Her avatar fades out of existence, and I nod to the rest of the people around me.

"Well, here we are," I say. "Keep your eyes sharp, everyone. We can't afford to let Cerberus take this ship."

* * *

><p><strong>*Miranda Lawson POV*<strong>

I eject a spent thermal clip after taking care of a Cerberus soldier. I glance back down at my ammo belt, seeing only one thermal clip that has yet to be spent. Damn, this is not good.

I look back to the ground to all the spent thermal clips. So many spent thermal clips are lying there, and some are just beginning to cool down... But even then, they're not cooling fast enough for us to be able to reuse them reliably right now...

Well, it looks like we will have to rely on our biotics to get us out of here.

I rise out of cover, feeling a rush around me as I throw a biotic warp at a nearby trooper. The biotic attack rips him to shreds, and someone else is lifted into the air. Jacob, no doubt. I see a shower of sparks on the corner of my eye before I throw a biotic warp at the floating person. This causes a strange blue explosion that takes out the Cerberus trooper and another one who was uncannily close.

Before I can do much else, however, I hear a loud cry of pain come from Jacob. I turn back to look to see that he's clutching his right arm in pain, with Kasumi instantly running over. She's already applying the medigel, leaning close to Jacob as she does. I briefly catch sight of Kasumi clutching Jacob's arm as the medigel sets in, but I quickly turn my attention back to the coming crowd.

I come out of cover, throwing another biotic warp at someone in the oncoming Cerberus crowd. I turn my attention back to the hanar scientists. "Are you sure you don't have any ammunition here?"

"This one is certain," says one of the hanar scientists. I briefly shudder at how non-chalant the scientist sounds before I turn my attention back as more people keep coming in.

"These guys just don't quit!" says Kasumi as she unleashes an overload at a nearby turret.

I shake my head, grabbing my last remaining thermal clip and loading it into my pistol. "Conserve ammo!" I shout. "If you must use your gun, make every shot count! We have to fight to the end!"

"I hear ya!" says Jacob. He then grunts in pain as he slowly stands up.

Damn it... at this rate, we might not make it.

"This one hopes for a miracle soon," says one of the hanar scientists. "This one-"

And it's then that suddenly, we see a Cerberus trooper from far off fall on his face. I blink in shock, watching as another trooper falls close by. I then watch as the Cerberus troopers slowly turn around, and from across the other side of the hall I can hear the sounds of new gunfire coming in.

What...?

"That's... that's strange," says Kasumi. "What's going on there?"

I frown, looking towards the back of the troopers. I swear... there is a commotion happening there, and the Cerberus troopers all turn to face them. But I watch as some get yanked around biotically, some get bullet holes in them, and even ones that are dropping in are taken out quickly. I see flashes of blue, people in armor, blue tentacles...

Wait.

Blue tentacles.

I squint, looking ahead to see...

"Asari commandoes?"

I can hear the slight twitch from Kasumi and Jacob behind me. "Asari commandoes?" asks Kasumi. "What are they doing here?"

"This one thinks this is very strange," says one of the hanar scientists. "We were not told there would be asari commandoes in the area."

I hear a shift, and turn around to see Jacob walking forward with Kasumi's pistol in hand. "Whatever they're doing here, I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth," he says. "I don't care if we get arrested after this: they just saved our asses from being Cerberus meat."

I look to the former Alliance marine before smiling and grabbing my pistol. "I guess we will find out why they are here soon," I comment. "For now, we should get the Cerberus troopers while they are confused!" I nod. "And don't hit the asari commandoes. They've probably saved our lives."

With this, I fire my pistol at one of those pesky engineers that have been erecting the turrets. I watch as he goes down, barely making sure he's on the ground before overloading the shields on another trooper.

From there, it becomes a mess of biotics, overloads, and gunfire. There are quite a few more Cerberus soldiers than I saw, and more continually keep pouring in, but their numbers are whittled down that much more quickly. I see the asari commandoes advance on our position ever so slowly, though Kasumi, Jacob, and I contribute as much as we can to their efforts. Eventually, we begin to see Cerberus numbers trickle to a slowdown, and it is then that we really begin making short work of them.

I can briefly glance the asari commandoes as they advance on our position. I see them briefly look at us as if in acknowledgement before they continue firing at the Cerberus troopers that keep coming in. I nod in acknowledment, and we continue our fight against the Cerberus troopers. I look down and notice that some of the thermal clips have cooled down for use, so I begin using my pistol more frequently once again.

And after a while of avoiding hitting the asari and of shooting at Cerberus troopers, the last of them finally falls. There is a brief silence as I aim my pistol down the hall. Even if I wanted to shoot a commando, I couldn't: my thermal clip is smoking inside my pistol. But even then, I dare not fire on them. For one thing, we would only prove the Council right if we shot at the commandoes I'm fairly certain they sent here, and for another I think it would be the honorable thing to do in such a case.

Thus, I watch as the first of the commandoes steps up to us. I see some other commandoes go to the hanar scientists, and I hear the hanar begin to reassure the asari commandoes that they are all right.

I step back as she holsters her assault rifle, nodding at us. "Are you with Commander Shepard's crew?" she asks.

I nod. "Miranda Lawson," I reply. "I was her XO before her arrest."

"Then we're in the right place," says the asari commando. "Tula Rasa. I was sent here with Spectre Alanya Sorshis to investigate activity around this facility."

I nod. "And what did you find?"

She nods. "We found what the asari councillor was hoping we might find," the asari replies. "You attempting to fight Cerberus to keep them from destroying the cure." She looks at the terminals. "How's the cure's back-up?"

"Well, I don't think any Cerberus troopers got through, so I think it's okay," says Kasumi. I look at her right as she turns to the hanar. "Right?"

"This one believes so," says one of the hanar. "This one cannot thank any of you enough for defending it."

"And you guys by extension," says Tula. "Looks like the Commander was right."

"Finally, someone other than us says it," says Jacob. "That was a lot of bullshit, locking her up."

The asari commando nods. "According to Alanya, that's what the asari councillor thought too," she replies. "She belayed the Council's order to observe you. Since you were fighting Cerberus, our objective changed to help you."

"So they're possibly turning around?" asks Kasumi. "Well, that sounds nice and all, but-"

"Trust me, we're not trying to arrest you," says Tula. "If we were, you'd already be in handcuffs."

I glance at my wrists briefly before looking at the lead asari commando. "I believed as much," I say. "Asari commandoes aren't known to delay when they are attempting to bring in prisoners."

Tula chuckles good-naturedly, giving a small smile. "You've got that right, Ms. Lawson," she replies. "It's good the back-up is safe, actually. We believe... we believe the original data may have been deleted..."

I blink, looking at the hanar scientists. "It... it was deleted?" asks Miranda.

"Yes," says Tula. "We stumbled upon the room with the data in it. When we checked the terminal, there was no data."

We all look at the terminals in the room. "At least the back-up is still there," I comment.

"We can begin from where we left off," says one of the hanar scientists. "This one remembers that the cure was updated yesterday."

"So we've still got hope," says Kasumi. "Well, that's a good thing. We got in, and managed to save the cure. Well, if only partly, anyway."

"Indeed," says Tula. "Unfortunately, it gets worse." She shakes her head, before turning around. "I think you should see why for yourself."

I turn to the asari commandoes, who nod to me as they begin tending to the wounds that I barely even noticed the hanar had sustained. "I... It gets worse?" I ask as I begin to follow Tula. "What happened?"

"We initially thought one of you had deleted the data and vanished," says Tula. "But there was someone else there who barely managed to tell us what had happened in that room. He lost consciousness right as he finished telling us."

I watch as Tula turns to us.

"From what my medics have told me, he is unresponsive even now."

* * *

><p><strong>*Jenny McKansa POV*<strong>

All right! We got 'em right were we want 'em! They're on some kinda forest there on the ground, and the rain is hittin' on 'em pretty hard.

I look back to the damage as I land the shuttle, and I move about a hundred feet from where they are. This happens to be on a small patch of beach that is on some island floating in the sea of Kahje. I land the craft carefully, glancing a look at the trees where that bloody Cerberus bird crashed, before turning my attention back to the damage report that came up when I rammed 'em.

I land the shuttle immediately, looking at the damage report.

"Well, that impact did a right ol' number on one o' the forward thrusters," I comment as I look back to them. "I'm gonna need ta take this thing in ta get fixed later."

"But it did its job, and that's what matters," says Madison.

I nod, opening the shuttle door as I stand up. I walk into the main area of the shuttle, watching as Kaidan and Alanya raise their weapons. "I can't wait ta see the looks on those plonkers' faces when they realize we got 'em!"

"I can," says Kaidan. "We have one objective: get Art, and make sure he's safe."

"Shouldn't be too hard to-"

Alanya is interrupted by some gunfire. I peer out from beyond the wall to see three Cerberus troopers come out. They all stand there, and then I see this intimidating-looking Asian guy step out of the shuttle.

Alanya steps out of the shuttle immediately, and I watch Madison and Isaac both step out as well. I hide out behind the wall, watching as Kaidan glows blue. The others stand in front of the shuttle, and I watch as the first of the troopers gets taken out. I barely watch as the second trooper is biotically lifted before my attention turns to the last trooper.

With this, our attention is turned directly to the asian guy as he draws his sword. "You have meddled in our plans for the last time," he says as he holds his hand out. "Now, you will see what a true man of Cerberus can do!"

And with this, he fires some... weird electrical pulse at Madison. It sends her back, and I hear her help in pain as this man immediately moves on to Alanya. He fires another of those weird electric pulses, and then I watch as Alanya barely rolls out of the way. He then turns his sights on Isaac. The man raises his sword and runs faster than I have seen any human run across the stretch between our two shuttles.

And right as he leaps in the air, I watch in shock as this stranger gets surrounded by blue light. I frown, before seeing Isaac run forward and under the man that...

I look back to Kaidan from where he stands in the shuttle, watching as he stares at the floating Asian that hovers slowly in mid-air.

"What the...?" he asks.

I shrug. "I guess that's 'is stasis, there," I comment.

"_That's _a form of stasis?" asks Kaidan. "It's not one I've ever seen."

"He has... his own brand... of stasis..." I hear Madison say as she pushes herself off the ground. She then looks up at that there eejit who is still slowed down up in the air. "It's technologically based, you know? I think we should shut up and take care of him now."

Kaidan nods before looking up at the stranger and aiming his gun. Madison does the same, and then I watch as they fire at this asian guy. It only takes two seconds, but when the man finally begins falling at a regular speed again, we see him drop the sword first. He then falls face-first into the sand just in front of the shuttle, and I find myself taking a step back.

He looks up at us, and it's then that I see that he's bleeding.

"W... what...?" He looks back at his own shuttle, right as Isaac comes out of it. "H-how did...?"

I then watch as Art appears, being supported by Isaac. Damn... He looks like hell came and kicked him in the bum. But he's okay, even with the black eye and all that dried blood on his temple. They both walk out as I step out of cover. I look down at the man as he slowly tries to push himself up.

Madison fires her gun one last time, and then the man falls again. He lets out a loud groan of pain as Isaac and Art come up to him. Alanya has just pushed herself up right when Isaac let's go of Art's arm.

Art remains silent, and I notice that he's got a frown on his face. He walks right up to the man that I'm sure is dyin', and bends down. He goes through the man's coat before picking up some orange yoke. Art then stands up, looking down at that right old bugger.

"That was mine, you son of a bitch," he says bitterly. "And my friends came for me after all."

He shakes his head, and then takes a shaky step forward. "I hope you burn in hell, you damn racist!"

With this, Art gives a kick to the man's side. I guess it just makes him feel better, but there really isn't much force behind it. Either way, he stalks towards the shuttle, and looks up to see Kaidan standing there.

The Spectre candidate kneels down, looking directly at Art as Madison, Isaac, and Alanya all converge on the front of the shuttle. "Art?" asks Kaidan. "Are you okay?"

Art's glance softens as he looks up at Kaidan. "I am now," he says. "I didn't think you'd get over here."

"Councillor's orders," says Alanya from behind him. Art turns slowly to look at her. "It's a long story. Perhaps I can explain on the way back."

I see him bite his lower lip. "Well, on the bright side, being arrested by a Spectre can't be any worse than being a Cerberus prisoner," he says.

"I don't think that'll be happening," says Kaidan.

Madison walks up to Art. "Trust us, they're not here to arrest us," she says. "We'll explain on the way back to the facility. Come on."

With this, Kaidan reaches out. I watch as Art hesitates for a second, looking at Kaidan's hand. Finally, Art accepts Kaidan's hand, and allows the Alliance marine to pull him back into the shuttle. Everyone else boards soon after, and I nod as I walk back to the cockpit of the shuttle.

* * *

><p><strong>*Albert Shepard POV*<strong>

"_Albert Shepard. There seems to be an unforseen circumstance._"

We all look over at EDI. It's been quiet down in the crew deck as we have waited for some word. Jack was sitting on one of the medical tables while fiddling around with a heat sink when we see this. I look at Liselle, who smirks.

"About time," she says. "What've we got, EDI?"

"_It is... an activity outside of the Normandy,_" she states. "_The Cerberus ship moved in to dock with us, but... something else happened._"

I walk closer to the console, looking at EDI's avatar as she appears. Everyone else that is taking refuse in the med bay looks at or comes closer to EDI, and I even hear the door to the AI core open behind me. "Really?" I ask.

"_Another ship came and chased the Cerberus ship away,_" says EDI. "_It would be most accurate to say that this ship that has arrived is engaging in a firefight with the Cerberus vessel._"_  
><em>

I look to the others. "Wait, so some random people started shooting at Cerberus?" asks Kal.

"Why the fuck would they do that?" asks Jack. "Who're we talking about anyway?"

"_That is what I am attempting to figure out,_" says EDI. "_I have just acquired the ship's registry information. I am decoding it and analyzing it now._"

"Well, this oughta be interesting," says Wrex. "Someone saved our asses from dealing with more Cerberus troopers."

"Damn it, and I was _just _beginning to enjoy it," says Liselle crossly.

"Hey, it's better than being overrun," says Carhon. "Trust me, I know that feeling all too well."

I nod, looking at EDI's avatar. After a few seconds, however, she pipes up. "_I believe I have determined what the ship is._"_  
><em>

"What kinds of people are we talking about?" I ask.

"_The registry information of the ship colors the vessel that is currently dispatching the Cerberus vessel as an asari vessel,_" says EDI.

"Asari?" asks Kal. "What would they want with us?"

"_That is not the only thing,_" says EDI. "_Taking another look, this registry information has an encryption around it that is not commonly used on most asari vessels. It is an encryption commonly used by ships that are owned by highly-trained soldiers, specifically for the Council._"

I look to the others. "It belongs to a Spectre..." I say.

"Well, this is some old bullshit," says Jack. "We go through all these guys only to get cornered by the Council!"

"Well, hold on a second," says Kal. "Maybe there's more to this than you think. Why would they chase Cerberus away from us?"

"The quarian's got a point," says Carhon as he gestures at Kal with his hand. "That sounds a little-"

"_Albert. The asari vessel is hailing us on an open comm channel._"

And then, the room is dead silent. We remain silent for a few seconds, and I feel all eyes suddenly fall on me. It's only then that I notice that James has stepped out of the AI core, with Sturge, Dr. Chakwas, and a still rather nervous Tali all standing behind him. I blink, looking around the room at everyone, before turning back to EDI.

"They want to talk to us?" I ask.

"_Yes,_" says EDI.

I sigh, nodding. "Well, I think we always knew it would come to this," I say. "Accept the call EDI, and patch it down to here."

"_Of course._" EDI's avatar abruptly disappears, and in its place I see a communications thing appear. I stand there resolutely, hearing a soft click.

"_This is the Yurila to the SSV Normandy,_" says a female voice. "_Do you copy?_"

"We copy," I reply. "I am Gunnery Chief Albert Shepard. Most of our commanding officers are on Kahje, except for Garrus Vakarian."

"_Don't worry too much about me._" Oh, _there _he is. "_I'm here. We were under attack by Cerberus forces that were attempting to take the Normandy from us._"

"_We noticed,_" says one of the asari vessels. "_What is the status of the personnel._"

"_I don't know about the deck below me, but everyone on my deck is all right,_" says Garrus. "_We've sustained a few injuries, but they aren't life threatening._"

"Same here," I reply. "Everyone's accounted for, then."

"_Sounds like it,_" says Garrus. "_Good work, Al._"

It's too bad we'll be arrested after this, really.

"_Excellent,_" says the asari on the other end of the line. "_We have commando units down on Kahje helping your people down there._"_  
><em>

I frown. "Wait," I reply. "You're trying to help us?"

"_On orders of Spectre Alanya Sorshis,_" says the opposing vessel. "_You will be hearing more when we contact your friends down on Kahje. For now, however, you do not have to worry about getting arrested._"

I frown, looking at the others. "_Seriously?_" asks Garrus. "_I think you'll forgive me if we have a difficult time believing it._"

"_Trust me, the Spectre's orders came directly from Councillor Tevos herself,_" says the asari pilot. "_I would not be telling you this if it wasn't true._"

"I don't know," I comment. "I don't know if I can believe you."

"_Then give it time,_" says the asari pilot. "_We will prove our trustworthiness then, I hope._"

"Maybe," I say. "Update us on when your units on Kahje are finished."

"_You will hear from us when they come,_" says the asari pilot.

With this, the line disconnects, and I'm left to look at the others as EDI's avatar reappears.

"Well, that sounds convenient," says Sturge. "I just hope they're right."

"Yeah, because they fuckin' _loved _us the last time they said that," Jack adds bitterly. "They're out to arrest us, I know it!"_  
><em>

"But on the off chance they're not, we have to play along anyway," I say. "This may bring us to Jo-... Shepard."

At this, I watch as heads begin nodding all around the room. "_It seems like at least one of them finally has their heads out of their asses,_" I hear Garrus add from the ship's intercom. "_It's good to know you're all all right down there._"

I nod. "We had sufficient numbers to hold them off, and some very good placement," I comment. "Do you know what was up with those objects they used to blow holes in our floor?"

"_We don't know, but we were able to get one of them off of a corpse,_" says Garrus. "_We've handed it to Tidoses and Gregor for now. They may be able to come up with something as to how it works. Otherwise, everyone up here is fine._"

"Well, then I guess we wait," I comment.

The turian chuckles. "_Yeah,_" he says. "_I guess we wait._"

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

The shuttle touches down on top of the facility. When the door opens, I can see Miranda, Kasumi, and Jacob all standing there. They don't look bound in any way, though they are surrounded by numerous asari that are sitting around there looking at our shuttle touch down. I slowly get off the shuttle, nodding nervously at Miranda and the rest of them as I look to the gathering of asari. Alanya steps off the shuttle after me, followed by Kaidan as he jumps off the shuttle too. Madison and Isaac step off after them, and I look to Miranda and Jacob.

"I..." I shake my head. "I think taking the shuttle was a good call."

"And I think that planting a tracking device on yourself was one of the _worst _calls I have ever seen anybody make," says Miranda bitingly. "I warned you that Cerberus might be able to figure out what that signal was. I didn't argue because I know how you are, but you should have listened."

I stiffen. Well, that was a bit...

No, no, she's got the right to be harsh right now. I mean... she's right. I did end up fucking shit up. If it hadn't been for the asari Councillor having the good sense to change her mind on some things, we'd be... God, who knows?

But we wouldn't have done this successfully, that's for sure.

I pause, looking down at the ground before nodding. "Yeah, you could say that," I admit. "If the fact that I got captured by Kai Leng says anything, I-"

"Kai Leng?" I look up at Miranda, who suddenly sounds shocked. "_That _slippery bastard caught you?"

I nod. "Yes," I reply.

"Shit." This comes from Jacob. "I knew something like this would happen. Kai Leng is one of Cerberus' top operatives. If the Illusive Man sent him here, he really wanted something badly."

"_Was_," I correct. "You can ask Isaac about how long Kai Leng lasted against that stasis module of his." I nod. "And yeah, he wanted something badly. He wanted to frame us for anything that happened here."

"Then that explains everything," says Miranda. "We walked right into a trap and very narrowly didn't make it out."

I look over to Kaidan. "I know," I comment. "There's no need to-"

"Yes, there is." Jacob interrupts me as he suddenly rounds on me.

I watch from behind him as Kasumi comes forward. "Jacob, there's no need to-"

"_Yes_, there's a need to," he says, turning to Kasumi. When he turns his attention back to me, I'm almost taken aback by how angry he looks. "Your decisions almost got us all _killed _today. And you're sitting here talking about it like it's no big deal?"

I rear back, watching as everyone's attention falls on me. "W-what?" I ask. "I just... I wasn't-"

"The Normandy was attacked while we were gone," the former Corsair replies. "We were almost overrun by Cerberus. The data on that cure was almost _completely _destroyed. And on top of that, _you _managed to get yourself captured by one of the Illusive Man's top dogs. This mission was almost a _complete _disaster, and you made it easier for them to ruin us. If it hadn't been for all these asari commandoes-"

I shake my head. "I was only trying to-"

"_Don't_ give me anything about 'try'," says Jacob angrily, right as he points a finger in my face. "Intentions don't do a _thing _when you can't back them up with action. And you've just failed us all!"

I suddenly feel a hand on my chest, and look to see Madison standing between me and Jacob. "Calm down," she says as she looks between the two of us. "Calm down, Jacob. We're fine now, so that's what should matter, right?"

Jacob glares at Madison before taking a step back. He shakes his head. "It's all true, though," he replies. "And that's not the only thing that happened."

I frown, looking at Jacob. "That's not...?"

I then glance around the area, suddenly realizing one small but _very _significant fact.

"W... Where's Thane?"

I suddenly watch as Jacob's expression immediately shifts. Now, he's not angry, but... he's mournful. There's still anger mixed in there, but now it's mostly overruled. I look to Kasumi, who is simply looking down with tears threatening to spill from his eyes. I...

"W... Where is he?" I press, stepping towards Jacob. "Where the hell is Thane?"

Oh, God... Don't let it be true... _Please _don't let him... No, there's no way!

It's Miranda who speaks next. "The commandoes found him in the room with the cure," she says. I turn to her as she speaks, and I look as her face takes on a more sorrowful quality. "He... He had been stabbed twice. When they got there, he was barely able to tell them what had happened before he passed out."

She pauses, and... Oh, God, no... No, this can't have happened...

"They..." She pauses, holding her hands close to her. "They were never able to revive him."

No... No, it can't b_e..._

"Thane... He's dead, Art."

...

I... I don't...

"That... that can't be right," I say, shaking my head as I feel my eyes water. "Thane was matched evenly with Kai Leng! I saw them fight! M-maybe he's just in a coma, or... or he's... anything but dead!" I step forward. "He can't be dead!"

Miranda simply looks away. I then turn to where she's looking...

No!

I don't know the exact moment when I see the elevator doors open. I don't know when I see the hanar scientists I saw earlier walk out with some kind of gurney. I don't know when I notice the seaweed they are carrying with them.

I only know how my feet begin moving of their own accord.

Before I know it, I'm kneeling by the gurney, one of the hanar scientists moving out of the way. It's then that I see Thane's body on the object, unmoving, and with two stab wounds in front. His hands have already been placed in some kind of prayer, and I dimly notice that his eyes are closed. I... No. No no no no no!

"Thane!" I scream, right as my hand rests on his. "Thane, no!" I shake my head, feeling the first of the hot tears spill out of my eyes. "No, this can't be! We were... _You_ were going to stay alive! And we were going to see this to... to the end! For Kolyat! For Jocelyn! And... and for everyone else! This... This _wasn't_ how... I... It can't..."

I feel a shiver travel down my spine when I realize how cold Thane's hand is. I look at Thane's hand, and then look back at the unmoving drell as I feel myself lean against the gurney.

Damn it, I knew Kai Leng wouldn't leave Thane alone... I just _knew_ he wouldn't do something like that. But Thane... No, he _can't..._

He just...

I glance one last time at his body before I crumble against the gurney, feeling the snot begin pouring out of my nose. Damn it...

Thane... Thane really is dead. He's dead...

...and if I had just listened to Miranda for one fucking second...

I feel a hand place itself on my shoulder, and I see Kasumi standing over me with her hand there. I shake my head, resting it against Thane's gurney. Damn it... I just... _Damn it!_

My hand unconsciously grips Thane's cold hand, and I kneel by his side, hoping against all hope that my hand would warm Thane's hand back to life.

* * *

><p>We host Thane's funeral right there on the shores of Kahje. I feel the rain pelt my body, the way it would have on a rainy summer day in Miami. Somehow, I have a hard time seeing it. I look ahead of me, barely able to concentrate on anything but the body that is wrapped in seaweed.<p>

I faintly make out the hanar as they move the final pieces of seaweed in place. Thane's face and wounds were already covered, so it's just securing the body for when it enters the deep.

I simply stand there, gripping my own hands for dear life. My tears mix freely with the rain as I solemnly watch the hanar priest that the scientists called over at the last minute says some chant. I don't actually pay attention to the words, but from the few mentions of Kalahira that I can make out I gather that it's a drellish prayer rather than a hanar prayer. My gaze remains fixed on Thane's body, which just... lays there.

I pay no attention when the hanar priest finishes saying his piece, and I remain silent as the hanar scientists begin to shift the gurney. I can only watch as Thane's body slowly slides off the gurney and into the oceans of Kahje.

It takes less than three seconds for Thane's body to disappear, but to me it feels like a moment that stretches out forever. Damn it, it wasn't supposed to end like this. It... Just... I...

I stand there for a few seconds, looking on as Thane's body sinks deeper and deeper until I can no longer see the seaweed that serves as his casket. We all stand in silence after that, and I feel the rain of Kahje mix with my tears. I just... I can't...

I stand there, even as I hear footsteps sound all around me. I care not, just letting myself stand there looking at the spot where Thane's body was once around. Eventually, I hear many of the steps fade away from me. I shake my head, holding my arms together as the footsteps fade all the way.

I don't know how long it takes, but eventually I find the will to move my foot. Eventually, I begin walking away from where Thane's body was given to the deep.

I refuse to even look at anyone as I enter the shuttle. I simply sit there, glancing to the place where Thane would have undoubtedly sat if he were still alive. I finally turn my attention towards the outside of the shuttle, staring outside as the doors close.

I guess what he said is true: it always rains on Kahje._  
><em>


	25. Chapter 24

_A/N: *plays Swan of Tuonela here*_

_And that's the last chapter folks, in which our first fatality of Mass Vexations 3 has occurred. I promise you guys, Thane Krios will _not _be the only fatality over the course of MV3. There will be quite a few major characters that will get offed over the course of MV3. And don't assume that people will stay alive just because someone is narrating it. From this point forward, anybody and everybody can die over the course of this fic. You'll have to see._

_But now, we have other things to get to. Like, you know, getting Art back to the Citadel to help Shepard at the trial. Let's get going with that, shall we?_

* * *

><p>Chapter 24: Strauss: Tod und Verklärung<p>

I can barely summon the strength to look anybody in the eye after debriefing. Not everyone is here, of course: there are some that are overlooking the damage to the Normandy. And it was _really _bad damage, such that I have no idea how the ship didn't end up getting a hole punched in the hull. Tidoses I know was on a lower deck when Alanya came on, and Al, James, and Kal are busy assessing the damage, but otherwise, we're all here.

And now, I can barely look at them. I just remain there, looking down at the table as my hands rest against it. The tears have _just _stopped flowing, but even as Miranda recounted what happened...

Damn it... I caused all this. I walked into a trap knowing it was a trap, set it off... but made it easier. And now... Now, Thane is...

I pull my gaze away from the table as I close my eyes, barely noticing Alanya and Kaidan in my peripheral vision. Damn it...

"So Art almost got himself captured, and it's only because of the Council that disaster was averted?" I hear Liselle ask. "Damn..."

"I find it difficult to believe myself," says Miranda. "But the fact of the matter is, we very nearly encountered a disaster."

"I just _knew_ something like this might happen." I open my eyes, looking at Jarel as he suddenly looks at me with a frown on his face. "I just _knew _it."

"Jarel?" asks Garrus.

The salarian shakes his head. "I still remember when he gave that bad order on Virmire," he says. "I didn't say anything when Shepard was arrested because I thought he would have learned by now." He simply crosses his arms. "Looks like I was wrong about that. He still makes foolish calls, even now."

I shake my head. I open my mouth, but... I can barely muster up a retort, because at the end of the day, he's right. I bite my lower lip immediately afterwards, glancing away from him.

"Oh, and now you're not even going to defend yourself?" I hear Jacob ask. "I thought you would do better than that."

I decide against saying anything, shaking my head and preferring to continue looking away. Finally, someone coughs nervously.

"I think you'll forgive me if we try to steer this back to the topic at hand," I hear Kaidan say. "We understand the Normandy underwent some internal damage, and I believe we will have to bring you back to the Citadel."

"Why?" asks Jack as she crosses her arms. "Haven't we fuckin' done enough?"

"Not yet," says Alanya. "We know you have broken all ties with Cerberus. But that's not going to do anything unless we return to the Citadel. We may be able to get the commander acquitted for certain with this."

"Hm. Possibility very certain." I look over to Mordin as he speaks. "Could provide witness account, supported by Spectre, proves Cerberus connection non-existent now-" and here, he sniffs loudly "-Commander Shepard gets her freedom."

"That's what the asari Councillor was hoping for, anyway," says Alanya. "We'll see what happens then, though I think most of what I've seen here will work in Shepard's favor."

"So we will return to the Citadel, then," says Garrus. "Hopefully, we won't get in big trouble when we get there."

"If you do, I will use my Spectre status to make sure you get out of it," says Alanya. She then turns her attention to Miranda. "You said there was another matter we needed to attend to?"

"Yes, but it was one that we would prefer not to have the rest of the crew here for," says Miranda. "Garrus, Art, Madison, Kasumi, Isaac, Wrex, I will need all of you to stay here, along with Alanya and Kaidan. Everyone else is dismissed."

With various words, I hear people exit the room. I don't pay attention, only looking down as the footsteps echo in the room. Finally, the door closes, and I find myself looking back up at everyone else in the room. I glance over to Miranda and Garrus, both of whom look over to me. I then look directly at Kaidan, watching as he looks at Miranda.

"And there is a final bit of business," he says. "What business are we speaking of?"

Miranda nods. "EDI, send Tidoses up here."

"_Acknowledged_." EDI's avatar doesn't pop up, but it's enough to make Alanya and Kaidan a bit confused.

"EDI?" asks Alanya.

"The ship's..." I hear Kasumi pause. "Well, it isn't exactly a VI..."

"You mean this ship has an artificial intelligence," says Alanya. Instantly, I can tell her expression is displeased. "I guess Cerberus gave you no choice in that."

"That is... true," says Miranda. "But EDI has done us a great service in the time we have known it. It has not turned on us."

"Yet," I hear Alanya state as she crosses her arms. "You have an AI here. How long will it take before it turns on you?"

"_That scenario is unlikely,_" says EDI as her avatar finally pops up again. "_The crew of the Normandy has depended on me to defend them in many, many instances. I should think that going rogue is not something that would come easy for me. Some of the crew have also... I think the organics on the ship would term it 'grown on me'._"_  
><em>

"You should talk to Joker about that," says Kasumi. "He and EDI bicker like an old married couple."

"The Council might not see it that way," says Alanya. "I'm just saying."

"And we will tell you that EDI can be trusted," says Garrus. "But that is not what we needed to discuss. We had another thing to discuss with Tidoses."

Alanya nods. "Tidoses, hm?" she asks. "Well, now that you mention it, that name _does _sound fa-"

And I hear the doors open. I watch as Tidoses walks in, looking to the rest of us. She doesn't look that happy, but then, when is she ever that happy about these kinds of things? She steps inside, first turning to Garrus.

"What do you-?"

And then, her gaze falls on Alanya. I notice that Alanya's eyes have widened in shock upon seeing Tidoses enter. I blink, looking between Tidoses and Alanya as they briefly look at each other.

"T... Tidoses?" asks Alanya.

"Alanya!"

The two Spectres look at each other in shock, and before I know it Tidoses has rushed on over and given Alanya a massive hug.

"Goddess, Tidoses!" says the asari as she's nearly tackled to the ground. "I thought you were..."

"Dead?" asks Tidoses. "Yeah, I was, but through some miracle I appeared on Omega and got myself rescued."

They part, looking at each other. "I just... I never thought I'd see you again."

"I never thought I'd see _anything _again," says Tidoses.

"Wait, wait," says Madison as she waves her arms around. "I know this is a happy reunion, but... You two know each other?"

Tidoses nods. "Alanya and I were Spectre candidates under the same mentor," she replies. "Our tutelage kind of overlapped, actually."

"Yeah," says Alanya. She pauses for a second before turning to Tidoses. "You were on the Normandy this whole time?"

"Not this whole time," the turian replies. "I wasn't on when Shepard was arrested. They only found me after that, and it was..." She pauses, glancing to the side before giving Alanya a hard stare. "Sparatus would never have let you come here, much less to help."

"The order to help the Normandy's crew didn't _come _from Sparatus," replies Alanya. "It came from Tevos and Valern. Udina and Sparatus don't even _know_, last I checked."_  
><em>

Tidoses growls. "Good," she says. "The Council has some sense, then. They won't let the _real _traitor have his way."

At this, all eyes turn to Tidoses. "The _real _traitor?" asks Alanya.

"Yes, the _real _traitor," says Tidoses. "Sparatus is the whole reason why the _Aurigos _vanished, Alanya. I saw it with my own eyes."

I suddenly look back up, looking at someone for the first time since the debriefing began. "Sparatus?" asks Garrus. "Why would the turian Councillor cause the ship he was on to disappear?"

"I have no idea, but I'm surprised you didn't catch on," says Tidoses. "Even without me, there were obvious cues. Sparatus was somehow the _only _person in that escape pod. That pod wasn't even _close _to where the _Aurigos _disappeared. He has never once spoken about what happened." Tidoses leans forward, slamming her fist on the table. "And now other ships are vanishing. This is all Sparatus' work, I'm telling you!"

"But this doesn't make any sense!" says Miranda. "Why would Sparatus do something like this?"

"And why didn't you tell anybody this before?" Madison adds. "You just brought all this up when... why didn't you tell anyone?"

Tidoses shakes her head, stepping back from the table. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she says. "Nobody would."

"Are you sure about that?" asks Wrex. "We've seen some pretty crazy things on this ship."

"Nothing short of telling me that one of you is actually from another universe could convince me that you would believe me," says Tidoses.

I blink violently. Most of the eyes in the room go straight to me, and I look around to see that everyone is expecting me to speak up. W... what?

"Wait..." says Tidoses. "Why's everybody looking at _him_?" She then points right at me, and I see her talon straighten as Kaidan and Alanya finally look in that direction.

...

Shit... This means I have to tell Kaidan now... Damn it, guys, I was hoping to tell him in private! But...

Well... I guess there's no avoiding it now. Damn it...

"Well," I begin, biting my lower lip. "I... I can do you one better than that." I shake my head, wiping the residue of tears off my face as I look to Tidoses. "Try _five _people that aren't from this universe, and try having _one _of them know more about certain people than you'd think."

At this, Tidoses actually scoffs loudly. I feel myself cringe as she does this, but before I can say anything. "Okay, now I _really _don't think you'll believe me. That's gotta be the craziest thing I've ever heard!"

I shake my head, turning my attention to Kaidan, who has stepped forward by this point. "No, wait," he says before I can say anything. He frowns, looking at me. "When I checked for traces of you on Earth, I could never find you. Not your exact name, anyway. And then there were other things. You seemed lost here. And then there's everything else." He shakes his head. "But as much as I want to believe it, that just sounds preposterous. There has to be some other explanation."

I drum my fingers. Fuck... Damn it, this is the only way to prove this, but...

Damn it, this is going to be like me telling Jack all over again. Except Kaidan's going to be all mad that I knew stuff...

Well... Let's just deal with this now. I'll deal with the fallout as it comes.

I nod, pulling my hand back from the table briefly. "I..." I lick my lower lip nervously. "There would be, but... But then there's the fact that I know about Rahna. Your old friend from brain camp?"

He almost immediately does a double take. "W-what?" he asks. "Y-you-?"

"You met her on an Alliance program at Gagarin Station," I reply. "You knew it as 'brain camp'. And... well, you became a close friend of hers." I pause, glancing to the side. "Except that your teacher was some cruel guy. Commander Vyrnnus, I think his name was. Turian, and he was really hard." I pause again, watching Kaidan's shocked expression slowly unfold. "One day, Vyrnnus broke Rahna's arm when she reached for a glass of water instead of biotically pulling it towards her. And when you defended her, things got so out of hand that he pulled a knife on you. In response... you kicked him biotically. That snapped his neck, and singlehandedly caused the whole program to get shut down. And Rahna... She-"

"-never spoke to me again..." Kaidan finishes. His eyes glance down at the table. "Even now, she won't talk to me because she was afraid. I guess I had it coming, but... It's weird, thinking about her again."

He pauses, before looking up at me again. "How the hell did you know about that?" he asks, less in shock and more in some weird blend of mild anger and confusion.

I nod. "This... This is going to be really hard to explain, but I swear to God, this is all true," I say. "So here goes."

And with that, I tell Tidoses, Alanya, and Kaidan about the _real _story of my pre-_Mass Effect _life. I tell them everything. I tell them about the games. I tell them about Satie's Vexations. I tell them about how I knew everything that was going to happen during the previous two years. I even told them that my precognition was no longer there.

And when I finish, the three of them are looking at me in near-complete disbelief. Tidoses looks like she's just heard throat singing for the first time, Alanya looks shocked, and Kaidan... Well, it's hard to read into his disbelief.

I nod. "And that's how I knew about Rahna," I say. "You had a conversation with Shepard in the game where you brought that up, regardless of the player's gender." I sigh. "I should've told you so much earlier, Kaidan. Maybe if I had..." I shake my head, clenching one of my fists. "I know nothing I can say at this point will make it better, but... For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

I look down at the table, and a short silence springs between all of us in the room. It's short, but it seems to stretch on infinitely. Damn, now I had to admit that to people who could...

No, Tidoses wouldn't use that against me.

"Damn," says Alanya, breaking the silence in the room. "I don't know if I should lock you up in the nearest asylum or believe that what you're saying is true. This is..."

"It's hard to believe, even for me," I say. "It's... it's so complicated."

Kaidan doesn't say a word, instead hitting the table. "This is... I..." He shakes his head. "I can't believe this. He _lied _about who he was like that? I just..." He begins pacing around, glancing at everybody in the room. "And none of you are _angry _at him?"

"I was," says Garrus.

"So was I," adds Wrex.

"And you would not _believe _how angry Shepard was when she found out," Miranda finishes. "He nearly got kicked off the ship right then and there."

Kaidan shakes his head. "I don't understand how he could hide a secret like that!" he says. "You knew the future! Why didn't you change it?"

"I tried, Kaidan," I say, shaking my head sadly. "I tried. But try as I might've, I couldn't save Ash, even by taking your place on Virmire."

He pauses suddenly. "I... I was supposed to go with Kirrahe's men?" he asks.

"Yes," I reply. "But I took your place. I didn't want Shepard to have to choose between you and Ash. And I was hoping she would pick Ash." I gesture to myself. "And look how far _that _got me." I shake my head bitterly. "And some things _did _change." I nod to Garrus and Madison. "You can ask them about that. But I couldn't tell anyone. Would you have believed me, Kaidan?"

"I... I don't..." He growls in frustration before walking towards the door. "I'm sorry. I need to think about this."

"We are not finished with debriefing," says Miranda. "Tidoses still has to tell us what happened on the _Aurigos_. You can sort out your feelings over this later."

With this, all eyes turn to Tidoses, who has remained silent through all this.

"I... I don't know what to make of that," she says. "But..." She frowns, and I watch as Kaidan takes a place behind Alanya. "Well, if he can prove that, then I guess there's nothing else to say."

She nods, and I watch as Kaidan begins brooding off to the side. "Very well," says the female turian as she leans against the table. "But I have to warn you: what I'm about to tell you can't leave this room until we get to the Citadel." Miranda opens her mouth to ask why when Tidoses continues. "We can't risk Councillor Sparatus finding out that someone knows what happened on the Aurigos until he's behind bars or about to be arrested."

Miranda immediately closes her mouth, and looks to the rest of us. I see people give various signs of approval throughout the table, and then we all turn to Tidoses.

"You have our word," says Wrex.

Tidoses nods. "Then... Here goes."

* * *

><p>Wow... Holy shit... To think that <em>that <em>was what Tidoses had gone through...

"And that's how it all happened," she finishes. "I don't know how he got that thing, but..."

"Tidoses, this is some _serious _shit," says Garrus. "The Council needs to know about this right away!"

"Yes," says Miranda. "EDI, set a course for the Citadel immediately."

"_Of course._" The avatar then appears. "_Will that be all?_"

"Yes, EDI," says Miranda.

"_Logging you out._"

With this, EDI goes silent, and Miranda looks right at Alanya. "I take it you need to tell Councillor Tevos about this turn of events?"

"Yes," says the asari Spectre. "Oh, there's so much I need to say to her."

"You can use this room after we finish the briefing," says Miranda. "It was designed with a quantum entanglement device."

Alanya's eyes widen. "That... I thought that was experimental!" she says.

"Well, we have it here, so I guess that means it's no longer so experimental," says Tidoses. "I... I can't believe I told you all that."

"You did the right thing," Madison reassures the turian Spectre. "Trust me, Tidoses, you did the right thing."

Miranda nods. "I believe this is all the business we need to conduct," she says. "Dismissed. Alanya, you can use this room to contact Councillor Tevos."

The asari Spectre nods. "Thank you, Ms. Lawson," she says. "I have to admit, it's strange being received so well from someone I was trying to arrest the last time we spoke."

"Hey, you got our asses out of the fire where it counted," Garrus says. "That's gotta count for something."

I feel a pang in my heart at his comment, even as Alanya smiles. "I guess that's true," she says. "I'll see you guys later."

I barely even look up as I leave. All the guilt settles back in, and... Damn it.

I shake my head as I exit, and notice everyone else except for Kaidan and Alanya. I turn to them as they look at me expectantly.

"Art?" asks Madison.

I shake my head, looking away from them.

"I'll be in Life Support if you need me," I say. "But... Please don't disturb me while I'm there."

With this, I turn away, walking through the armory so I can avoid Jarel and some of the others.

* * *

><p>I sit at the table, glumly facing down at the table. The drive core is behind me, and I find myself looking at the space that Thane would have occupied if he were still with us.<p>

If he were still with us... The empty air just makes it that much more profound. And what's even worse is that his personal effects are still there. His sniper rifle was given back to us by the hanar... his submachine gun was still here... and I can still hear the forgotten years as if he were recounting them right now.

I wonder what it's gotta be like for him. I mean... he's down at the Fade now. Maybe he'll find Irikah on the way to the Black City. Maybe. I don't know. But it's definitely not as ocean-like as Thane would probably want it to be. I think. I just... I don't know anymore. I wonder what he thought as he laid there dying.

Maybe he wanted to yell at me over something. I can't imagine Thane doing it, but... God damn it, _someone _has to.

My fist strikes the table for the fourth time since I've entered life support.

Damn it! If I had just listened to Miranda, we could have avoided all this. But no. I had to listen to that part of me that insisted on making that call that got Thane killed. So much could've gone better, and yet...

And yet, Alanya had to get us all out of it.

I cup my head in my hands, sitting there quietly as I ruminate some more on this subject.

I hear the door to Life Support open, but I don't have the heart to tell whoever opened it to leave me alone. I hear some slower steps enter the room, and then I look up to see Kaidan walking in.

I nod somberly as the door to Life Support closes. "Hi, Kaidan," I say, almost croaking it out. Even my own voice feels alien to me.

"I figured I'd find you here," says Kaidan as he remains standing. "From what Wrex told me, this was where Thane used to be."

"Yes," I say, suddenly remembering the day Thane came onto the ship. "He asked to be placed in the driest part of the ship. Funny how that part of the ship also had a view of the drive core, no?"

"Yeah," says Kaidan as he looks behind me. "I guess this has hit you hard."

I chuckle bitterly. "Hard doesn't even begin to describe it," I reply. "I made some calls I shouldn't have. And they got him killed." I shake my head as I lay my arms on the table. "I guess you're here to talk about a lot of things."

"Yes," says Kaidan as he comes closer. He leans against the table, looking directly at me. "You said you knew everything. Why didn't you tell me Shepard was going to die?"

I open my mouth, but then I pause, looking to the side. I breathe in slightly, shaking my head. "You wouldn't have believed me if I had told you," I say.

"Not exactly," he replies. "I already knew you weren't all you said you were. And you knew about Rahna. You could have told me, Art. You could have told me about what would happen." Kaidan frowns. "And then... maybe then I wouldn't have abandoned Shepard the way I did on Horizon."

I purse my lips together. "I was hoping you wouldn't erupt like that on Horizon," I reply.

Kaidan's expression hardens. "With all due respect, that makes it sound like some kind of self-fulfilling prophecy," he replies. "As if you knew what was going to happen."

I blink, looking at the Staff Commander. "What makes you say that?" I ask.

"Kasumi told me that you were busy playing matchmaker between Thane and Shepard," he says. "Just like how you did so with me and Shepard." He steps towards me, not sitting in Thane's chair but getting close enough that I feel his presence overpower me. "I don't know, Art, but it sounds like you played your cards against me on purpose."

I find myself at a loss for words. I mean... That can't be true. Kaidan bitched at Shepard on Horizon over stuff, and it was worse than it was in the game. But...

But when I really think about it...

I sigh, looking away from Kaidan. "I..." I pause, shaking my head. "I..." Damn it, Art, just spit it out! "I just..."

...

I bang my fist on the table, raising it slightly afterwards. My fist comes apart in the air, and then my face rushes into my open palm, and I close my eyes, barely able to look at Kaidan. He remains silent as I sit there. The silence becomes unbearable, and I just sit there with my face resting in my palm.

Finally, I shake my head, placing my right arm back on the table. "I..." I breathe in. "I was honestly hoping... that you wouldn't yell at her."

"Then you should have told me," he says. "I would have given you the benefit of the doubt." He then leans forward. "Just tell me one thing: would you have done anything if I had not yelled at her?"

I sigh. "No," I say. "I would've respected you two and just let it lay there." I look up at Kaidan. "But at the same time, I didn't plan for things to happen the way they did."

"You'll forgive me if I find that hard to believe after you punched me in the face, I trust," he replies. "I don't know if I can ever trust you to tell me anything again. I trusted you after Virmire, knowing that you were trying to save Ash. And then, you turned around and spat in it. You _betrayed_ that trust." He leans back, his eyes scanning over me. "How do I take something like that?"

He shakes his head, and turns away from me before I can reply. He pauses, and then looks back to me. I sigh, looking away, feeling my shoulders slump. "I..." I say. "I..."

"Don't seek me out on this ship," says Kaidan. "If I want to talk to you again, I'll seek you out." He shakes his head. "But I doubt I will ever speak to you again if you're going to reward my trust in you with... _that_."

With this, he leaves Life Support. As soon as the door closes behind him, I find myself leaning back in the chair, blinking away tears. Damn it...

I shake my head, leaning forward as I begin contemplating the things Kaidan was talking about.

* * *

><p>After a while, I find myself reaching into my pocket and pulling Orange out. I sit there, closing my eyes.<p>

"Orange?" I ask.

"Keeper," she says. I can immediately tell that she is pretty miffed. "Our goals may have been compromised. I saw your response to what I told you in the field."

I nod. "I know," I reply. "It's just... you know?"

"I do not, actually," she replies. "How could you risk everything we have worked for like this? We would have lost you. We would have lost the war. All because you had to follow one rather dumb idea. Miranda warned you of the risks, and yet you ignored her completely."

"Orange, you're talking to me like I haven't already realized that," I reply.

"Do I?" she asks. "You forget that I have seen your actions. And in your actions, I have consistently seen you deny any involvement in what happened."

"Really?" I ask.

"Yes," says Orange. "There are... _many _things I can think of. With Grunt, you failed to build his trust. You were right that he was insufferable with his talk about his battlemaster, but you did nothing to assuage his worries other than to yell at him and get him injured."

I frown. "You're-?"

"Yes, I am. I'm placing part of the blame on you, because it is the truth," she continues. "There were other ways you could have approached that, and those other ways could have prevented Grunt from being injured at the end and confined to his ship as a result of that. I care not for what he might have done. You provoked him needlessly." But- "And I believe you could have prevented Tali from going onto the Moreh alone if you had stayed with her."

"Orange, I already know that!" I say. "And besides, you know that whole situation was more complicated than that."

"Yes, but the fact remains that you had a part in it, however minimal it was," she says. "I do not agree with Daro'Xen's moronic assertion that you caused her to go to the extremes she did, but I will agree with your own assessment that you should have stayed with her. I bring this up since you seem content to forget your involvement."

Orange, you know that-

"And I seem to recall your attempts to bring Thane and Shepard together after Kaidan's rejection," she adds. "Be honest with yourself, Keeper. You wanted Shepard to be with Thane all along. Part of you was hoping that Kaidan would scream at her on Horizon so it would happen."

"Orange, that-"

"Be honest for once. Because your rationalization begins to fall apart when you consider your treatment of Kaidan after Horizon."

I blink, looking away. No, there's no freaking way. Kaidan yelled at Shepard on Horizon. I wouldn't have encouraged Shepard to go after Thane if that hadn't happened.

"Would you still have punched Kaidan, then?" Orange asks. "Your incessant rationalization of your own actions is beginning to become an annoyance. The world is not as simple as you might think it is, and yet you insist on constantly simplifying it for your own sense of moral security. I was beginning to think you were understanding that the way you see things is dangerous after what happened to Tali, and yet I have been proven wrong." I feel my heartbeat pick up as she says this. How...?

"Do you know another reason I never allowed you to go into the field of visions by yourself, Keeper? I understood that you would not see the visions the same way I did. Possibilities have a series of actions that lead up to them. You cannot know how those possibilities fold out. And knowing you, I know that your impatience would have caused great harm. That was another reason why I forbade you from going there."

I shake my head. "Orange, you don't underst-"

"I believe I do," she says. "I have been seeing your thoughts from a distance ever since you ventured through the Conduit. I have seen things through the field about your past. I have seen your reaction to Virmire. I have seen your rationalization to many other matters, and I have seen how you paint yourself afterwards." Orange pauses immediately afterwards. "Your subconscious need to inflate your sense of innocence will be your downfall, Keeper. Remember this, Keeper." I shake my head. "And by the way, Kai Leng had the mark of indoctrination on him. The Reapers very nearly found out about our plans. Remember this."

I let go of Orange, letting the device sit on the table as I look at it. She... I can't believe she'd do that. I mean... pulling Virmire at a time like this? I tried to save Ash...

...but to do that, I sent some salarians to their deaths... And then... I got people killed anyway. I don't know how many there were, but... I don't know. And then I had to hold for time when Shepard told me to call Joker. And Shepard told me I nearly killed us all because of that. Was I really...?

...

My head collides with the table, and... Damn it, have I _really _had a hand in this many things? I just...

I sit there for a while, ruminating about everything that has happened since I plopped in here. I mean... No, now there's a lot more that I'm thinking about. Just... what about Jenny? If I had just told her sooner... And I know I definitely should've told Shepard sooner. Maybe Jack too. And...

Oh, God damn it!

I slam my fist on the table, feeling my hand hover in the air for a few seconds.

Damn it, Orange is right. She's right, and I can't...

Damn it.

I shake my head, leaning back in my chair when I hear the door to Life Support open. I look over suddenly, seeing Wrex walk in carrying a datapad.

"I think this calls for a brief session of 'the game'," he says.

I blink, glancing to the side as I think about the last time he said that in a similar situation. "Yeah, it might," I comment, looking at the krogan. "What're you doing here?"

The krogan shrugs. "Liara sent us something from the Shadow Broker's dossiers," he replies, throwing the datapad on the table. "Turns out it was some kinda message from Thane."

I shudder, looking directly at the krogan. "From Thane?" I ask, looking at the datapad. "What does it say?"

He shrugs. "There was somethin' for everyone there," he says. "I'd read it if I were you. This was meant to go out to the whole Brotherhood, I think."

I nod, looking at the list. "Thank you," I say.

But the krogan leans over. "Hey," he says. "I'll be up at the tech lab. Find me if you need me to kick someone's ass for you."

I nod. "Thanks... Wrex," I say. Was I supposed to take that sincerely, or...?

The krogan nods, slapping my shoulder. "Just remember: we're always here," he says.

With this (really kinda va... wait. Wrex? _Vague?_), the krogan leaves. I'm left sitting there with the datapad sitting in front of me. The doors eventually close, and my eyes look down at the datapad in front of me.

I already see some kind of letter there, but I'm a little nervous... Damn it, Art, it's just a letter. It's just a letter from Thane. Maybe it's saying some things he had to put down in writing...

And yet...

I feel my fingers reach out towards the datapad. These are the last things Thane wrote to each of us... They're like... his last words or something. I don't know... But at the same time, he left something for us, so...

No. I have to read this. This is Thane's last testament. I already got him killed: I'd just be raping his corpse in the ass if I let this letter sit here unread.

I pick up the datapad, and look directly at the letter.

I blink for a second, feeling my eyes water as I begin reading.

* * *

><p><em>To the Brotherhood,<em>

_I write this with a heavy hand, knowing you will read this letter when I am no longer able to share my thoughts. I am dying. Perhaps because of the differences between our varying species, I can hope that time will treat all of you with kindness and dim the hurt of my passing to faded recollections that a drell would forever remember with perfect clarity._

_Selfishly, however, I could not leave this world without leaving a piece of me behind that would never fade._

_I once accepted my fate. Nothing remained but a shell destined to die. I only had to choose the when and how of my passing. I had refused to be confined to a bed, gasping horribly as my life beeped away to machinery I had no use for. I thought of my Irikah, broken, bloodied, and betrayed by my absence. Of Kolyat, small and afraid, bravely pushing at his eyes to stem the flow of tears I had entrusted to him to cry... for both our sakes._

_The expectation to move swiftly to my end vanished upon uniting with your cause. All of you awoke me. __I have much that needs to be said, and yet I find I cannot say everything that must be said. I will say what I can, however, to all of you who spoke and remained by my side in my final days:_

_Michael: Much like Art, I find much is peculiar about you. I wish I had conversed with you more often. Please, ensure that Carolyn is safe: she denies it, but the support that others give her will allow her to stand strong in the face of great hardship.__  
><em>

_Wrex: I find myself with a lack of things to say to you, perhaps because your time in the Brotherhood was so brief. I believe, however, that you will become a beacon of strength for the krogan people. With you as their leader, they will prosper, and you will bestow a hope that has eluded the krogan for so long._

_Kasumi: I believe the best word to use to describe you is 'fun'. I was surprised by how a thief such as you could exist, and yet you were the one who always acted as the... 'big sister' of everyone around. From my hand, such a term feels awkward, but to describe you it is the only thing I can use. Stay by everybody's side: they will need your positive attitude in the days to come._

______Carolyn: You have been particularly accommodating to my disease during my time on the Normandy. You wield the hands of Arashu with your patients, which is something I cannot safely say for every doctor I have ever known. You remain a pillar of strength and stability for the Normandy: remain with them. They will need much in the way of stability when facing the coming storm.______

_Isaac: I have not known you very long, as most of the crew of the Normandy will tell you. And yet, I feel that I know exactly what I wish to tell you, perhaps because I was once in your situation myself. You guard yourself, and mask how you really feel: I will implore you to open up to the Brotherhood, and especially to Jocelyn if you should meet her after I go to the sea. I entrust you to them, as I know they will be your best guides in a universe where you will forever remain a stranger._

__Madison: You maintain a remarkable inner strength: I suspect that Garrus would call you his 'siha' if he were a drell. More than this, however: you have risen from the ashes, despite the fact that you entered into an unfamiliar, cold galaxy. That you still have a semblance of your own will in the face of everything you know shifting so suddenly is remarkable. Maintain this inner strength, particularly in the coming days. I sense there will be many trials that await you, and yet I know you will fight to the end for what is right.__

___Miranda: When I spoke to Kolyat through video after we had deposed the Shadow Broker, he mentioned that he knew your sister Oriana. From what I have heard, your sister is a good woman, and knowing that she had a sister changed her life. I would venture to say that she has also changed you in a certain way. You are calculating when you must be, but Oriana remains a ground for your emotions. I am certain Art has told you to maintain this relationship: allow me to supplement this recommendation as best I can.___

_Garrus: There is a fire that smolders deep within you and lights the way for others to follow. Literally, I would say that you have learned much from Jocelyn. You will do well to retain much of what you have learned from her: your fire can be used for the greater good. Amonkira himself has blessed you with a great ability, even if it threatens to overtake you. Maintain your faith in the Brotherhood and your friends: they have not failed you thus far. I will also entrust you to remain vigilant towards Madison: she will need as much support as you can supply her when she faces what she must._

_Tali: At the time of this writing, you have suffered a trauma that I would not wish upon my worst enemies. I am certain I will never discover the true cause of your distress while I yet live, but even so I must ask you to trust us. You have always carried emotional burdens, and the time has come where others will be called to help you in your time of great need. I believe they will help you regardless of how well they understand you, however: your unwavering selflessness has awoken many positive feelings in people. It has even improved lives: I am afraid to think of how Art might have taken certain events if you had not been there to help him shoulder his burden. If all else whispers silently in the tide, know that your actions have done more to help anybody than you could ever have anticipated._

_Art: You are perhaps the most peculiar individual I have ever met for a variety of reasons. _Your optimism brightened my final days in a way even I never would have believed at first, and it is even more remarkable that you maintain this optimism even despite the odds you face on the Normandy. At the same time, _I fear that this optimism will lead to your downfall. You have always entered a mission with an irresponsible expectation that certain things will happen, and I am afraid that this will color future events. Be aware: you cannot truly predict or simplify the world._

_I believe, however, that you have a good heart. You did not need to aid Jocelyn on this new mission, and yet you did not hesitate to show her a display of courage and trust when all seemed lost for her. You understood the risks better than even Jocelyn, and you joined her even then. Hold this courage close to your heart: it will serve you well._

_Jocelyn: I speak of the Brotherhood awakening me, but in a way that is incorrect. You awoke me most of all, Jocelyn Shepard. You awoke me from my battlesleep, a sleep I was sure I would languish in throughout my final days. __My heart quickened its sluggish beat if only to remain at your side and protect you with everything that I am. I was content to simply watch, take the time left given and praise all I know for allowing me to walk my final days with hope and certainty that I am worthy of more than my cold isolation, solely because you believed._

_I love you. You awakened a feeling I never believed I would feel again. If all else whispers back into the tide, know this for fact. By grace given me by the Goddess Arashu, I bid her divine protection to you, my warrior-angel, my Siha, to succeed in your destiny. To light your path through the coming darkness. To give you hope, when all seems lost. To give others hope, when they have lost the way. This is my final blessing to you, my Siha, my love. I will wait across the sea. __And if you feel you must return to Kaidan, or to find a new love... I give you my blessing._

_To all: There is much more I could say to all of you, and yet more words than these would feel alien to my hands. Know that you have brightened my final days more than I could ever have imagined. May Arashu protect all of you._

_-Thane_

* * *

><p>By the time I finish the letter, I'm literally crying. I set the datapad down, and I sob profusely. Damn it... This is the man I got killed...<p>

It takes a long time before I finally sit back up, looking at that datapad. He... He says I simplify the world sometimes...

I blink, thinking about Kaidan... about the games and what happened when things didn't go how I remembered... Damn... Did I really...? Yes, there was the one time where I literally blanked out after Garrus said his squad lived. And then there was the time that I didn't tell Tali and nearly lost her friendship... And...

I sit back.

Holy shit. Have I really been dodging responsibility all this time? I mean, here I am, sitting here, rationalizing about stuff when...

I look to Orange where the device lays on the table. I lick my lips to hydrate them a bit, and then lean over and pick the device back up. I look at it for a brief period of time, before pocketing it. I sit there, taking another look at the datapad, before biting my lower lip.

I stand up, and look at the door for life support.

Damn it, I have some mistakes I need to own up to. I don't know if I'll ever own up to them, but... this'll be a start.

* * *

><p>I enter Miranda's quarters, surprised at the huge hole that's been punched into the deck literally right above where her desk is. When I look in, I notice that she and Garrus have been conversing about something. They're looking right at me when I enter, with Garrus leaning over the desk at which Miranda is sitting. When I enter, I look up at the hole before turning my attention back to Miranda.<p>

"That's... a pretty big hole," I comment. "It's just like the ones on the rest of this deck..."

"Yes," says Miranda. "We spoke with Alanya about that, actually. She will try to help repair the Normandy however she can, actually."

I shake my head. "Odd about the fact that we need to fix her again," I say. "But... enough about that. I actually have something I need to talk to you about."

"Well, that's good," says Garrus. "We wanted to talk to you. It's important."

I nod, walking forward. "Yeah, I figure it might be," I say. "But it's important what I want to say too, so..."

"What do you need?" Miranda asks.

I bite my lower lip. "I... I want to take myself off the chain of command on the Normandy."

Garrus and Miranda both look wide-eyed and surprised at this mention. I bow my head, finding myself chewing on my lower lip. "I... Uh..." I hear Garrus say.

"I'm not ready to command," I say. "I thought I'd be, but..." I shake my head, looking up. "I can't put myself in that position again. I can't let someone die because I made a bad call. I... I thought we'd all make it to the end, honestly. That I didn't expect this..."

I notice Miranda nod. "To tell you the truth, we were going to ask that you not command any ground units from here on out," says Miranda. "But..."

"Yeah, I can't say we were expecting this," says Garrus. "What changed between the last time we saw each other?"

I sigh, looking at my pocket. "Two people calling me out, and a posthumous letter," I reply. "They... helped me come to a realization." I shake my head. "I... I haven't thought about this like a war scenario. I could never fully come to the realization that I'm in a war zone. I thought that we'd be all right since everything turned out well, but..." I shake my head. "I don't think I can handle the responsibility of being a leader in war. I don't think I can, because I always think we'll come out on top." My fingers begin to fiddle about as I look at them. "The truth is... I don't think I can handle it, because I'm just... I..."

"You don't think you're mature enough."

I pause, glancing to the side.

"I... I wouldn... I..." Should... No. I need to be honest with myself here. "Yeah. Yeah, I don't think I am."

Garrus and Miranda look at me with surprise on their faces. "Well..." says Garrus. "I... uh..."

"I'm not sure what to say to that," says Miranda. "But... if you do not believe you can handle that responsibility, then I don't think I can dissuade you."

"I wouldn't want you to try dissuading me anyway," I reply. "You both understand what's at stake better than I do. I... I can't command people if I still think this is some kind of story with a set outcome. I... I let myself become too cocky."

"Maybe," says Garrus.

Miranda nods. "I think that's what happened," she says, giving me a cold look. "I did attempt to dissuade you."

"And I should have listened," I add, nodding to Miranda. "I... I know it's not going to make a difference, but... I'm sorry."

Miranda nods. "It may not make a difference to some," she says. "But you are trying to own up to it. That is more than I can say for many people who would be in your position. So... I forgive you." She looks at me.

I nod. "Thank you," I say. "I... I've got a _lot _of other people I need to talk to."

"We won't be on the Citadel for another fifteen hours," says Garrus. "Take as much time as you need."

"Thank you," I say. "And..." I look at Miranda. "I hope Oriana's safe."

With this, I turn around and walk out of Miranda's office. I sigh, looking at the damage to the Normandy's crew deck again as I shake my head. I...

Well... I feel better now that I've just admitted that much to myself.

Damn, but do I have some growing up to do right now.

I breathe in and let out a sigh, walking towards the elevator. Damn it, I have a lot of people I need to speak to...

* * *

><p>I enter the tech lab almost immediately, finding Jarel and Anahit both standing there. Jarel doesn't look very pleased right now, as he completely ignores the fact that I have entered. Anahit glances at me with less fury in her countenance, though it feels like she sees right through me.<p>

"Art," she says. Jarel doesn't look up from whatever it is he's doing. "It seems you've decided to come in here."

I nod slowly. "Yes," I say, looking directly at the salarian. "I have some... things I need to say."

"Not interested," says Jarel without breaking his concentration. "I'm busy. You being here is breaking my concentration."

I glance down. "Look, Jarel..." I shake my head. "I'm sorry."

"The hell you are," he says. "Is that how the humans say it? Oh, wait, yes, it is. I've researched all your mannerisms by now. I know how you might approach this. I'm telling you I'm not interested in hearing it. So go away, and make my life easier."

I glance over at Anahit, who simply glances at me without saying anything. I sigh, stepping forward. "I..." No... I can't beat around the bush for this. I can't get around the long way, or...

No. I need to be direct.

"I'm sorry about your friends on Virmire."

He doesn't stop, as he continues to type away. "I... I didn't even know you were still angry at me over that, honestly," I say. "I figured you might've been angry about that when we were picked up by the Normandy since you didn't come talk to me, but..." I shake my head. "Well... You're right to be angry."

It's only then that he pauses. "I... already told you the truth about myself, so I think you'll be able to figure out why I sent that extra group off. In the end, if you think I was trying to get myself killed... well, you're right. I was holding on to some vain hope that... frankly, looking back on it now, it was pretty stupid. And I got a bunch of people killed because I was following a blind hope. I..." I shake my head. "I don't know if anything I'll say now will make it any better, but... I'm sorry. I really am."

Jarel remains perfectly still, looking at the screen in front of him with a look of silence. I notice that Anahit's gaze is trained on Jarel as he remains sitting there. The salarian stands, glancing to the side before taking his hands away from the holographic keyboard.

"Kipya Kalengra," he says. "That was the name of one of the casualties on Team Orzammar when you sent one of us away. He... was not usual for a salarian in any sense. He would flirt with women all the time whenever we were on shore leave. He was kind of like you, if you were more sexual." He shakes his head. "But beneath that, he wanted a serious relationship. He had just taken a girlfriend on the Citadel, a turian if I remember it right. He was looking forward to seeing her again."

Jarel finally looks up at me. "We were all close in that STG regiment," he says. "We lost a lot of good men that day. I could tell you everything about the people that died that day. I could tell you everything about them, like how Hengra liked to watch bad movies from early in salarian history, or how Kirrahe was well-meaning even if he was a bit of a cloaca..." He shakes his head. "A part of me has never forgiven you for that, and I don't know if it ever can. Especially now that history has repeated itself."

It's only then that I notice that Jarel's expression is... sad? He doesn't look angry, that's for sure. "It definitely has," I say, glancing to the side. "I... I don't know if I'll ever forgive _myself_, personally. I mean... Thane is dead, and now..." I pause, looking at the salarian. "_Fuck_."

"Fuck, indeed," says Jarel as he leans against the table. "Do you think there will be a third time?"

I sigh. "I... I want to prevent a third time of making a mistake like this." I gesture with my hand, looking at Jarel. "I... I can't think about this like it's some kind of game, you know?"

"I think I do," says Jarel. "Very well, then. I will give you that chance. But if it happens again, I will never speak to you again."

I nod, looking at the salarian. "I accept your terms," I comment. "Though, I get the feeling you want to do more than just that."

"Yes." With this, Jarel walks right up to me. Before I can feel anything, his fist connects with my face, and I find myself stumbling back. I nurse the place where he punched me as I come up against the wall, looking at Jarel as he takes a step forward and points a finger at me.

"That's for everyone that lost their lives because of calls you've made," he says. "And even then, I don't think that will ever be enough."

He then holds his hand out. "But this is because I still think you could be a great man, even after all this." He shrugs. "You're trying to own up to your mistake, however late it might be for that."

I chuckle bitterly. "Yeah," I comment. "Nothing will ever excuse what I've done, but... at least there's this."

"Yes, pretty much," says Jarel.

I glance at his outstretched hand, and then back at the salarian. Slowly, I lower my hand from my cheek, and take his hand in mine.

I promptly shake it, and he reciprocates the gesture in kind.

* * *

><p>I walk back into my quarters, seeing Tali laying down there. She looks like she's trying to get some sleep, but she seem unsuccessful, if the state of the covers says anything.<p>

I sigh, looking at her sadly. Damn it, she's been through a lot too. Between Kul'Yenvar and everything else there...

I move forward, sitting on the bed. The shift in weight doesn't seem to disturb Tali, but you never can tell whenever something like what she went through is involved. I sit there, looking at her as she sleeps on her side. I notice briefly that her helmet is still on, but honestly, I can't really blame her.

I glance to the side, looking at the light the drive core gives off. I notice how it seems to illuminate the room in the darkness, so that the room is bright enough without it. I... Wow, I never really noticed it before. The way the shadows move in the room... the way the light sort of casts everything in a blue light... the way it sort of filters over my desk...

I shake my head. How did I never seem to notice that in all the time I've spent here? I figured I would've noticed it, but apparently not. Because here I am, and this surprises me.

I shake my head, sighing as I look back at Tali. I raise my hand, intending to put it on her shoulder, but... No, that could wake her up. So I place it back on the bed, and simply find myself looking at her.

Immediately when my hand touches the bed, Tali starts. Before I can say anything, she suddenly lets out a gurgled half-cry, and catapults off the bed. I find myself jumping in shock, watching as she begins hyperventilating. I sit there, watching as she breathes in and out frantically. Her hand quickly goes to her chest, and I watch as she sits there, not even noticing that I've entered yet.

"T... Tali?"

The quarian turns to look at me quickly, but her shoulders relax visibly when she sees me. "Oh. Art..." she says. "It's you..."

I nod. "Yeah, it's me, _querida_," I reply as I crawl back so I'm closer to her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Something about the way she says it is clipped, as if she doesn't want to discuss it.

I frown, looking at where she was resting on the bed. "Tali..." I say, lifting a hand tentatively. I... Should I, or should I not? Because if I do, that would be good, but I don't want to set off a trigger for her. I mean... I...

Finally, I end up softly placing my hand there. She twitches slightly under my touch, but she doesn't look like she cares. "Tali, it's all right," I say.

"How is it all right?" she asks. "You... Never mind."

I frown. "What's on your mind?" I ask.

"I... It's nothing, really," she says. "I'll be all right."

I shake my head. Jeez, Tali, you were never very good at hiding secrets. "Tali... Something's on your mind," I say.

"And how would you know that?" she asks.

"I know you too well," I say. "You were never very good at hiding how you felt." I give her a sad smile. "And... I don't know, Tali, but it's..." I shake my head. "God, it's tough."

She shakes her head as I take my hand off her shoulders. "You wouldn't understand," she says.

I glance down at the bed briefly. Maybe I wouldn't... but when did that ever stop her from listening to me. "And that's exactly what I said to you that first time I told you the truth about myself," I reply. "Except that you listened anyway." I take her hand, gingerly, and pull it close to my chest. While she does shudder at my touch slightly, she doesn't pull away, so I look her in the eyes for the first time we've been able to since everything with Kul happened. "Tali, you've been there for me through everything. I've poured my heart out to you when I've had nobody else to turn to. And you've been the one person who's been there for me through thick and thin, and... well, _almost _every time I've fu-... _messed_ up, you've been there to help me."

I pause, looking at her. "It's only fair that I reciprocate that," I say. "Just... tell me what's bothering you. Let me help you carry your burden, Tali."

She looks at me for a few seconds, looking as if she wants to cry. I give her a sad look, holding her hand just over my heart. I can feel my heart beat against Tali's hand, as if my ribcage has just vanished and she's touching it.

It takes all of two seconds for her to sniffle, and when that happens, the floodgates open. She's suddenly hugging me tightly, crying into my chest as I sit there bewildered for a second or two. I slowly wrap her arms around her, and hold her there as she cries.

It takes a minute or two for her to finally calm down enough that she can actually say a few words.

"I... I can't stop dreaming... about Kul'Yenvar..." she says, her voice breaking slightly. "I just can't! I always see him approaching... and then he comes... and takes my mask off... and... and..." She looks away from me. "I always see him looking at me... And then I imagine him taking his mask of... and doing worse than he actually did... and... and..." She shakes her head. "And _nobody _understands!"

I simply pull her closer. "It's all right," I say. "It's all right."

"No, it's not..." she says. "I... I let him do those things... I let him... I told him things... and they nearly killed Legion, and... and I... If I hadn't..."

I blink, looking down at Tali. "Tali, no, no," I say. I pull her off of me, and make sure she's looking right at me. "Tali, listen to me. That was _never _your fault, all right?"

"How... do you know that?" she asks. "I told him that information..."

"Tali, trust me, it was never your fault," I repeat. "It was never your fault at any point in that."

"But I-"

"It was still never your fault," I interrupt. "Kul'Yenvar was a sick bastard, Tali. Nothing that he caused is your fault, Tali. You were never to blame."

"But I... I still told him."

I shake my head. "Tali, it was not your fault."

She shakes her head. "Art..."

"It's not your fault," I repeat.

Tali shakes her head, and I can tell she's about to break into tears. "Art, I just..." she sniffles. "I just don't know..."

I chew on my lower lip a little. "It's not your fault."

She shakes her head. "But... Art..."

But I simply look at her. "It's not your fault."

She sniffles, and then I just watch as she brings her hands up to her helmet. "I... I just... I'm so sorry..."

And then she leans into me, hugging me with all she can. I hold her close to me, letting her cry her tears as I hold her against me. "You have nothing to be sorry about, Tali," I whisper.

Tali doesn't say anything, instead sobbing away as she holds on to me for dear life. I simply hold her there, gently rubbing her shoulders as I hold her. I swear, I've never heard her sob this much in the time we've been together. But still... She's held on to burdens for me. It's only fair I do the same for her. And now that I finally have a handle on how I can help her recover from what happened with Kul'Yenvar.

It takes another few minutes for her to finally part, and when she does, she seems as if she needed that. She looks at me nervously, looking down before looking back up at me. "I heard... things. In the med bay." She pauses, looking to the side. "Things about Thane. I haven't seen or heard about him since... since I came here to rest. What... happened?"

I glance down, breathing in slowly. "He's... he's dead, Tali," I reply. "I... I made a bad call, and it got him killed."

She glances down, and nods. "I see..." she says. She doesn't say anything, even as we sit close by each other. "Did... was there something said? For him?"

I nod. "We had his funeral right there on Kahje," I reply. "He was given up to the sea, Tali. And..." I find myself beginning to tear up at this, and I glance away. "He just..." I close my eyes, looking away from Tali for a few seconds.

A few seconds later, I feel Tali's hand pull on mine. I open my eyes, and then watch as she lifts my hand. She then activates my omni-tool, and starts cycling through the menus.

"Tali?" I ask.

"You... had that song," she says. "The one you played... after Ash...?"

I blink, looking at her. Before I can say anything more, however, Tali has activated my omni-tool's playlist. She scrolls through it quickly, and then manages to select something.

And then, a very familiar cello line begins to play in the room. That descending figure highlighting an A minor triad, and then it goes down to the dominant. After a short break, the orchestra comes in, and then the basses and tenors enter with that opening utterance of 'Requiem'.

And right there is where the tears begin flowing again. Verdi's music marches on, but me...? It all just comes crashing down, and before I know it, I've pulled Tali into a tight embrace where we both find ourselves sobbing like little girls. This is really unbecoming for us, but... really, why the fuck should I care?

The music washes over the both of us as we sit there on the bed, and the drive core continues softly illuminating the room with a strangely ethereal light. We remain like this for God knows how long, just sitting in each other's arms and letting it all out.

It's going to be a long road here. Tali will probably still wake up from nightmares and I don't think she's told me everything yet, but... it's a start. And that's better than nothing at this point.

And as for me... Well... This is also a new start, I guess. I can't think of this like some story anymore. I just can't, or people will get killed. I won't allow myself to think like that anymore.

I promise you, Thane.


	26. Chapter 25

_A/N: Welcome back guys._

_Sorry for the small delay, guys. It's a bit of a complicated story, but... well, for those of you who have chatted with me recently, you'll know this, but for the rest of you: I recently started grad school. Yep, I am now in grad school. So my update rate has been slowed while navigating around the ups and downs of going to grad school. And not just that: I've had to do a lot of adjustments. New school, new city, new environment, and the fact that I now have to pay my own rent. Crazy, crazy times are had for that._

_However, that's really only one reason I've been with the delay. The other reason? I'm actually working on extensive rewrites of the Sur'Kesh/Tuchanka arc at the moment. I'll have those rewrites posted to the story eventually, but for now they're nowhere near finished. I hope to get them finished around the time that the Arrival Arc comes around, so keep your eyes out for the announcement that the new Sur'Kesh/Tuchanka chapters are posted. I'd like to extend my thanks to ValentineDiverseOptics once again for being a huge help in the process, and for supplying quite a few great ideas for the rewrite of those chapters. You know, by actually telling me what was wrong with that arc and supplying actual ideas for how a rewrite might work, unlike a certain _other _person I asked__ (*glares at He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named*)._

_But yeah. This chapter... hoo boy, there will be revelations galore throughout this chapter. For now, we have a bunch of questions:_

_What happened to the Aurigos? How does Tidoses tie in to all these events? What's up with the turian councillor? Why has Isaac been seeing Nicole? Why is Shepard on trial in the first place? How does it all relate to the Reapers?_

_These questions, and more, will get answered in today's chapter. So let's get going with that, shall we?_

* * *

><p>Chapter 25: B Story: Innocent<p>

"Will, you've got a call waiting for you!"

"Which line, and who is it?"

"Line one, Will. And it looks like it's Councillor Tevos."

"Tevos? Why's she calling me?"

"Who knows? I'd answer it if I were you."

Tevos is calling me? Now why on Earth would she do... Never mind. If she's calling me now, it must be important.

I sit back at my desk, quickly hitting the accept call button on my office's terminal. "Will Moskas," I say. "How can I help you?"

"_Good, I called the right place._" Yes, that definitely sounds like Councillor Tevos all right. "_I was worried about that. Your secretary was good about alleviating my fears._"

I nod, leaning forward. "Councillor Tevos," I say. "Why are you calling me? Wasn't it dangerous to call me?"

"_In an hour, it won't exactly make a difference,_" says the Councillor. "_Our Spectre has carried out her orders._"

Her Spectre has...?

...

"You mean..." I say. "We have our evidence?"

"_Yes,_" says the Councillor. "_The crew of the Normandy has come willingly, and there is a sizable body of witnesses that can testify to the fact that the crew of the Normandy fought against Cerberus on Kahje._"

"Yeah, I heard about the events on Kahje," I comment. "My husband almost lost it when he found out that a Kepral's cure was almost completely deleted in that commotion." I shake my head. "Speaking of that, actually, the media refuses to talk about the state of the cure."

"_It is safe,_" says Tevos. "_The original copy was deleted, but the back-up was safe._"

I sigh in relief. "Well, Nadeire is going to be _very _relieved to hear that," I say. "You said the Normandy's crew is coming."

"_They will be docking within an hour,_" says Tevos. "_I will be meeting them with a squad of C-Sec officers at our disposal._"

I frown. "Wouldn't it work against you to greet them with someone who could arrest them?" I ask._  
><em>

"_That is not why the C-Sec officers will be there, I can assure you,_" she replies. "_They will be there to make certain that one of our Councillors doesn't attempt anything._" She pauses for a few seconds, and I find myself drumming my fingers against my desk before she speaks again. "_My Spectre reported a finding on the Normandy that indicates that someone... _else _may be guilty of high treason._"

"Really?" I ask. "Who?"

"_I dare not say it over this call, and the Spectre said that she couldn't risk telling me on an unsecure comm channel anyway,_" says Tevos. "_But... I have reason to believe all will be revealed at the trial. Either way... you are Shepard's defense lawyer. As her lawyer, you should probably come to the Normandy when it docks. You will want to speak with our Spectre and possibly to some of the crew members of the Normandy._"

I nod. "All right," I say. "Where are they docking?"

"_At Docking Bay D24,_" she says. "_It is quite a ways away from where your office is, so I would go to the dock as quickly as you can._"

"Of course," I say. "Thank you, Councillor."

"_May the Goddess be with you,_" says the Councillor.

And with this, the conversation ends. I nod, quickly grabbing my datapad with the relevant information on this case and walking outside of my office. I look over to Lalia as she sits there.

"Lalia, I'm going to go to the docking bay," I say. "Apparently, the Councillors' little gambit paid off."

"Good," says the asari as she leans back. "You want me to come with, or...?"

"No, that won't be necessary," I say. "Thank you, though." I cross my arms. "Any idea how far Docking Bay D24 is?"

Lalia simply shakes her head. "Clear on the other side of the Citadel, Will," she says. "You should probably get going now if you hope to get over there in time."

I nod. "All right," I say. "Call Bailey, and have him let Shepard know what's going on."

"I think the asari Councillor is already taking care of that," says Lalia. "I think, anyway. You should get going."

"I should," I say. "If we don't take this directly to the courtroom, I'll be back after I meet with the crew of the Normandy."

"Of course," says Lalia. "Stay safe, Will."

"You too, Lalia."

Having said this, I turn to the entrance of my office. I walk out of the office slowly, and proceed to make my way to the rapid transit terminal.

* * *

><p>I get to docking bay D24 just in time to notice that a rather large crowd has amassed in the docking bay. I see a bunch of C-Sec officers attempting to keep people back with a police line. I blink at the size of the crowd, noticing that it takes up quite a bit of space in this docking bay. Huh, this is pretty big, apparently. I should've expected that, I guess...<p>

I make my way through the crowd, getting to the police line at the edge. I look beyond it to see that Councillors Tevos and Valern are both standing close to a door with a group of four C-Sec officers. They look... nervous, from the way Valern is casting glances around the area. I turn to a turian C-Sec officer suddenly, noticing that he is getting close and gesturing with his talons.

"Stay behind the line, please," he says. "We need plenty of space here."

I nod. "I know the Councillors," I say. "They asked me to come."

"I shall be the judge of that," says the officer. "For now, though, you stay behind the line."

It's then that Valern turns to look at my direction. I know the exact moment that he catches sight of me, and he quickly walks over to where I am. Tevos turns, also seeing me there.

"Mr. Moskas, you're just in time," says the salarian Councillor as he approaches the police line. "I was beginning to think you would not make it."

"Well, here I am," I say. "I trust everything is in order?"

"It will be eventually," says the Councillor. He then turns his attention to the C-Sec officer I was speaking to. "Let him through, officer."

The officer nods, and steps to the side. I walk through the police line, and begin walking with Valern as he leads me to Tevos. "So your Spectre was succesful," I comment.

"Yes," says Valern. "We were able to negotiate the terms of their arrival onto the Citadel. The crew of the Normandy is not to be arrested. Which will probably be a good thing, as the size of the Normandy's crew seems to have swelled a bit since we last met."

I frown. "Really?" I ask.

"Yes," says Tevos. It's only then that I notice that I am now standing next to the asari Councillor. "Our Spectre mentioned that she would be with more people than we saw last. There is even a certain chieftain of the krogan with them."

"We can't risk arresting him, or we anger the krogan," adds Valern. "But... there is plenty that is interesting about the crew that I have heard."

"Is there?" I ask.

"Yes," says Valern. "We will see to it that the appropriate steps are taken. For now, the entire crew wishes to sit in on the trial."

I nod. "Which means our next session will be soon," I say. "When did you call the next trial date?"

"Later today," says Valern. "According to our Spectre, we could not wait. Shepard is being escorted to the courtroom as we speak. If everything happens well... this will be the last day of the trial."

I nod. "And it can finally be over," I comment. "That's good. With all of this testimony, do you think...?"

"I should hope that the charges will be dropped, if not outright dismissed," says Tevos. "That is what we hope, at least. After this, we can turn our attention to truly important things."

"Such as...?" I ask.

Valern nods. "The STG team we sent to Rannoch recovered various pieces of the Reaper that fell there," he says. "They have done some experiments, but if what our experiments have shown is correct..." He pauses, shaking his head.

"I don't want to believe it myself," says Tevos. "I mean... who could think of something like that? A species of sentient starships bent on destroying all life..." She shakes her head. "I do not want it to exist, and yet..." She pauses, and I can see her bite her lower lip. "The STG says that the theoretical composition of Sovereign and the composition of the Reaper on Rannoch almost exactly match the information that Shepard's crew acquired when they were on the other side of the Omega 4 Relay."

"We are uncertain about what this means in relation to where the Reapers came from," says Valern. "We do not know whether the Collectors created them or the geth created them, or if it is as Shepard suggests and they have existed for many billions of years before us. That is irrelevant. What is relevant, is that two ships that appeared in very different parts of the galaxy fit under the same ship design recovered from a place that only one ship has ever returned from. This cannot be a coincidence."

"And you have reason to believe there are more of them," I say.

"Precisely," says Valern. "We know not how many Reapers there are, but... We have been blind."

"And we cannot afford to brush Shepard to the side anymore," Tevos adds. "We have refused to listen to Shepard in the past. That mistake nearly cost us our lives, and it cost many other people their lives as well. We would be wise to take her word for it, especially now that there is proof that there is some truth to what she says. How much truth is contained in what she says remains to be seen, but we cannot afford to deny her the benefit of the doubt anymore." She sighs. "I have already contacted the matriarchs on Thessia. We have not made it public yet, but my people's military is beginning to mobilize. Valern has also asked the salarian fleets to begin mobilizing for war as well."

"And then there is the matter of the genophage," says Valern. "If I know one of the people that is on the Normandy's crew, he has probably gone to work on curing the genophage."

I frown. "What?" I ask. "I... I thought that was just a rumor!"

"It was not," says Tevos. "Our Spectre confirmed it herself. But... it may be to our advantage."

"Getting the krogan to become our allies would be easy if we offered them a cure for the genophage," says Valern. "I approach it with a small amount of trepidation, as we could have a second Krogan Rebellions, but I believe that curing the genophage may give them hope..." He rolls his eyes. "Dalatrass Linron was more than a little upset when I told her this. But at the end of the day, we are facing our greatest enemies yet. We need as many allies as we can amass."

"There is not much more that we can do at present," says Tevos. "When this trial ends, we will be able to openly do much more."

I nod. "So I see..." I say. I... could this be true? I... I feel a terrible feeling swell in my chest. No... This couldn't be true, right? That we could be harvested by a power that is much greater? It just doesn't seem real... I don't know if...

Damn it. This is not good at all. I don't know how the Councillors would take Shepard seriously, but... Damn it. This is so hard to believe, and yet if it is true...

My thoughts are interrupted when the C-Sec officers give a salute. I notice this, and then turn to the direction they're facing.

...

My...

I see an asari Spectre walk forward, and I notice that Staff Commander Alenko is following her. The C-Sec officers part slightly, and she nods to the Councillors as they turn to greet her. Behind this Spectre, I can see a rather odd assortment of people there. It looks like a rather large group, to be honest, and not all of them look all that happy. I...

I step forward, but am stopped by Councillor Tevos. I immediately watch as a turian with blue face-markings and a human woman with black hair step forward. I look to the rest of the group, quickly glancing at them before turning my attention back to the two people that have walked forward.

"Councillors," says the human woman, an Australian accent making itself apparent. "We were told we wouldn't be arrested."

"These C-Sec officers are not under orders to arrest you," says Valern. "If they were, there would be more than four of them."

The woman looks up to the officers and nods. "Point taken," she says.

"At least we don't have to worry too much about our Spectre having lied to us or anything," says the turian as he looks at the asari Spectre. "You also said that Shepard would be at the courtroom by the time we arrived here."

"She is," says Tevos. "We are providing a fully armed escort to the courthouse." She then gestures to me. "I'm sure you have heard about Shepard's defense lawyer."

"Will Moskas," says the woman. "We have heard quite a lot about how you have defended our Commander. From all of us on the Normandy's crew, we wish to thank you for your aid." With this, she extends a hand out for me to shake.

"With all due respect, ma'am, the pleasure is mine," I reply, taking her hand and shaking it. "It has been an honor to defend Commander Shepard in this case. And now with the crew here, we can help Shepard even more, miss...?"

"Lawson. Miranda Lawson." The woman nods, gesturing to the turian. "And this is Garrus Vakarian. We have both been in charge of the Normandy since the Commander's arrest."

The turian nods, extending a hand out to me. "Good to meet you," he says.

I shake his hand as well, giving him a warm smile. "Good to meet you too," I say. "Now... I believe we have a trial to get to."

"Yes, we do," says Miranda. "I trust there are things we need to be brought to speed on?"

"Yes," I reply. "If you will come with me, I can fill you in on the defense so far."

"Of course," says Miranda. She then turns to the asari Spectre. "Councillors?"

"The escort is ready," says Valern.

"Then I think we're done here," says Garrus. "Let's get this over with."

I hear several sounds of agreement from the remaining crew of the Normandy and from the Councillors. With this, Tevos nods to the C-Sec officers, who then walk by our side as C-Sec begins making the crowd part to let us through.

* * *

><p>As soon as our escort gets to the courtroom, we are allowed out. I look up to see a pair of C-Sec officers turn their attention to us. I notice that Bailey is in front of them, and then I notice that Shepard is also standing there. As I step out of the vehicle I'm in, I walk towards the Commander, looking back to see Alanya, Miranda, Garrus, and the two Councillors following me. Shepard turns and looks at me before noticing Miranda and Garrus there as well.<p>

"Miranda?" Shepard asks, turning towards the black-haired woman. "I... I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Neither were we," says Miranda. "But... it turns out that the Council decided to help you."

The Commander blinks, and looks right back at Tevos and Valern. "Then it's just as Will told me..."

"It is indeed as Will told you," says Tevos. "I do not know if Udina has, and I am certain that Sparatus has not." She looks around briefly, and turns back to Shepard. "Your crew made a very... _fascinating _find."

"There was a Reaper on Rannoch," says Garrus.

Shepard frowns. "A Reaper on the quarian homeworld?" she asks. "Why wasn't the quarian race indoctrinated?"

"We found it in a huge hole that was dug into the ground," says Miranda. "By all appearances, it had been buried there many years ago. The quarians had begun an excavation of the site, but it was abandoned. Many thousands of years later, Cerberus decided to finish what those quarians started."

"And then we fought and killed it," Garrus adds.

Valern nods. "I was alerted to the presence of this dead Reaper by a message sent from the Shadow Broker," he adds. "We can discuss the results later, but for now, let us say that is has changed my mind and Tevos' mind." He pauses briefly, and I watch as the Commander's face shifts to a very surprised one. "We did not tell Sparatus of this, but-"

"All right, Councillors! What kind of shit are you trying to pull over us?"

I jolt upon hearing the first syllables of a turian yell. When we all turn to my right, we see Councillor Sparatus standing right there. He looks _very _angry, with a non-amused Udina standing a couple of feet behind him. Sparatus looks at us dangerously, glancing at Shepard for a brief period of time before turning to Tevos and Valern.

Wait...

Did Sparatus just swear?

He speaks again. "You coordinated all this without us knowing about it," states the turian Councillor.

"I must admit, this is very underhanded of you," says Udina. "I never would have expected you to do this. Anderson may have done something like this, but not you, Tevos." He shakes his head. "Whatever possessed you to do that?"

"A few things that changed," says Tevos calmly. "Save your anger, Sparatus. It is not warranted in this situation, nor is it welcome."

"You changed the orders of a Spectre without asking Udina and I what we thought, and you helped the defense rather than the prosecution with those orders!" says Sparatus, raising his voice. "You worked behind our backs! I think my anger is pretty spirits-damned warranted!"

"Yes," says Udina. "You acted without our knowledge, which is also suspect. I would think you were trying to make us look like fools."

"Perhaps," says Miranda. "Knowing you two, however, I believe there would have been a deadlock on that decision where nothing could be done." She holds her hands behind her backs. "You are angry about them working behind your back. Fair enough. But I may point out that if not for the actions of the Councillors who changed Alanya Sorshis' orders, then the hanar's progress on the cure for Kepral's Syndrome would have been lost completely."

I notice that Udina is rubbing his chin in thought as soon as Miranda finishes saying her piece. He holds this for a few seconds, and then nods. "Yes, I suppose that is true," he adds. "It did end up working towards the good of the galaxy."

Sparatus turns on Udina almost immediately. "You... you can't be _serious_!" says the turian Councillor.

"I am, Sparatus," says Udina as he brings his hand down. "I do not like this situation any more than you do, but given what transpired on Kahje I am more inclined to forgive them this once." He then turns to Tevos and Valern. "But I expect you to be up front with me about everything from now on."

Valern nods. "Certainly, Councillor Udina," says the salarian. He then turns his attention to Sparatus. "We are aware, of course, that this creates a conflict of interests. In the interest of keeping the trial going, I have taken the trouble to remove myself and Councillor Tevos from the prosecution."

"I hope you did," says Sparatus, who is barely controlling his anger. "This is tantamount to treason on its own. I hope you understand that." He turns around. "I need to go inform Paellix of these events."

The turian Councillor then turns around and walks away from us. He walks right past Udina, shoving the human Councillor out of the way. Udina looks a little confused at this, blinking in shock as Sparatus stalks off towards the courthouse. We watch him walk away for a few seconds, and we remain absolutely silent.

A few seconds pass before we all cast a glance at each other. It's only then that I release a breath I did not realize I was holding, and it's also only then that I realize that my hair is standing on end.

I shake my head, looking at the others as Bailey comes forward. "Well, I didn't think you could piss off the turian Councillor any more about Shepard, but there you have it," says Bailey. He turns to the Councillors "Will you need more C-Sec officers?"

"No," says Tevos. "If the Normandy's crew wanted to harm anyone, they would have done so by now, I am certain."

Bailey crosses his arms and gives Tevos a knowing look. "I dunno about whether they'd hurt anyone at all, but I'm not in a position to argue," he says. He then turns his attention to me ever so briefly, and gives me a brief nod. "Good to see you again, Will."

"Same here, Bailey," I say. "Now, Commander... The Spectre will-"

"Where's Thane?"

I blink in surprise, looking at the Commander's concerned expression. She looks around to the rest of us, and... Wait, that is correct. I thought there would be a drell among the crew.

"Where... Where's Thane?" she asks, and for the first time I hear the Commander's voice fluctuate with worry. "I see the rest of the crew there, but... Thane should be here. I don't..." She then looks to Miranda and Garrus. "What happened?"

I look over to Miranda and Garrus to see that they suddenly look just a little uncomfortable. I frown, looking at the two of them as Miranda suddenly chews on her lower lip.

"And why isn't Art standing with you?" the Commander adds. "I thought I gave him the order with which the three of you assumed control of the Normandy."

Garrus and Miranda both look down. "Art..." Miranda begins. "He took himself off the Normandy's chain of command. It's... it is a complicated story."

"And as for Thane..." says Garrus. "I..." He sighs, looking at Shepard with a saddened expression on his face. "I don't know how to put this..."

"I got him killed, C-commander."

With this, we all turn to look at a young human with long brown hair. His brown eyes are looking down at the floor, and his black and orange armor sort of stands out from the rest. He looks extremely glum, and is not looking directly at the Commander. He glances away from the proceedings, and I notice that it looks like he had just walked by us when he spoke.

"Art?" asks Shepard. "I... What are you talking about?"

"I..." The young man closes his eyes, and it's only then that I notice the residue of undried tears that rests on his face. "I made a bad call, Commander. On Kahje. And... Thane's dead, Commander. He... He was stabbed by the Illusive Man's best operative. And there were decisions I made that directly led to that. I..." He pauses, letting out a deep breath. It's only then that I notice how... _hollow _his voice sounds. "He's dead. I'm sorry, Jocelyn. I'm so sorry..."

He turns away, unable to look at Shepard. I look back at her, and notice that the tears are beginning to form in her eyes. "No..." she whispers. "That can't be... He can't..." She shakes her head, looking at Art. "He wouldn't..."

But Miranda simply shakes her head. I then watch as Garrus produces an item from his blue armor. "The hanar looked on his body for anything... personal when they prepared his body to be... 'given to the deep', they called it," says Garrus. I then watch as he holds out a ring. "This was in his jacket."

I lean forward. No... no way...

"That's a drell wedding ring!" I comment almost immediately. "My... my husband has something similar. Why would-?"

"It was Irikah's wedding ring..."

I glance back to Shepard, who walks closer to Garrus. I notice her pulling raising her hands, and I look at the restraints on them as she moves forward. She takes the ring gently from Garrus' fingers, and looks at the ring in her palms.

"This... belonged to his first wife," Shepard explains. "She... She showed him the world outside of his assassinations... And she made him into a better man." Shepard shakes her head. "I was the only person he told about this. He kept Irikah's wedding ring with him. He said it was a part of her that he kept with him. He had lost sight of it before meeting me, but..."

She stands back, holding the ring in her hands. I can see her fight the tears that are threatening to spill from her eyes, and she simply looks at the others.

"I... Thank you for telling me," she says. "I..." She straightens up. "I can't mourn him now," she says, even as she sniffles. "We have a trial to end. And I need to stay strong. For Thane's sake." She pauses, and looks me directly in the eye. "There will be time to mourn him later. We should get going."

I nod. "We should," I say. "Come on. I will debrief you on what will happen."

I then walk with the Commander, Miranda and Garrus following close behind. I begin updating Shepard on the proceedings that will occur in today's hearing.

* * *

><p>"The defense calls Spectre Alanya Sorshis to the stand."<p>

I look out at the courtroom again, noticing its composition as Alanya takes the stand. I see Shepard's crew sitting in place behind the defense, and I watch as they all look at Alanya. Some have differing levels of interest, with a few looking indifferent and others looking very invested in the proceedings. Either way... I must admit, it is a very colorful bunch. I look further back to the rest of the courtroom, noting the prevalence of reporters before looking back to the prosecution's side of the courtroom. Now it is simply Udina and Sparatus that sit at the prosecution's table, with a rather angry-looking Paellix glaring at the Council where they sit by the Normandy's crew. I glance at them all again, right before I turn to Alanya and see her sit down.

I nod, walking back up to Alanya Sorshis. She sits in the stand, and I watch as the plaintiff swears her in silently. This takes a minute or so, but when he is finished the plaintiff walks away quietly. With this done, I walk up to the Spectre.

"Spectre Alanya," I begin. "I was not... expecting you to speak for the defense today." I then gesture to the prosecution. "I also notice that half of the Council has evacuated the prosecution's table."

I hear a few chuckles from the crowd when I point this out. "You could say that," says Alanya. "I was sent on orders of the Council to arrest the Normandy's crew on Kahje, thanks to a lead given to them from an anonymous source. However, while on route to Kahje, I was contacted by Councillor Tevos, and was told that my orders had changed." She gestures out to the sitting area. "I think you can see the results of these orders for yourselves."

I nod, glancing out at the Normandy's crew again. "I do indeed," I comment. "What, precisely, did they change your orders to?"

Alanya nods. "The two Councillors asked me to observe the crew of the Normandy first," she begins. "If they proved to be hostile, I was to arrest them. In the event that they were seen fighting with Cerberus, I was to help them and bring them back to the Citadel."

"And what did you see?" I ask.

"I... It is a complicated story," says Alanya. "But to make it simple, they were fighting Cerberus." She shakes her head. "They sought to delete a possible cure for Kepral's Syndrome. I saw the crew of the Normandy fight to make sure it did not happen." She leans forward. "I was also assigned a squad of asari commandos. They found that Cerberus was also staging an attack on the Normandy itself."

I hear murmurs from the courtroom. Well, this is good. "And obviously, here we are," I comment.

"Yes," says Alanya.

I nod. "No more questions, your honor."

With this, I walk back to the table where my notes are scattered, and I take my seat by Shepard. I glance at her briefly to see that she has a stoic expression on her face. Well, on the outside, anyway. But when I glance to her eyes, I notice that her expression is blank. It looks... empty, almost. And I find that she is unresponsive to the fact that I have just sat down.

She... She must be going through a lot right now. It's not easy hearing about the loss of any loved one, and yet to see that heaped on her so suddenly...

I slowly lay a hand on her arm, gently tapping her. She glances over to me, and nods appreciatively. I only give her a small smile, before slowly taking my hand away from her arm. I hold my smile for a few seconds longer, though, looking at her as warmly as I can.

The display seems to have the desired effect, for she then looks back up, and I notice that she is at least looking at the trial without breaking into tears now.

"So, your orders were changed." I look back to Paellix right as he steps up to the witness stand. "When did you receive word of these changes of orders?"

"When I was about... halfway to Kahje," Alanya replies. "I already had my resources in place. I had a unit of asari commandos assigned to me before, and they knew nothing about Councillor Tevos' plans."

"I guess they didn't," says Paellix. "You say Cerberus attempted to delete the Kepral's cure. How close were they?"

"The copy the hanar had on hand was deleted," says Alanya. "We were very fortunate that I saw three of the Normandy's ground crew defending the hanar scientists on the facility, as well as the back-up of the cure. If not for them, we would have lost the cure entirely."

I notice Paellix scowl. "And how dedicated was their effort to save this cure?" Paellix asks.

Alanya pauses, and then looks at the Commander briefly. I... Oh... I see...

I watch Shepard nod silently, and say nothing as Alanya turns back to Paellix. I simply scoot closer to Shepard, and hold her hand under the table so she knows I'm here.

"One of the crew members of the Normandy lost his life during the attempt," says Alanya. "He was... a drell. He used to serve the hanar faithfully. He was also suffering from the very syndrome that the hanar were attempting to cure." She pauses, looking at the ground briefly. She looks down there, and then looks at Paellix again. "And he was one of the Normandy's most well-regarded crew members. The Normandy is lesser with his loss, and the fact that his life was taken away during this attempt to save this cure should tell you everything about how dedicated their efforts to save it was."

Paellix shakes his head, but I can tell that he's resisting the urge to scowl. "I see," he says, pausing. I see him stand there for a few seconds, before nodding and looking to the judge. "No more questions, your honor." He then silently walks back to his place at the prosecution's table, silently taking his seat and looking back at the judge.

I nod. It seems that Paellix has not lost his turian honor yet. That's good to know, really. And it makes me glad that he at least remembers that someone lost his life there.

I stand up, letting go of Shepard's hand. She does not turn away from me when I do, even as I walk up to the witness stand.

"The defense would like to call one last witness to the stand, your honor," I say.

"Acknowledged," says the judge.

I nod, turning to the gallery. I then glance at the crew of the Normandy, and nod to all of them.

"The defense calls Miranda Lawson to the stand."

The black-haired woman stands up, and walks over to the witness stand. Almost immediately, I see that everybody's attention is fixed on her. I nod, looking at Miranda as she takes a seat and is sworn in. It takes a relatively short amount of time to swear her in, but she maintains a neutral expression the whole time. I glance over at Paellix, who gives a rather displeased expression as the plaintiff finishes swearing Miranda in.

As soon as she is sworn in, I turn to her. "Miranda Lawson," I begin. "I think we can all tell that you are a part of the Normandy's crew."

"That is correct," says Miranda.

"How, exactly, did you get involved with the Normandy?"

She nods. "I was the head of the Lazarus Project," she begins. "It was a Cerberus initiative in which I was tasked with bringing Commander Shepard back from the dead." I hear several gasps from the gallery as she says this. "And before I am accused of inventing this, I can prove it."

With this, she opens her omni-tool, and then I hear a ping from mine. I frown, glancing down at my omni-tool. I open the omni-tool tentatively, and see that it is downloading some files.

"Those are some of the files I saved from the Lazarus Project," says Miranda. "They contain all manner of documents, scientist's logs, and statistics on how we brought Shepard back from the dead."

I frown, looking at Miranda. "Are you sure you want to give this to us?" I ask.

I look back at Miranda to see a brief flash of insecurity. However, when I blink, she has assumed her normal disposition, and she simply glances out at the courtroom. "I don't really care," she says. "In the end, this is about my Commander. If I have to leak a few classified documents to help my Commander, that is a risk I am willing to take."

I nod. "I see," I say. "I'll... uh... store this for later use," I comment. "In the meantime, I believe we should get back to the subject at hand." I then walk back to Miranda. "You say that the Lazarus Project was a Cerberus initiative. I assume you recovered Shepard in... whatever circumstance she was in. Dead, alive, it doesn't really matter." I gesture to the Commander as she turns her attention to Miranda. "And of course, she knew nothing about Cerberus, correct?"

Miranda glances up at the ceiling of the courtroom. "To my understanding, she did not immediately find out that the Lazarus Project was a Cerberus initiative," she says. "And she was not very pleased when she found out." Miranda shakes her head. "I can tell you with a great amount of certainty that the Commander did not trust Cerberus at any point in her dealings with them, to the point of outright telling the Illusive Man that she wanted nothing to do with him after the completion of our objective."

I lean forward. "And how you would understand this?" I ask.

"I was her XO," Miranda replies. "I must say, it was not without reason: the Illusive Man was not exactly the most up-front person to deal with. He had ordered many bugs and listening devices planted on the Normandy, he withheld information at various points in our mission, and the way his true intentions came out was... not pleasant." She shifts to the side. "I ended up resigning from Cerberus when Shepard left them. I can attest to the fact that several crew members did so as well."

"I see..." I glance back at the judge before looking again. "Now, one of our previous witnesses testified to the fact that the mission's findings pointed at the fact that humanity was in danger."

"Yes," says Miranda. "If the Collectors had been left unchecked, they would have taken more humans, and our colonies would not be safe." She then glances around. "And the Alliance did very little to help, if anything. I cannot say that the Illusive Man's motives were purely for the good of humanity as that would be a lie, but I can tell you that if we had not taken any action the problem of the lost colonies in the Terminus systems would have become worse than it ultimately did."

"Very well then," I say. "No more questions, your honor."

With this, I take my seat next to the Commander. Paellix stands up, and I notice that he is _not _happy with this turn of events. He stalks up to the witness stand, and glares at Miranda with a glare I have never seen him give my other witnesses.

"Miranda Lawson," he says. "Cerberus operative." The turian shakes his head. "How do we know you are not still a part of Cerberus?"

She frowns. "I take it you didn't look at the Normandy when she came back to the Citadel," she comments. "We had the Normandy refitted by a third party on Illium after the completion of our objective. There were many repairs that needed to be performed on the ship, but our third party was also kind enough to paint out the Cerberus emblems on the ship." She leans forward. "And I just gave the defense lawyer some files on the Lazarus Project, a few files of which contain data the Illusive Man would not like the world to see." She pauses, looking nervously at the gallery. "There are other things, but I dare not mention them here."

"Really?" asks Paellix. He shakes his head. "And I guess you won't tell me even if I ask."

"No," says Miranda.

The turian growls unpleasantly, but before I can say anything he turns his attention back to Miranda. "Fine," he says. "I'll drop it." He then walks right up to the witness box. "You say you acquired Shepard's body. How?"

"Shepard's body was given to us by a very close associate of hers," Miranda says. "She very nearly did not acquire Shepard's body. You see... it was also an item of interest to the Shadow Broker."

I hear more gasps from the gallery behind me, and I lean forward. "From how I understand the situation, the Shadow Broker was in league with the Collectors shortly after Shepard's death," Miranda continues. "The Shadow Broker did not ultimately acquire Shepard's body, but if he had I trust the body would have gone directly to the Collectors."

Paellix frowns, and I notice his talons clench in frustration. But he simply shakes his head again, walking towards my table and turning back to face Miranda. "So someone snatched it right from Alchera," he says. "How do we know Cerberus did not orchestrate the Collectors' attack?"

At this, Miranda leans back, taken aback by this assertion. She is not alone in this, for I hear half the gallery give some variation on a confused grunt. "I beg your pardon," says Miranda, clearly sounding a little offended. "How could you come up with a conclusion like that?"

I look back at Miranda, suddenly realizing that she has asked Paellix a question rather than answering. Oh no, this won't be good...

Before I can say anything else, Paellix _slams _his datapad onto my desk. I jolt, too shocked to say anything at the extremely sudden movement. I find myself leaning back in the chair as Paellix gives Miranda a death glare.

"_I _am the one asking the questions, _lady_," says Paellix in barely restrained fury. "Answer my question."

"I don't know what you expect me to say to something so blatantly insane," says Miranda. "It would be generous to call it even a question."

"Would it?" he asks.

"Paellix, stand down," I hear the judge say.

The turian completely ignores the judge as he walks up to the witness box. "I know how these things work. Someone vanishes, and then they return suddenly with more sinister intentions. And then they cover it up by saying they were dead or something." He walks towards Miranda, pointing a talon in her face. "Spending a year dead is a popular tax dodge, as they say. Maybe it's also a popular way to recruit people to Cerberus!"

"Paellix!" says the judge sternly.

Again, he ignores her. "I know how your types of people work, Miss Lawson," he continues, his voice steadily getting louder. "I know how you sit there, scheming to make people vanish and then make them reappear at an opportune time! And I will tell you right now, that I will _not _sit here quietly and let you or your friends trivialize the disappearances of all the turian soldiers, and I will _not _let you trivialize the disappearance of my daughter on the Aurigos!"

By the time he has mentioned this he is shouting at the top of his lungs. "I know how this works, lady!" he shouts. "And I-"

He is promptly interrupted by the judge slamming the gavel. The turian snaps his head towards the judge as she hits the gavel at least three more times.

"Paellix Mirani!" shouts the judge.

After this, all is silent in the courtroom. Paellix looks back to Miranda, and then back to the judge. The judge gives Paellix one of the coldest, most infuriated glares I have ever seen anyone give to another sentient being. Just looking at it sends shivers down my spine, and I am not on the receiving end of it. She then lays the gavel down. I quickly glance to the prosecution's table, seeing that Udina is looking down at the table in serious thought while Sparatus looks absolutely flabberghasted.

"Paellix Mirani," the judge continues. "You have made a _mockery _of this case. Badgering a Justicar was bad enough, but then there was... _whatever _that was. That conduct is unwelcome from a prosecutor such as yourself, and to make such broad leaps in logic actually works against whatever case you have."

"But you can't seriously-"

"I care not how your personal feelings figure into this trial," the judge continues. "Your personal opinions have no place in the courtroom, especially in a trial that is not about your daughter. It is now clear that your personal feelings were getting in the way of your better judgment in this trial."

She then shakes her head. "Thus, by the powers vested in me, I declare this trial a mistrial." She glares at Paellix. "Paellix Mirani's misconduct is not welcome here, Sparatus."

I blink, looking at Shepard before turning my attention back to the judge. "Well... I can't say I wasn't expecting that, but..." I whisper.

"_What?_" asks Sparatus as he jumps to his feet. "That... You can't be serious, your honor!"

"I am," says the judge. "If you and Udina wish to continue pressing charges against the Commander, you will need a new prosecutor."

"This is an outrage!" says Sparatus.

I stand up. "With all due respect, Councillor, the judge is fully within her rights to declare this a mistrial," I say. "I have _never _seen anyone rant like that in a courtroom before, and I can tell you from experience that such ranting is a mockery of due process. I also believe that allowing your personal opinions get in the way of your case is a sign that there is something deeper happening."

"Mr. Moskas is correct," says the judge. "We will have to retry Commander Shepard on the charges of treason."

Udina looks at Sparatus, and shakes his head as the turian Councillor remains completely silent.

"Now... if there are any objections, I will hear them now," says the judge.

Sparatus immediately opens his mouth. "This is an outrage!" he shouts. "I will have your job for this, woman!"

Udina frowns, standing up as well. "Not if the rest of the Council will say anything about it," he says. "You threaten that judge with her job for something that is well within her rights as the judge of this case. I thought you were more sensible than this, Sparatus."

"Indeed." I look to the gallery to see that Tevos and Valern are all walking towards Udina. "I believe that this case has also presented enough evidence to prove that Shepard did not betray the Council or the Alliance as we initially thought," Tevos adds.

"You believe that even without seeing the data on this 'Lazarus Project'?" Udina asks.

"Yes," says Valern. "If it were up to me, I would drop charges."

"As would I," says Tevos.

"You recused yourself from the prosecution!" says Sparatus. "And even if you had Udina drop charges for you, you can't do that! You have no power to make us drop this case."

"They don't?"

I turn back to the witness stand, looking at Miranda as she leans forward. I frown, looking at her. "Miss Lawson?" I ask.

"You're damn right they don't," says Sparatus.

Miranda simply leans back. "Maybe they don't," she says. "But let's pull our concentration to another point." She shifts subtly, and gives Sparatus a blank stare. "You are one to talk, Sparatus. About treason, anyhow. You wish to charge the Commander with treason, and yet... we have uncovered something during our travels that could negate any ground you hold to continue prosecuting against Shepard."

I look at Sparatus, noticing that he is leaning towards Miranda. He still leans towards Miranda threateningly, but I notice that there's an edge of desperation to the way he looks at her. "What are you talking about?" the turian Councillor asks.

I suddenly hear the door to the courtroom open behind me. I look behind me to see a female turian in Spectre-grade armor with green facial markings. I frown, watching the newcomer as she simply stands there. I hear a few gasps from turians in the gallery, and I almost immediately notice that some of the C-Sec officers that I can see from where I am are staring in awe.

"Funny," says this mysterious stranger. "I thought you'd know, _Sparatus._"

I stand up, watching her as she walks down the gallery. The entire courtroom's attention is fixed on this mysterious turian stranger as she walks down the gallery, and I even hear Shepard stand up right next to me. In fact, the entire courtroom stands up, and I can hear some soft murmuring of confusion. When she gets to the front, she looks at Sparatus briefly, and it's then that I notice that Sparatus now looks absolutely _horrified_ by what he sees. Huh...? I turn my attention back to this woman as she turns her attention to the space in front of her.

She then nods. "Hello, father," she says. "I... It's a long story..."

"T... Tidoses?" asks Paellix.

I glance at the former prosecutor of Shepard's case, noticing the look of shock that has taken the place of the near non-stop fury he had felt barely a few minutes before. I then glance back to the turian woman in front of us, and notice that she is crossing her arms.

"Yes, it's me," she says.

Paellix looks on in shock. "I... Tidoses..."

I barely have any time to process what happens when Paellix crosses the short distance to his daughter. I only know he's in front of her when he's pulled her into the tightest hug I have ever seen any sentient being give another, and when I see him start heaving the way turians do when they attempt to cry. I see Tidoses simply stand there, not reacting to the hug for a few seconds before tentatively raising her arms around her father. They hold this for about half a minute before I see Paellix take a step or two back.

"I... I thought you were dead..." says Paellix. "You and Xarnax..."

Tidoses nods solemnly. "I thought I was too," she admits. "But... I got damn lucky. At the end of the day..." Tidoses glances back to the crew of the Normandy. "The only reason I'm still standing here is because they helped me."

Paellix follows her gaze. He looks at the Normandy's crew rather intently, and I see him give a confused glance. "W... these people?" asks Paellix. "They...?"

"It's a long story," says Tidoses. "They rescued me on Omega." She then glances at Sparatus before turning to Paellix. "What did Sparatus tell you?"

"He... he told me that you and everyone on the Aurigos was most likely dead," says Paellix. "But... you're standing here... and... I just..."

Tidoses nods. "I know," she says. "But that's not important right now. We'll have plenty of time to catch up later. Right now, I have a duty to fulfill to the Council and the galaxy as a whole." She then lays a reassuring hand on Paellix's shoulder before stepping back. "What is important..." She glances at Sparatus again. "What's important is that your dearly beloved friend Sparatus is the one who's _really_ guilty of treason here."

"W-what?" Sparatus asks. "D-don't be ridiculous! That would just be... I-!"

"Can it, Councillor," says Tidoses as she steps forward. "Or did you think I wouldn't catch wind of what was really happening?"

Tidoses then steps towards Tevos and Valern, and opens her omni-tool. "I'm sure you know that the _Aurigos _was on a tour of various turian military bases," she says. "And you know that it vanished somewhere in the Minos Wasteland."

I frown. "Wait, you know the exact system it vanished?" I ask.

"We did not disclose this," says Valern. "It was not information that was completely relevant to the outside."

Hm... I might beg to differ...

Before I can voice my doubt, though, Tidoses shakes her head. "Sparatus was behind it all," says Tidoses. "He kept to himself in his quarters throughout much of the tour, and allowed nobody to enter his quarters unless he invited them in. And everyone who was invited up there..." She shakes her head. "They stopped acting like themselves pretty soon afterwards." She shakes her head. "Most of the ship's top staff was called there, including the ship's captain. This happened throughout the entire tour, and it just got stranger and more uncomfortable as they began to behave in ways that they would not behave normally."

She shakes her head. "I finally had to enter there to see what happened." She then opens a file on her omni-tool. "And when I did... well, I saw these strange objects arranged around the room. It was almost like he had built a shrine to something that had no name. There were all these designs..."

"You defied the orders of a superior?" asks Paellix.

"It was that or vanish along with the rest of the _Aurigos_, as I later found out," says Tidoses. "When I was snooping around in there... I felt uncomfortable. But before I could leave, Sparatus returned. And when he did... well, I heard _this_."

I then watch as she begins playing what I assume is some kind of audio file. Almost immediately, I hear the sound of slightly heavy breathing in front of a recording device, and a low hum seems to fill the room. I look to her in shock, and then watch as I hear something shift.

"_No... It's too soon,_" I hear from the audio. "_We have to trigger it when the timing is just right!_" It's... it's Councillor Sparatus, but what...?

"_Your delays are intolerable._" W... what? I don't recognize that voice... it sounds very deep, and really kind of threatening. "_You have friends in unexpected places. They will help you attain your goal after you return from the edge of the galaxy. You must vanish after you leave Invictus._"

There is a brief pause. "_No... you're right. You're always right._" There are a few footsteps, and I glance at Sparatus to see that he is absolutely horrified. "_This ship does need to vanish. You will need more soldiers for your army when you come to lift us up to our great destiny._"

"_Give the order as soon as you speak on Invictus,_" says the unfamiliar voice. "_Your captain and many of his most loyal crew are loyal to you... and me... And if my other servants fail to harvest the human colonies and then Earth, we will descend on the galaxy together._"

"_For you are the harbinger of our destiny,_" says Sparatus.

There is a brief pause. "_I did not tell you to bring someone here today,_" says the mysterious voice.

"_Shit!_" I hear a female voice swear and I hear some heavy footsteps.

"_There is someone here!_" I hear Sparatus shout. "_I ordered them not t-_"_  
><em>

And then, the audio cuts out completely.

Tidoses shakes her head. "I was lucky enough to escape from Sparatus' quarters before he could discover who I was," she continues. "But I knew he would find out eventually. So as soon as we had docked on Invictus, I told my closest friend on the _Aurigos_, and we basically stole the nearest shuttle and high-tailed it out of there." She shakes her head. "I intended to go to the Citadel immediately to tell the rest of the Council, but I made the mistake of letting him drive." She shakes her head. "I should've remembered that he was one of the people who had been invited up to Sparatus' cabin, but... well, desperation makes your thinking wonky, and I was sure that somewhere inside of him he was still himself. He tried to kill me, but..." She shakes her head. "I think you know what happened. But by then, it was too late: by the time I figured out what was happening, we were already stranded in the middle of the Terminus systems with barely enough fuel to keep the electronics running. And when I sent out a distress signal, it was a group of batarian slavers who responded."

I notice the horrified expression that graces Paellix's face, but before he can comment on this Tidoses points at Sparatus. "I have no idea what kind of shit he was pulling, but I know that Councillor Sparatus was doing some crazy shit there!" Tidoses says.

"I... I don't understand," says Udina. "He has no motivation, so why would he do that?"

"Because he's a servant of the Reapers."

I turn to look at Shepard, watching as she stands up. "I recognize that voice," she says. "That voice spoke through the Collectors on Horizon and many other places. And it was coincidentally the same voice that spoke to me on the Collector base as well. I know that voice."

I hear Udina facepalm. "More about these 'Reapers', Commander?" he asks in dismay. "I believe we dismissed that claim."

"Actually, that claim may not be as dismissed as you think," says Valern. "We can discuss this later, Udina. But there are other things that need to be attended fi-"

"You... You actually believe that?" asks Sparatus.

"It doesn't matter," says Shepard. "I know how the Reapers work, and I can tell you what I think happened. You acquired a Reaper artifact somehow, and it slowly indoctrinated you so you began serving their will. This is the same thing that happened to Saren." She leans forward. "There is no use denying it, Councillor. I can guarantee that even if you escape the Council, I will know the truth."

The turian Councillor stands in the middle of the courtroom, looking at Shepard and everyone else in the room in shock. He stands there, seeming to come to a realization.

Sparatus then frowns, turning towards Tidoses.

"I think you have gone insane, Spectre," he says. "She lies!"

"Then why did she produce an audio recording of you?" asks Tevos. "That is extremely difficult to fake, and it is not technology that a Spectre would have."

"And how do you explain the other voice?" asks Valern. "And further, if she should choose to lie, why choose that lie?"

"Further, I can vouch for her," says Miranda. "We acquired information that she was being sold as a slave on Omega. We managed to rescue her from the slavers. She was in surprisingly good condition, but we found records of her being on this ship."

"Records that we have right... here." I then turn to the crew, noticing that there is a young woman I noticed that has just stood up. "I swiped these files directly from the slaver ship's archives while searching for her, and they can verify that Tidoses was held by batarian slavers."

"And even imagining that, there is still the disappearance of the Aurigos," I add. "How do you explain that?"

"Now that I think about it... it is more than a little odd that you reappeared in an escape pod clear on the other end of the galaxy," says Udina. "And how come you were the only person who escaped the Aurigos...?"

"Something doesn't add up, Sparatus," says Tevos. "I believe you know that better than anyone."

The turian Councillor looks at the rest of the room, even as people in the gallery start murmuring about this turn of events. Sparatus glances around under the gaze of everyone in the courtroom.

"So tell us, Councillor," says Tidoses. "How _do _you explain all of that?"

And almost instantly, something changes in the Councillor's demeanor. He no longer looks terrified, but rather as if he is about to kill someone. I notice the change almost immediately, and feel a cold chill run down my spine as he stares Tidoses straight in the eye.

"I don't plan on explaining it," says the Councillor. "This is absolutely ludicrous." He shakes his head, looking back as his hand begins moving around. "But maybe you are right in one thing: he should have killed you on that shuttle." I then see the turian give a wicked smile. "I think that now I can maybe take care of that."

I suddenly see the turian Councillor grab something. As soon as he does, Sparatus plants his feet differently, and I watch as he lets out a loud roar. The man brings an object forward, and-

"No!"

I hear this shout come from one of the Normandy's crew members from where he sits in the galley. I then turn around, and watch as the middle-aged looking man in strange armor I have never seen before stands up. He holds his hand out, and I see something blue shoot out from it. I turn my attention to the turian Councillor as-

Whoah! Why's he suddenly bathed in a blue light? And why... why is he moving so slowly? This motion can't be natural, it just...

...

Oh my God...

"He's got a gun!" I shout.

Almost immediately, I hear screams from everyone in the gallery. I suddenly see everyone turn their attention to the slowed turian Councillor as he aims the gun at Tidoses. Of course, with the slowed movements, it feels more surreal than it should. I mean... is that really...?

I suddenly pause when a different blue light shines over the turian Councillor. I recognize this as the more familiar blue light of a biotic stasis field. I pause, seeing the turian Councillor stand completely still. I glance behind me to see a young asari glowing biotically amidst where the Normandy's crew is sitting in the gallery. I blink in surprise, watching as the old-looking krogan sitting next to her smiles in approval. The asari's eyes are screwed shut in concentration, and I...

Wow, is this really...?

I hear a loud thud come from the direction of the turian Councillor. Immediately when I turn my head, I see Sparatus writhing on the floor. He's scrambling for the firearm that has landed about two feet away from him, but I can see immediately that the combined weight of Paellix, Udina, and the plaintiff is making it difficult for Sparatus to move forward. They all press their weight in, and I hear the footsteps of the C-Sec officers as they rush over to the downed turian Councillor.

"You're not putting a single bullet in my daughter, you son of a bitch!" shouts Paellix.

"Get off!" Sparatus shouts. "You cannot stop the arrival! It is futile to resist!"

"Says the one currently resisting arrest," Valern points out. "C-Sec, arrest Councillor Sparatus."

"This is an outrage!" shouts the turian Councillor. "I will have your heads for this!"

"I don't think so," one of the C-Sec officers comments. "Councillor Sparatus, you are under arrest for brandishing a weapon in..."

I turn back to Shepard as the C-Sec officers begin charging Velarn. "How did he get that in here?" I ask.

"I have no idea," says Shepard. "But either way, this is an indication that something isn't right with Councillor Velarn."

I nod. "Yes, it definitely is," I say. "But..." I turn around to look at the Commander. "God, this is just... how did it come to this?"

Shepard shakes her head. "I don't know," she says. "I think I have an idea, but... I'd need to know for sure."

I blink. "What do you mean?" I ask.

"We need to know what Sparatus is hiding," says Shepard. "Something caused that. It didn't just come out of a void. And if Tidoses' audio said anything, it's that this had been planned by Sparatus. We need to know what he was hiding."

"I guess..." I bite my lower lip. "I have to say, Shepard, I think now I'm beginning to see that I've bit off a little more than I can chew."

Shepard scoffs at this. "Welcome to the story of my life."

"Indeed," says Valern. I then turn, watching as Valern and Tevos walk up to us. "I couldn't help but overhear what you just mentioned."

"And there is actually something interesting you should know," says Tevos. "Sparatus... he was explicitly mentioned on Saren's will."

I frown. "Wait, Sparatus received part of his estate?"

"Yes," says Valern. "And Sparatus stopped receiving visitors in his home on the Presidium soon after he received the things that the Arterius estate willed to him."

"And why mention this now?" asks Shepard.

"Because you stated that this is what happened to Saren," says Tevos. "I'll be plain with you, Commander. We need to investigate Sparatus' apartment. We may find the answers we are looking for there."

She nods. "And you think you might need my expertise?"

"If this is in fact the work of the Reapers, then yes," says Valern. "In fact, it would be good if the crew of the Normandy would come as well."

I frown. "Wait, you're not calling in C-Sec on this?" I ask.

"They have not exactly had experiences with the Reapers," says Valern.

"Still, I'd think you would bring along some C-Sec officers or something," I comment.

"There will be C-Sec officers in the escort to Sparatus' apartment, no doubt," says Tevos. "But inside..." The asari Councillor shrugs. "Think of this as a test of how trustworthy Shepard's crew is. We will be in a vulnerable position. That is perhaps the best way to prove their innocence to the rest of the galaxy."

I frown, but nod. Yes... that makes sense. Put themselves in a situation where supposed traitors can hurt them, and if they get out alive... "Still, it seems a little weird that you're just taking their word for it," I reply.

"Perhaps," says Tevos. "Perhaps. Commander, would you be willing to help us look through Sparatus' apartment as a test to see if our faith in you is well-placed?"

Shepard nods. "Whatever you need, Councillors," she says. "We'll be at your service."

I nod. I glance over at Sparatus as he is hoisted to his feet by the C-Sec officers that have arrested him. He is led out of the courtroom, and... You know. It's all very odd. There is Sparatus, and Miranda and the others say he is guilty of treason. But...

This is confusing. I can still barely believe the bit about the _Aurigos_, but... _why_? Why would he do something like that? And if this Reaper explanation Shepard has is correct...

I look directly at the Councillors. "I'm coming too."

The two Councillors and Shepard look at me. "Will?" asks Shepard. "Are you sure you should be doing that?"

"I'm in a place where I've already heard more about this situation than most," I say. "I... have to admit, I'm mostly just curious by this point."

Valern shrugs. "He has done well by us thus far," he says. "I believe we can trust him to not say anything about this. We go to Sparatus' apartment in five minutes." He nods. "Now, if you'll excuse me, we need to inform the crew of the Normandy of this."

And with this, the two Councillors walk away. I glance back at Shepard, noticing that she is looking just a touch bemused by this turn of events.

"I... I think this is going to be _interesting_," I comment.

"Oh, you have no idea," says the Commander. "If we find what I think we will find there..."

* * *

><p>I stand slightly behind the Commander, looking over her shoulder. Sparatus' apartment definitely doesn't look as luxurious as I might think from the outside, at least as far as doors go. I mean... it's a standard door with a red panel signifying that it's locked. And really, it's in a rather odd place on the Presidium, considering that this place somehow does not look as great as the rest of it.<p>

My attention then turns to the two people that are standing by the door, giving it a brief look-over. One of them is a young woman who covers her head with a hood, and the other turns out to have been Shepard's younger brother. I believe, anyhow. There is certainly some resemblance, but I pay no attention. I glance at Tevos, Valern, and Udina from where they stand amidst the assorted people on the Normandy's crew before turning back to the others.

"Yep, just as I thought," says the young woman. "The encryption here got upgraded."

"But you can get through it?" asks Valern.

"I could do it in my sleep," replies the young woman as she opens her omni-tool. "Just gimme a couple seconds with this... and..."

The door panel turns green almost immediately.

"There we go," the younger Shepard sibling says. He then reaches over and opens the door. "Now... I think we have to know what to expect here."

"Yes," says Jocelyn as she steps forward. "If there is Reaper tech in here, we can't stay too long. Indoctrination is subtle: you don't realize that your free will has been taken away until it is too late. So we need to find it and get the hell out."

"Right..." says Tevos. "I have to admit, Commander, this is a little scary for us."

The Commander shakes her head. "We just need to be quick, and with my crew here we will be out of here fast," she says. "Move out."

With this, Shepard walks right into the apartment. I follow her almost immediately, and then everyone else follows suit. I look around the apartment, noticing that it's actually not very ornate for a Councillor. This is... well, humbling, really. I look around the admittedly large apartment, looking to the Councillors and nodding towards them.

"Spread out," says the Commander. "We're probably not going to find anything here. Start looking elsewhere."

Jocelyn moves away, and I follow her very shortly after. She walks to what I assume is the kitchen as everyone else fans out. She looks around, and leans forward to open a few cupboards here and there. I follow her eyes, turning down and seeing nothing down there. I shake my head, breaking off from her side and walking further into the apartment. I see the crew spread out, with some checking around. I notice the three Councillors that are left are simply standing in the center of the room, looking around nervously as they wait for whatever comes next.

I shake my head, suddenly noticing the man in strange armor is gripping his head. He stumbles forward, and I see the young human man in the bunch go towards him.

"Isaac?" he asks. "Is everything-?"

I watch as the older man points at something. The young man's gaze follows where the other person is pointing. I lean forward, noticing...

Why is he pointing towards the wall?

I tap Shepard's shoulder, and I hear her turn to look at this. I glance back at her after a few seconds to find that she is just as confused as I. Right as we turn our attention back to the two humans over there, however, I notice that one of the women who stood up at the trial comes forward. Madison, I think her name was. She looks at the wall, frowns, and inspects the wall.

I look back to the Commander, and shrug. "I'm not sure what it is," I comment. "Do you think the Councillor would've put in a false wall here?"

"I don't think so," she says.

"Yeah..." I comment. "Logistically, it would be-"

I suddenly hear a loud squeal of metal from directly behind me. I cover my ears as the sound travels around, cringing as I'm sure most everyone else here is. I turn back to look behind me to see that the woman has-

...

Yes, that was definitely a false wall.

The loud squealing sound dies out, and then I look as Madison and the other two men step back in shock from the dark opening that has been revealed. It's dark, but... there's something about the eerie blue light that emanates from the doorway. It's a blue light, but it's strangely not very bright, and it means I can't see whatever is causing it from this vantage point.

Nervously, I take a step forward. I feel my blood freeze in my veins, but I can't help it. I just... I feel like I have to see what is in this hidden compartment. I just...

Before I know what has happened, I'm standing at the front of the crew of the Normandy as they crowd around in front of the opening. Shepard is standing in front of me to my left, and she's staring in a mix of shock and anger.

And I...

What the hell is this thing?

There is some kind of... small object on a stand in there. It looks like a shard of a much larger object, something that has broken away. It gives off an unsettling blue light that does not illuminate the darkness. I lean forward...

"What is that?" I hear Valern ask.

"This..." Shepard leans forward, looking at the strange object. "Someone shine a light on it."

I see that Madison is on this, shining a light on the object. I then see that the object is made of a bizarre metal that is shiny yet also one of the blackest things I have ever seen in my life. I glance at Shepard before looking at the object.

"What is that?"

"That..." I turn to see as Garrus steps closer. "I don't know what it is. But it doesn't look nice."

"It looks... Reapery," the young man in front of us mentions. "I don't know, but it just... How did this get here?"

"This must have been willed to him from the estate of Saren Arterius," says Tevos. We all turn to look at the asari Councillor as she steps forward. "Valern, Anderson, Sparatus and I were at the reading of Saren's will. The will mentioned that Saren willed several artifacts of then-unknown origin to Sparatus. The will said they came from the remains of Temple Palaven, but this does not look like anything of turian design."

Garrus frowns. "Temple Palaven?" he asks. "I thought that place was completely demolished?"

"It was," I hear Tidoses mention. "And they cleaned it up immediately. There's no way something like this could have come from that ruin."

"Then that explains why Sparatus looked a little concerned," says Valern. "I guess he must have suspected it. But in the end, he couldn't refuse a gift from Saren."

I frown, looking back at the object. "And that would mean..." Shepard shakes her head as she says this. "That would mean that he would have been indoctrinated by this thing slowly."

I look at the others. "You do realize that this whole indoctrination thing sounds implausible, right?" I ask. "I mean, machines that can control people's minds? That's..."

"Hey, guys!" We all turn around, seeing that the hooded woman... Kasumi? Yes, Kasumi is standing in front of a private terminal. "I think I've found something here!"

I look directly at her as she turns to us. She beckons us to come closer, and then we all walk around her. "Kasumi?" asks Shepard.

"I started looking through his private terminal," she says. "You never know what kind of dirt you can find on there. Anyway, I started looking through his e-mail history and other things." She shakes her head, and points directly at the screen. "You are _not _going to believe what I found."

I then lean forward, squinting and reading the e-mail that Kasumi has apparently opened. Okay... Let's see... what does this thing say?

"_To: __Khalisah Bint-Sinan al-Jilani, Emily Wong, Diana Allers, Xerxes Garkaran, Lovinia T'Yulga__, Salgesh Horovath, and 37 others  
><em>

_CC:_

_To everyone,_

_I have information on what Commander Shepard has truly been up to. It would be the scoop of the century, and you would be paid quite handsomely to cover it._

_Attached to this e-mail, you will find several classified files that I have acquired. All of these files pertain to Commander Shepard and her true whereabouts. It turns out she's a traitor to the Council. I believe this is something the people should know, and that the Council should be made aware would be completely unacceptable._

_Report this: they deserve to know the truth about our former Savior of the Galaxy, and how she is truly a slimy figure. I am to remain anonymous, and you are not to disclose the exact nature of how you came across these files, even despite Council investigation._

_-S_"

I frown, looking up from the e-mail. "Wait, hold on, there-"

"That's not all," says Kasumi. "This is from a different e-mail account. The only e-mails on this account are correspondences with all the reporters tagged here."

"And it doesn't look like the e-mail he would use for official Council business," says Tevos. "That way, Sparatus would remain anonymous."

"That's bullshit," says a young female voice behind me. When I look behind me, I see the heavily tattooed woman step forward. "You can't tell me those bimbos would sit there and not say 'what the fuck is this asshole saying'."

"No," says Tevos. "We did have a probe into how this information was released."

I frown. "You probed into this?" I ask.

"How come we never heard of this?" asks Shepard.

"We kept it quiet because we did not want the people to panic," says Valern. "We also said nothing because the results only seemed to confuse us more."

"We brought a couple of these reporters into a C-Sec office to be questioned," says Tevos. "When they were asked, every reporter told us was that they could not say anything."

"On what cause?" asks Shepard.

"Many of them said that they were afraid for loved ones," says Tevos. "The C-Sec officers on hand mentioned that they were all speaking as if they had been threatened, so threats to the lives of themselves and love ones was one thing we suspected as being a motivation. And indeed, one of the reporters showed us his message history and confirmed it himself." I hear her step forward. "But we still had no idea _why _this information was leaked."

"Did you ask for help to find out why?" asks Shepard.

"Yes," says Valern. "We used those e-mails as a starting point. But try as we might, we could not pinpoint where the e-mails were coming from. We originally surmised that the Shadow Broker was actually behind it, but we could find no evidence to support that." He looks at the terminal in front of him. "And to think that Sparatus was the one responsible for this..."

"Let us not forget he also distributed classified Council files to the public," says Miranda.

"But why?" asks Tevos. "Why would he do this?"

A brief silence takes hold of the room as soon as the asari Councillor asks this. We all look at each other nervously, and I find I can barely supply anything even resembling a theory.

"Hold on," I hear the young man say again. God, what was his name again...? "We've got the glowy thing over in that hidden closet. And Isaac led us to it with... Well..." He turns his attention to the older man in unusual armor, and I notice that he has grabbed his head and is mumbling to himself. "He tends to have... _attacks_ when this kind of thing happens."

"Attacks?" asks Valern. "What... kinds of attacks?"

He shrugs. "Nervous attacks," he replies. "It would take a while to explain. But he also had a nervous attack when we were on Rannoch."

"And you were close to a Reaper there," says Garrus.

"Could it be that these attacks are linked to indoctrination?" asks Miranda.

"I... I don't know, but..." Isaac grunts again. "I think it could be... My head's killing me... Agh..." I hear him mumble a few things after that.

I open my mouth to ask Isaac what he just said when Garrus speaks. "And if that's what really happened..." he says.

My question immediately dies on my lips as I look at Garrus. I... Maybe I shouldn't ask. It's not relevant to the conversation, anyway. But... if what Garrus postulates is true...

I glance around the, looking at everyone as a different question comes to my mind. "Do you think the indoctrination had something to do with this?" I ask. "I mean... If it's true that Sovereign wasn't a geth ship, then you could say that whatever is behind that object over there was actually afraid of Shepard after Sovereign."

Shepard nods. "We also ruined some of the Reapers' plans beyond the Omega 4 Relay," she adds.

The young man steps forward. "You've messed with the Reapers a lot," he comments. "You've always been there to ruin their plans, and you have an uncanny ability to rally people behind a unified cause."

"Yeah," says Albert from where he stands on my right. We all turn to him. "The crew of the Normandy proves that. There we all were from different backgrounds with rivalries going around, and yet you unified us and brought us together."

"Then that means..." The young... Art! That was his name! "That means that Sparatus was planning on getting Shepard out of the way!"

"And the rest of the Normandy's crew," I comment. "The arrest warrant went out for all of you, not just the Commander."

"Which would make sense, because we also knew the truth about the Reapers," Miranda adds. "And wasn't there a point in the trial when the prosecution called someone to the stand who denied the existence of the Reapers?"

I then look at Shepard. "He wanted to bury any evidence of the Reapers, and get the only people who could rally the galaxy against the Reapers out of the picture," says Shepard. "That... That was why he leaked my affiliation with Cerberus. He was trying to force your hand in a way that you could act to get us out of the picture."

"If the public had not spoken out, and if the Alliance had not placed additional pressure on everyone to convict Shepard..." says Valern. "Which means that if Sparatus was attempting to force an outcome, he very nearly succeeded."

There is another silence that fills the apartment. I glance at everyone around me, and I look back to the Commander. She looks like she is quite angry at this point, as I see that her fists are clenched. She simply shakes her head.

"This is..."

"I believe this is enough to convict Sparatus on treason," says Valern. "We have our evidence that the Reapers exist and that Sparatus was probably under their influence, and even if we cannot convict him on that there is the fact that he actively worked to undermine the work of a Spectre in a way that duped multiple ." He shakes his head. "This... this is still rather difficult to believe."

I nod. "You can say that again," I say. "This is still difficult for me to believe."

"And for the rest of us," Shepard says. "But... we finally have some answers." She looks to Tidoses. "And we also know why the Aurigos vanished."

Valern nods. "We need to consult with Udina," says Valern. "It will take some time. For now..." He nods to Tevos. "Send in a C-Sec team to do a sweep of the apartment. They may find something else of note."

Shepard nods. "And we need to get out of here," she says. "Unless your idea of helping the galaxy involves getting indoctrinated..."

"I doubt that is the case, Commander," says Valern. "Let us be off, then."

With this, everyone murmurs, and we begin exiting the apartment.

* * *

><p>At least an hour later, we are all standing outside of Sparatus' apartment. There are C-Sec officers taking statements from some people on the crew of the Normandy A police line has formed some distance away from the apartment, and I see many, many bystanders looking on. The crew of the Normandy is scattered about, with Garrus and Miranda both standing to the side with the human woman I did not recognize. I glance briefly at Paellix where he's busy catching up with Tidoses before turning my attention elsewhere. My eyes fall on the batarian member of the crew. It... it actually really surprises me that a batarian would willingly join the crew of the Normandy, and from the way he is talking to the large Alliance marine that he has taken to the crew.<p>

I glance over to Shepard where she stands next to me. "I see the Normandy still has a penchant for attracting the strangest types of people," she comments.

"It certainly seems that way," I comment, glancing over to where a male quarian is conversing freely with a young human woman. "And it seems rather large, too."

"I'm sure they'll have quite a few stories to tell," she says. "Do you think this will be the end of this trial?"

"Probably," I say. "Tevos and Valern withdrew from the prosecution because of what they did to get your crew's testimony to me, and now that Sparatus is under arrest, I doubt he will be in a position to press charges. And as for Udina... I don't think he'll press charges. He's an opportunist, but I think he knows that this ship has essentially left the port."

"I think so too," says Shepard. "And I'm sure he knows it just as much as the rest of us."

I nod in reply, looking out to where the rest of the crew is. "So... when you get released, I'm assuming you're going back into action?"

"Yes," Shepard replies. "The Reapers are coming. It's inevitable. But now it's more important than ever that I get going. Sitting behind bars is not a good way to prepare people for when the Reapers finally come."

"No rest for the wicked?" I ask.

"No rest for the wicked," Shepard replies.

I shake my head, glancing down at the ground and chuckling before turning back to look at the Commander. "You know, it's funny," I comment. "If you had told me when this trial started that I would've ended up meeting the Council personally, I would have laughed at you."

"I wouldn't have blamed you," says Shepard. "And yet here we are."

I nod, smiling. I then look up, seeing Valern, Tevos, and Udina walking up to Shepard and I. I straighten myself out, looking at the three Councillors as they approach.

"Councillors," I say. "Has a decision been reached?"

"Yes," says Udina. "I can't exactly say I was expecting anything like this, Shepard."

"Neither did I, Udina," says Shepard. "What did you decide?"

Valern nods. "First, we need to deal with the matter of the charges of treason that were laid against you," says Valern. "We have reviewed the files on the Lazarus Project. It was all very fascinating, I have to say. I don't know if the science is accurate, but it at least indicates that you had no control over when you entered Cerberus... 'employ'."

Shepard nods. "Well, it's better than nothing," she says.

"We will ask the STG to review the files on the Lazarus Project," says Tevos. "Hopefully, they can reach a conclusion we cannot from a simple look."

I nod. "And what of the Commander's charges?"

"Well, actually, we must discuss charges against the crew of the Normandy first," says Tevos.

"Why?" asks Shepard.

"Technically, Commander, they should be under arrest for resisting arrest and breaking into an STG base," says Udina. "Well, in addition to treason."

Shepard glances at the rest of the crew. "Then why hasn't C-Sec rushed in to arrest them?" she asks.

Tevos shakes her head. "We did not think it necessary," she replies. "After all, there are many factors. If they had not resisted arrest, then we would never have found out about Sparatus' treason. And without that..." She nods at Shepard. "We would never have verified the existence of the Reapers."

"They showed me the data on the Reapers," says Udina. "I... I can barely believe you and Anderson were right all along."

"Indeed," says Valern. "Because of this and other things your crew has done in your absence, we've decided to overlook their transgressions."

Shepard leans forward. "So they're safe."

Valern nods. "The salarian dalatrass won't be pleased to hear that, but at the end of the day they are working towards the safety of the galaxy." He then crosses his arms. "And then there is you."

Tevos turns to me. "Mr. Moskas, I believe you have done quite a bit to show the world that Shepard was innocent of the charges we levelled against her."

I raise my hands. "With all due respect, Councillors, I just stood in a courtroom and asked questions," I reply.

"But they were good questions," says Valern as he turns the attention back to Shepard. "I think it is apparent enough to everyone that you were not guilty of treason." He nods. "Therefore, I believe it would be good to say that we wish to drop the charges against you."

I look at the Council. "Meaning that you'll prevent a retrial on these grounds," I say.

"A retrial won't be necessary," says Tevos. "You have proved your innocence, Commander. And as the asari Councillor, I will also fully reinstate your Spectre status."

I look at the Commander, and I notice that she is looking quite happy for the first time in a few days. "I... That's excellent news, Councillor," she says. "That means I can go back to fighting the Reapers."

"Which reminds us," Valern mentions. "I believe Mr. Moskas has updated you on some things relating to looking into our evidence of the Reapers' existence?"

"Yes," says Shepard.

"Good." Tevos gives a rare smile. "We wanted to update you on that. We have already briefed Mr. Moskas on this, so... we wanted to tell you personally. Now would be the best time, though I think we should probably confer with your XO as well."

Shepard nods. "Very well then," she says as she walks towards them. She looks back at me. "I'll be back, Will."

I smile. "Take your time."

With this, the three Councillors and Commander Shepard walk over a short distance. They approach Miranda where she has been conversing with Garrus and Madison. I watch as the group begin talking, and I lean back against the wall, giving a soft smile in the Commander's direction.

Well... I was able to help Commander Shepard. This will be something that people will be talking about for quite some time. I can scarcely believe it myself, but... Well, there she is.

I sigh, crossing my arms in front of me as I look at the commander talk to the Councillors. Even from this distance, I can see her expression getting happier somehow. It's not really obvious, but from this distance I can pick up on various cues. The way her eyes shine, the way she starts moving just a little more animatedly...

I look down at the ground again, blinking as I suddenly lose track of how happy I should feel. I... I don't know what to think about the Reapers. On the one hand, Shepard says they exist, but... to be honest, a part of me does not want the Reapers to be real. A sentient race that kills everyone every fifty thousand years? How do we even defeat such a thing? And how could such a thing even exist?

I feel a cold shiver travel down my spine as I think about this. And... what reason could these things possibly have for doing what they do? I just... I don't know.

I look back up at Shepard, however, right as I see her adopt a more serious expression. Whatever the Reapers are... I'm confident that the Commander will be able to help us all pull through. It is exactly how it was mentioned in Sparatus' apartment: she is a sort of symbol for us all. If anyone can rally us together to fight the Reapers, it's her.

And in my own way... I helped her get through this.

I smile at this realization, glancing back at Shepard. And for one single, immeasurable moment, everything feels right in this galaxy.


	27. Chapter 26

_A/N: Welcome back guys. After that plot twist... well, what else can we do?_

_Well, we can shake up the status quo a bit. There will be a big change to the Normandy's crew that will be extrapolated on in this chapter. Why, you might ask? Well, it's actually in preparation for the Arrival Arc. Yep, ladies and gentlemen, the Arrival DLC will be next up in our list of arcs that we will take on. Same scenario, same asteroid... only everything will also be different. How? You'll see in a second._

_Anyway... I'm hard at work on doing the rewrite of the Sur'Kesh/Tuchanka arc, which will be posted in bulk when I'm done with the final version of the Tuchanka arc. On the plus side, I'm all done with the Sur'Kesh arc, so you'll see where that goes._

_And then there's another issue. Who here has heard of NaNoWriMo? No? Well... it's a little thing that runs throughout November where authors around the world attempt to write 50,000 words, either to start a novel or to write a complete novel. This year, I plan on entering, and I plan on bringing original fiction to it. So it'll take that month of November. Unfortunately, this means that I'll have to stop writing Mass Vexations 3 for the whole month of November while I do NaNoWriMo. So if you don't see any updates from me in November, that's why. I'll try to have the Arrival arc finished by then, but there are no guarantees. So we'll see what happens._

_For now... I think we're due with an interaction chapter to give us some breathing room before we jump into the really meaty stuff here in MV3. So buckle your seatbelts, and let's go!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 26: Separate Ways<p>

And here we are. Again. With Commander Shepard standing at the front of the table in the debriefing room. The way it should've been.

I pause, looking at Councillors Tevos, Valern, and Udina as they all stand there looking at EDI's avatar. They are all staring in disbelief at the AI's avatar, and I'm betting they're flipping out over a lot of other things. Miranda and Garrus both stand behind Shepard, with everyone else on the Normandy's ground team scattered around the room. I also notice Rael, Dsrondo, and Anahit gathered in the room too, which makes it a little tough to fit in here. I glance at the others briefly before turning my attention back to the Council.

They finally turn to look at the Commander.

"You worked with an unshackled AI?" asks Udina. "Shepard, are you _trying _to make my day difficult?"

"I didn't have a choice, Councillor," says Shepard. "EDI came with the ship."

"And as you will find in the files on the Lazarus Project, the ship was built by Cerberus," says Miranda. "The Commander did not have any opinion in the matter, and even if we were to ask her I doubt she would have offered anything in the way of an opinion while she was in an unresponsive state."

"And it somehow hasn't gone rogue," says Valern.

"_That is correct,_" says EDI. "_I have developed a very... strange relationship with the crew of the Normandy. They seem to place quite a large amount of trust._"

"You trust this thing?" asks Tevos. "I don't know how..." She shakes her head. "I don't understand how you and your crew could befriend an AI. It could go rogue..."

"_I understand your trepidation,_" says EDI. "_I have spent much time looking at the history of artificial intelligence in this galaxy. __Previous interactions between synthetics and organics have shown tendencies that give organics reason to pause. I would say you are right to exercise_ _caution: going rogue is a very real possibility for many artificial_ _intelligences._"

"And what about you?" asks Valern. "How do we know you can be trusted?"_  
><em>

EDI pauses, and I look back at her avatar. She sits there for a few seconds, the glowing blue sphere hovering above the table. I find myself chewing on my lower lip, glancing back at Shepard. She clearly has a worried look on her face, but somehow, I think EDI's got this.

After some time, I finally see EDI's avatar move just a little bit.

"_The game._"

...

Oh, that crazy lady did _not _just make us lose the-

I hear Wrex grunt in frustration. "Really?" he asks. "Making us lose the game at a time like this?"

I facepalm, shaking my head. "EDI, there are times you can make people lose the game, and there are times where you can make bad jokes," says Garrus. "This is _not _one of those times where you can do either."

I glance back at the Councillors, who understandably look _very _confused. "W...what?" asks Valern. "The game?"

Wrex shakes his head. Before he can open his mouth, however, EDI pipes up. "_It is a new cultural tradition amongst the krogan on Tuchanka,_" she says. "_It is a new cultural development carried over from a similar thing in human culture. In human culture, it is simply a game played by young people for laughs. However, the krogan have used it as a sign of respect and friendship to others, even if this was not the intended purpose of 'the game' from its culture of origin. I believed it to be the best-_"

"Enough of this," says Udina. "I know what 'the game' is. But I cannot figure out what possessed it to say that." He looks at Garrus for a split second before turning back to EDI. "I agree that the timing of that was definitely wrong. I would have held out until the end of this meeting to do that."

"_That's what she said._"

...

Oh, God, EDI, you're just digging a deeper hole!

I facepalm in response, but before I can say anything the Commander opens her mouth. "All right, EDI, that's enough," says Shepard. "This is not the time or the place to be using immature humor."

She then turns to the Councillors. "I apologize for that," the Commander continues. "I promise you EDI does not always do that."

"It's... interesting that it should turn to immature humor to prove a point, I must admit," says Valern. "Where did it learn to do that?"

"Probably from our pilot," says Garrus. "I have heard him crack more bad jokes on the Normandy than I have heard from anyone in my time at C-Sec. Which actually says a lot, really."

"And you think this... _influenced _this intelligence?" asks Tevos.

"_Yes._" EDI's avatar comes to life again. "_Jeff and I always talk to each other whenever there is nothing happening. He has taught me... humor. Though, if you ask him, he would tell you that my jokes need a little work._"_  
><em>

Understatement of the century, EDI.

I roll my eyes, but the Council looks on. "An artificial intelligence learning humor..." says Valern. He looks to Shepard. "I believe I speak for us all when I say that we will place our trust in this intelligence. For now."

"Should she go rogue, however, that will change," says Tevos.

"I understand, Councillors," says Shepard. "Speaking of that, actually, my crew apparently managed to broker a peace between the quarians and the geth."

Udina frowns. "You mean they stopped a war that is three hundred years old?" Udina asks.

I watch as Rael'Zorah makes his way so he can look at the Council. "That is correct, Councillor," says Rael. "We have begun peace talks. In the direction they are headed, my people and the geth may be able to put our... differences in the past."

"I assume you are one of the admirals, then," says Tevos.

The admiral nods. "Admiral Rael'Zorah vas Normandy, Councillor," he says. "I may not be with my people at the moment, but I can still begin mending relations with the Council, which is something I am sure the other admirals would greatly appreciate. I can also offer you our assistance when the Reapers come."

Valern and Tevos nod. "It will be a difficult process," says Tevos. "Since the crew of the Normandy will be on the Citadel for a week...?"

"I would be open to meeting with you to discuss these matters further," says Rael.

"Then we shall discuss those matters separately," says Udina. He then turns to Dsrondo. "And we have a batarian diplomat."

"I prefer the term 'ex-diplomat'," Dsrondo clarifies as he steps forward. "All the same, I act in the best interests of Khar'shan and its people. There is a resistance that knows that the Hegemony has wronged the batarian people. They will need aid." He nods. "Which is something I believe would also be best discussed elsewhere."

Udina bites his lower lip. "And how can we be certain you aren't trying to destroy us?" he asks. "For all we know, you could be a second Jath'Amon."

"The difference between us is ambition," says Dsrondo. "Jath'Amon wished for power, revenge. I wish to aid my people. I am no Jath'Amon, I will promise you this."

Udina turns to the other Councillors. "You cannot be serious about wanting to meet with a batarian," he states.

"We have trusted batarians in the past," says Tevos. "We may learn plenty from their struggles, and there may be a way we will be able to help. Besides, with the Reapers coming, this is no time to allow our past perceptions to get in the way of the future." The asari nods to Dsrondo. "We will discuss this later."

Dsrondo nods. "Thank you, Councillors," he says. "I hope these talks are productive."

"As do we," says Valern. The salarian turns his attention to Wrex. "And as for this cure for the genophage, we will discuss this at a different time."

Wrex crosses his arms, looking at him. I don't see any animosity in his look, though. "Sure," says Wrex. "Just don't wait too long. The krogan people want the genophage cured."

Tevos nods. "We will speak further about that when the time comes," says Tevos. "For now, Commander, I believe we have one final matter to discuss."

"Yes," says Shepard. "The matter of what you will do about Sparatus, and the vacancy left in his wake."

"We have elected to ask Primarch Fedorian of Palaven for a recommendation for someone we can appoint as acting Councillor," says Valern. "He is searching now, and we will have a turian Councillor again by the time the week ends."

"That is what we have decided on for the vacant spot," says Tevos. "As for Sparatus... we know about everything he has been guilty of, but we cannot lock him away without a fair trial."

I frown. "Really?" asks Commander Shepard. "But you know for certain he is guilty."

"Unfortunately, our hands are tied," says Udina. "If we do not try Sparatus, then we risk angering the turian people. We especially risk alienating the turian Hierarchy."

"We do not like it any more than you do," says Valern. "But we do what we must. We hope it will be a swift trial, however. In the meantime, he will be detained on the Citadel under maximum security until such a time that we can transfer him to the Hierarchy's prison system. This process may take weeks, longer than your leave, even."

Shepard frowns. "That is it?" she asks.

"Do you have an objection?" asks Tevos.

"I know how the Reapers operate," says Shepard. "If I know the Reapers, they will have planned something to get around this, and they will have planned it in such a way that they can strike when we are at our most vulnerable. You saw the items at Sparatus' apartment. You saw what it did to the Councillor. The Reapers can bend anyone to their will, and if what Sparatus has done in the past under the thrall of the Reapers is any indication, he may have worked to subvert the abilities of C-Sec in some manner." She shakes her head. "The Reapers are a tangible threat as long as Sparatus stays on the Citadel, and I do not know if C-Sec's finest will be enough to detain him. And personally, I do not think we want to find out what will happen if we take the risk and allow C-Sec's finest to guard him."

"Then what do you suggest, Commander?" asks Udina.

The Commander look out to the rest of us, and I notice that there is some trepidation in her facial expression. She swallows, however, and turns to face the Councillors.

"I would like to offer some of the Normandy's crew to act as a supplement to the C-Sec force you have in question."

...

Wait, is she...?

No, Shepard couldn't be serious, could she?

The Councillors look at us in surprise before looking back at the Commander. "You wish to supply your crew to act as a C-Sec compliment?" asks Tevos. "The C-Sec officers would object almost immediately."

"This crew is made up of some of the galaxy's finest," says Shepard. "I went to hell and back with them. I have done the impossible with them. I know they will be able to effectively help C-Sec guard Councillor Sparatus." She then looks at Garrus. "One of the crew members is also former C-Sec. This is not something C-Sec can do alone, Councillors."

Valern, Tevos, and Udina all look at each other in earnest. They hold this glance for a few seconds, before Tevos nods and looks at the Commander.

"And you are certain that this is something that they will be effective at," says Tevos.

"Yes," says Shepard.

"Then I believe this settles this matter," says Tevos. "We will allow some of your crew to stay and aid in defending Sparatus."

Shepard nods. "Thank you, Councillors," she says. "I believe this concludes our business."

"For now," says Udina. "I didn't think this would end _quite _like this, Commander. I will see to it that your status within the Alliance is reinstated."

"With this, I believe our business here is done," says Tevos. "We will talk with the relevant parties soon."

Shepard nods. "Yes," she says. She then turns to us. "I will speak to you individually soon. For now... this meeting is adjourned."

I nod, looking at the rest of the crew as they begin to file out of the room. I turn towards the exit to leave when I suddenly feel a hand grab my wrist. I turn around, seeing Shepard has grabbed my wrist.

"I need to speak with you first," she says. "There are things we need to discuss."

I pause, watching everybody else leave as she holds me in place. I can see that she won't budge on this issue, however, and so I look to the side again. I pause, looking back at the Commander. I nod gravely... Yes... Yes, if this is going to be about what I think it's going to be about...

I hear the door close behind the Council and everyone else, and when I look around I realize that it is just the Commander and I standing in the room. Yep... I think this is it...

I turn to the Commander, who lets go of my arm. As soon as she does, she walks away from me, taking her place back at the front of the table. She shakes her head, and then pulls something out of her clothes and... Yes... That was Irikah's wedding ring. Yep, that's the conversation I was fearing. I immediately feel my heart begin to beat a little more quickly out of fear, and I look at Shepard as she stands there, unable to look me directly in the eye for those first few seconds.

"Shepard...?" I ask, my voice cracking softly as I ask.

She turns to look at me as she holds the ring, and I suddenly notice that she is still there. "I didn't even get a chance to mourn him properly," says the Commander. "It all happened so fast..." She pauses, holding the ring in her hand. I dare not move towards her, even as her eyes begin to water. "I just..."

I nod, closing my eyes. "He was a good man, Jocelyn," I say. "Thane... he was a good man."

Shepard nods. "He was," she agrees. "He was a wonderful man. I have never felt safer in my life than when he held me in his arms. I..." She pauses, looking at the ring as a solitary tear rolls down her cheek. "I loved him so much. And now..."

She then turns her attention to me. "I trusted you to keep everyone on this ship alive," she says. "I thought you'd be able to handle it. But not only did you get someone killed, but... that someone happened to be the man I loved."

I glance to the side, finding myself unable to look Shepard directly in the eye. She pauses, and I can sense that she is beginning to get angry. "I loved the man you got killed," she says. "There was a lot of trust I put on your shoulders, and you got him killed. He's dead now, and it's because of... because of..."

I close my eyes, placing my hand on the table. I feel my eyes water, and I just stand there silently.

"Why don't you say anything?" asks Shepard.

I let out a sigh. "Because there's nothing I can say that'll excuse what happened," I say. "I... I messed up, Shepard. There's nothing else to say." I pause for a few more seconds.

I notice Shepard's grimace almost immediately. "So you won't even apologize?" she asks.

My fingers drum against the table briefly, and... God damn it... why does it have to be like this? Fuck...

Damn it... I just need to be honest.

"I... It's not that I won't apologize... It's that I _can't_ apologize adequately enough," I begin. "There aren't enough words in the English dictionary to tell you how sorry I am. I could write an entire novel about how sorry I am and it still wouldn't feel sincere for me. I want to apologize to you. But I can't, 'cause nothing will excuse the fact that I got the man you loved killed." I pause, opening my eyes and looking away from the Commander. "The man you loved is dead, and it's my fault. You've got every right to be angry at me."

The Commander nods. "I am angry," she says, finally putting the ring down. "Thane is dead because of you. And now, I'll never know what could have happened." She takes a few steps towards me, looking at me angrily. "I am angry. I want to be angrier than I actually am..." She pauses, shaking her head.

I sigh, closing my eyes. "I just... I can't..." I feel a tear slip down my eye.

Things are silent for around half a minute. I dare not open my eyes, because I know that Shepard's hurt expression is waiting there. I remain quiet, simply keeping one hand on the table as the silence becomes overbearingly stifling. There's so much I could say and that I want to say, but... I open my mouth several times, with my throat threatening to clench on me every time. I can't... I...

Finally, I venture to open my eyes, and see the Commander stand there in a mixture of hurt and anger. She finally just slams her hand on the table, and walks away from the table. She faces away from me.

"For the first time in my life, I don't know what to do," she says. "You have been one of three people who has remained by my side throughout this entire fight against the Reapers, and yet this has happened. I don't know what to think. This is... difficult."

I nod. "I understand your anger," I say. "All I'll tell you now... I deserve it." I nod.

I see Shepard's shoulders relax. "I guess that makes it easier, then," she says. "I don't know if I can force you off the ship. We've been through a lot together."

"We have," I comment.

"And then there's the matter of the Fade," she says. "You still have that orange thing, right?"

"Yes," I reply.

"That'll be more useful here than it will on the Citadel," she says. "I think you know that this means that you'll be more useful on the ship than you are elsewhere."

I nod. "Maybe," I say, rubbing my arm lightly. "I'm not so certain anymore."

Shepard simply shakes her head. "I don't think I can ever forgive you for Thane," she says. "Let's get that out of the way. But with the Fade, and with everything else that you, Miranda, and Garrus managed to accomplish without me..." She pauses. "I think you will still be of value in the fight against the Reapers." She crosses her arms. "Know, however, that a part of me thinks this is going easy on you."

"I understand," I say. "But for what it's worth... I promise to do better."

Shepard nods. "That is what I need, soldier," she says. "Now... I think we're done here."

"I think so too..." I say, rubbing my arms. "I'll... I'll be wherever."

Shepard doesn't reply or even show any sign that she heard this. Instead, she picks up Irikah's wedding ring and walks out of the room without another word. This leaves me alone in the briefing room, looking down at the floor. The door closes after Shepard, though it seems to close with a little extra force to me despite the fact that it is an electronic door.

Well, that went better than I expected. But I know she's angry at me, and I'm pretty sure she'll keep our relationship professional from here on out. On the one hand... it's not totally lost. But on the other... I feel like I deserved to be given worse. Hell, I would've understood if she had just said 'look, stay on the Citadel'. And I would've done it without question.

I glance down at the table, shaking my head. Damn it... This is just...

I shake my head, biting on my lower lip. "Well... I guess there's no use pondering it now," I say out loud. "Now I have to just roll with the punches and hope everything works out."

And with this, I walk out of the debriefing room, casting one last glance at the table before leaving.

* * *

><p>When the doors open out onto the crew deck, I step out of the elevator. I pause when I step outside of it, and find myself standing there, thinking about what I can do next. Hm... I could always go to my room and start packing my stuff. We all need to get off the ship by the time today ends, anyhow, since the Council offered to do that ship repair soon. I mean... it's only a floor repair, but...<p>

Besides, there might be other things I should check on.

I walk into the room immediately, noticing Rael standing there. Tali is sitting on the bed, and I look in confusion as-

"So that is it," says Rael, sadly. "I..."

"I can't..." Tali says softly. "I just... I can't..."

... Whoah, nelly, what the shit did I just walk in on?

"Very well," he says. "I'll tell Kal'Reegar to see Dr. Solus at the next available opportunity." He then turns around, and only then notices my presence. "Oh, Art. I'm sorry. I didn't hear you come in."

I frown, looking at Rael. I notice he has stepped out of his suit again, and is wearing... Oh, God, why did you have to be wearing Thane's old jacket? "What's up?" I ask.

The older quarian glances back at his daughter, and I can see a pang of sadness in his eyes. "Perhaps you would be best asking her," he says. "Either way... there are things I must do. Come to me when you are done on the crew deck." And with this, he walks out of the room, the door closing behind him. I pause there, looking at where Rael just was. What...?

What was that all about?

I turn back to Tali, seeing that she hasn't even acknowledged I've entered the room. I walk towards Tali, coming over to sit on the bed next to her.

"Tali?" I ask. "Is everything all right?"

The quarian simply sits there. "I don't know..." she begins, her voice quieter than it usually is. "I... I think I might've disappointed father."

I edge closer to her. "Why?" I ask.

"He..." Tali sighs. "He told me that Mordin has another dose of the immunization ready."

I blink, looking at her. "I... That's great!" I say. "That's... that's..." I look back at the door. Hey, wait... "Were you just talking...?"

...

Oh my god...

"You refused to take it," I say. "And you told him to give it to Kal'Reegar."

Tali nods. "I... I can't get out of my suit." She pauses, and it's then that I notice that she is hugging her arms around her. "Not now. I don't think..."

I pause. "Why?" I ask.

"I... I just can't..." she says. "I..." She pauses, shaking her head slowly. I expect her to say something, anything, but for a few seconds she remains completely silent.

Damn it... I drape my arm over her shoulders, holding it there briefly. She doesn't flinch away from the contact, but I notice that she turns her head towards me. What could possibly possess her to do something like this? I mean... Earlier, she couldn't wait to get out of her suit, but now that she has the opportunity to do so...? What is going on in her mind...?

...

Damn it...

I pat her lightly with my hand. "I see..." I say. I actually don't, but... but if I tell her that, I don't... I don't want her to take anything the wrong way. I mean... what... "If you don't want it now, I'll re-"

"Now?" she asks, suddenly sounding a little more certain of himself. "I don't know if I'll ever take it."

...

I shake my head. No, I can't put what I want over her. "Okay... if you don't want it, then..." I pull her closer to me. "I'll respect that." I pause, biting on my lower lip for a few seconds before smiling again.

Tali simply nods, leaning on my shoulder. "Thank you," she says. "There's... uh... there's a lot of things we need to do."

I blink, and then come to a... Yes. "Yes. Packing." I let go of Tali and gesture to the room. "We've got a lot of stuff to pack here. I guess we should get started with that."

"Yes, we should," says Tali as she stands up. She walks over to where my terminal is. "Can I...?"

"Yes," I say. "I'll take care of the bed."

Tali nods. "And I assume we will stay with Mangdalar and Yelena?" she asks.

I pause. Shit... that's right, I haven't seen Mangdalar and Yelena. Well... actually, I thought I saw them at the trial, but if they were they were sitting way in the back someplace. But on the other hand, I'm sure they would gladly offer. So...

"Yeah, I think so," I say. "I just need to let them know about that." I walk to the back of the bed... there we are... yes... "I'll get to that later, though."

With this, I begin working on packing up the bed.

* * *

><p>I walk away from my quarters, turning around and entering into the mess hall. I pause, seeing how oddly empty it is before I continue on to the gunnery bay. I walk the rest of the way there, passing directly under one of the holes before finding myself walking right at the door. Should I...? No, I want to see how they're doing just once again.<p>

I open the door, and walk in to find that Garrus and Madison are both doing stuff. I see Madison folding the cot up, and I notice that Garrus is setting aside a few cases of armor off to the side. Madison notices me first, and she nods in my general direction.

"Oh, hey Art," says Madison.

"Art," says Garrus. "I figured you'd be packing your things. I mean, you know we have to be off of this ship by the time the-."

"-day cycle ends, I know, Garrus," I say. "I know. I actually just finished packing up my own stuff." I crossed my arms. "And you look just about finished."

"Yep," says Madison. She looks over at me. "I heard you spoke with Shepard. How'd it go?"

I shrug. "It went all right, I guess," I say. "Our personal relationship is probably still in tatters, but at least she hasn't kicked me off the Normandy yet. There's that."

"Good," says Garrus.

Madison shrugs. "I think you'll be on her good side again eventually," says Madison. "You've been with her through a lot." She shrugs. "I guess you didn't come here to talk about that."

"You've got that right, Madison," I say. "I was wondering... with Shepard saying she'll leave people here... does that mean you guys are staying here?"

"Yeah," says Garrus. He crosses his arms. "Shepard has ordered me to be the C-Sec liaison." He opens his omni-tool. "I got a roster of some of the people that will be guarding Sparatus. Let's just say that I know most of the people in that force from my days in C-Sec and I'll leave it at that." He shakes his head. "I'd rather be fighting in the fray, but I don't think this will be permanent."

I nod, turning to Madison. "I guess this means you're getting off here, too," I add.

The former journalist glances at Garrus, before nodding and slowly walking towards him. "Yes," she says.

I nod. "Wow, that's two people in the Brotherhood leaving the ship," I say. "That's..."

"Yeah," says Madison as Garrus stands up and places a hand on her shoulder. "It's crazy. But I think you can manage." She shrugs. "I think the Normandy has picked up a rather impressively sized crew anyway."

I nod. "That's true," I say. "We've got a lot of people by now. If we had any more, we'd have to start an army or something."

"Of course," says Garrus. "And now, here we are." He looks at the two of us, patting Madison's shoulder. "We'll keep watch over Sparatus."

Madison nods. "Maybe I could even say hi to Eltarn and Sawrik while we're here."

I blink. "Wait, those two?" I ask.

"Oh yeah," says Garrus as he gives a distinctive turian smirk. "Those two have been messaging Madison for a while now. The messages stopped after Shepard's arrest, but..."

"They messaged me again recently," says Madison. She smiles. "Sawrik is doing especially well right now."

I nod. "That's great," I say. "So you're meeting up with Eltarn and Sawrik, then."

Madison gestures at Garrus. "With him, of course," she replies. "I wouldn't leave him alone while doing that. He might get... uppity about that."

At this, I instantly notice Garrus give an unreadable look to Madison. "Uppity?" I ask.

"Oh yes," says Madison as she smirks. "It's a little known fact that turians get _quite _territorial."

"In what sense?" asks Garrus as he leans over. I see the turian smirk harder than I thought was possible with those damn mandibles as he leans close to Madison.

"Well... I was thinking maybe to assert dominance," Madison replies.

"I thought I already did that," Garrus almost purrs.

"I could use a... _reminder_..." Madison states in a... sultry manner.

...

Oh, my, it's getting _really _hot in here.

"I... Uh..." I pause. "I hope you guys realize I'm still in the room."

"Oh, don't worry, we know," says Madison as she crosses her arms. "But seriously, I don't think Eltarn is that kind of person."

"He didn't seem like that to me either," says Garrus. "But we've never had a normal date at any point."

I frown, looking at them before... Ah, yes. "Yeah, fighting crime on Omega isn't exactly the most normal way of dating, is it?" I ask.

"Well, you'd be surprised how romantic explosions can get after a while," Garrus replies.

Madison rolls her eyes. "But seriously, we need more 'normal' dates, I guess," she says. "And what better time to do it than when we're off the Normandy?"

I nod. "Yeah, I see what you mean," I say. "Well... I'm gonna miss you guys on this ship. So..."

"Yeah, I'm sure Shepard feels the same way," says Madison. "Well... You make sure to take care of her."

I sigh. "It'll be tough from the sidelines, but I'll do my best," I say. "And you two be careful on the Citadel. If Sparatus did actually plan something like Shepard suspects, you need to be prepared for it."

"Oh, we will," says Garrus. "Now... I think we should get out of here."

"Yeah," I say. "I was just going to head back to my room to get my stuff. I'll see you guys at the elevator."

With this, I turn and leave the gunnery bay. I glance behind me as the doors close, sighing and walking to my room.

* * *

><p>I step outside of the Normandy, seeing that a small crowd has gathered around the ship. C-Sec is there, but they're busy keeping the civilians away from the airlock. I look around, Tali, Sturge, and Rael all standing close by my side. Rael stepped into his suit to keep people from panicking too hard, but here we are, and... well...<p>

Hm... I walk forward, clutching the case with my terminal and my viola case as we move along. I scan the crowd... Hm... they should be here by... Well... and...

Yes! There they are!

And right as soon as I catch sight of them, Mangdalar and Yelena seem to catch sight of us. I watch as the turian and the asari both try to come towards us, only being stopped by the C-Sec line. However, I manage to get to them rather quickly, and right as I cross the police line Mangdalar is pulling me into the equivalent of a bear hug.

"Art!" says Mangdalar. "You're all right!"

I smile, unable to drop my stuff to reciprocate the hug. Well... that, and it's a bit tough to breathe in a turian bear hug, but whatever. "I'm fine, Mangdalar," I simply say once the turian releases me.

"We were worried about you," says Yelena. "Ever since Shepard was arrested..."

I shrug. "But here we are, no?" I ask. I turn back to Sturge and Rael. "I take it I haven't introduced you guys to some other people."

"I don't believe we've met," says Mangdalar as he turns his attention to Rael. "I'm Mangdalar Vorolis." He extends his hand to the quarian.

The old man nods, and takes Mangdalar's hand and shakes it. "I have heard of you," Rael replies. "It is odd that we were not introduced on the Normandy when you were present."

"You were on the Normandy?" asks Mangdalar. "I..." He pauses. "Oh, that's right. Right after _that _incident. I thought I recognized your suit from somewhere."

"As I recognized your face paint, no doubt," says Rael. "I guess it is finally nice to put a name to a face. And I am Rael'Zorah vas Normandy."

"Zorah?" asks Yelena as Rael releases Mangdalar's hand. "So you're Tali's father."

"I am, yes," says Rael as he shakes Yelena's hand. "A pleasure to meet you." He looks at Mangdalar.

"Likewise," says Mangdalar. As soon as this is said, the six of us walk on over, with Tali staying close to me but gripping my arm hard enough that I think she could seriously crush it with a little more effort. "So... we were at every day of Shepard's trial."

"Were you?" I ask, feeling Tali bump up against me as we work through the crowd.

"Yes," says Yelena. "We got to watch all the theatrics from the first row."

"Hey, someone else who thinks that whole trial was a farce!" says Sturge. "That's good to know."

"Yeah, there were a few people who thought the whole thing was just silly," says Mangdalar. "Us among them, for certain reasons that..." He shakes his head. "Certain reasons I'd rather not discuss."

"I believe we know what those reasons are," says Rael. "It caused quite a stir. This is no different, for many reasons."

"As I can see," says Mangdalar. "And how are you, Sturge?"

"Oh, I'm okay," says the old man as we break away from the crowd. "It's been hectic with everything that's been happening, though. A lot of shit has gone down since the last time we talked."

"I can imagine," says Mangdalar. I look over to Tali, noticing that she is still walking very close by me before turning my attention back to the turian. "So you're just going to be staying with us until the Normandy is repaired?"

"That's the plan," I state. I look at Tali as she comes closer to me. "Hopefully you've got time."

"Well, there's not all that much exciting going on," says Yelena. "Well, other than the Kurubus commission for Mangdalar, but that's about it."

"And it is coming along," says Mangdalar. "I've needed some form of break anyway."

"Too much stress?" I ask.

"Yes," says Mangdalar. He then waves his hand dismissively. "But I didn't come here to talk about my issues. There's a lot that must've happened with you. So..."

I notice as we begin to walk towards the rapid transit terminal that Tali is only now beginning to create space between the two of us. Hm... I wonder what's up with that. Maybe... I don't know, but from the way she was holding me earlier it's like she was... I dunno, but this isn't normal. Especially not when she used to walk so freely on the Citadel.

I turn my attention back to Mangdalar. "Yeah, there's a _lot _that happened," I say. "I guess we've got a whole bunch of stories to tell."

"Save it for the apartment," says Yelena. "We'll be all ears then."

With this, we watch as Mangdalar cues up the rapid transportation terminal. "Until then, we've got about ten minutes until we get to the 800 blocks, so..." Mangdalar turns to Rael. "Rael, you are an admiral, right?"

"Yes," says the older quarian. "Tell us a bit about that."

Rael blinks, and looks right at me before turning his attention to Mangdalar. "You would be interested to know that?" the quarian asks in surprise.

"Of course," says Mangdalar. "Alien cultures are always interesting for me, you know?"

"So I see," says Rael. "Very well. So... the Migrant Fleet is composed of many thousands of ships..."

* * *

><p>A few hours after Sturge, Tali, Rael, and I are set up at Mangdalar's apartment, I find myself walking around with Sturge and Yelena. Mangdalar has stayed behind with Tali and Rael, both helping them out with some dextro food that's at their apartment at the moment. Hopefully, Mangdalar will remember to crush all that.<p>

I look over to Sturge. "You know, it's funny," he says. "I've heard all about this place, and this is the first time I've _really _got to look at it."

I nod. "You should've seen the Tayseri Ward back in the day," I comment. That was a pretty nice place, I have to say."

"Yes, it was," says Yelena. "This place is nice as well, but nothing beats the Tayseri Ward. Even now when the clean-up efforts still haven't lead to much."

"Yeah," says Sturge. He then glances back. "I have to say, though... Tali was awfully quiet on the way to the apartment."

I bite my lower lip. "Yeah..." I comment. "And you know, I even felt her grip my arm really hard as we were walking through the crowd on our way away from the Normandy."

"Really?" asks Yelena. "Why would she do that?"

I... "I don't really know," I say. "Well... I dunno, I may have an idea of what happened, but I don't really know if it's true." I shake my head. "I'd rather not talk about it right now. I'm better off talking about it when Tali knows I'm telling others."

Yelena frowns for a brief second before nodding. "Fair enough," says the asari. "Now... I believe there was..."

I pause where we're walking, noticing that Yelena is suddenly looking in a certain direction. Hm... "Yelena?" I ask, turning to her as Sturge also stops.

The asari pauses, rubbing her chin. "Correct me if I am incorrect, but... is that woman not part of the Normandy's crew?"

She asks this while pointing at a seat over at a cafe some distance away. I turn to follow her finger, looking over and...

Whoah!

"She is," I comment. That's... Yes, that's Miranda, sitting with... Yeah, that's Oriana! Hm... I did not know that Miranda wore dresses at all, but in that blue dress she's got on... It actually looks kind of lovely on her. Hm...

I look over to Sturge. "What's she doing here?" I ask.

"I'm not sure why you're so surprised," says Sturge. "The entire crew of the Normandy had to leave for the repairs, remember?"

I raise a finger in the air, nodding and pointing at the old man. "Point taken," I say. "Should we maybe say hi or something?"

"I think so," says Yelena. "I... I never did get a chance to properly thank her for her role in saving Mangdalar, actually. Maybe now would be a good time for that."

"Yeah, in front of her younger sister," I comment. "Who doesn't actually know about most of the stuff she did." I cross my arms. "Still, I guess we could say hi."

"Yeah, I don't see why not," says Sturge. He turns to Yelena. "If she seems cold and professional to you, don't worry. That's how she is to most people. You just gotta warm up to her first, and once you have her friendship she's one heck of a friend."

"I don't doubt it," says Yelena. "Let us meet her, then."

With this, the three of us walk over to the cafe where Miranda is sitting. I walk forward, and I notice that Miranda has caught sight of us. She turns to look at the three of us as we approach, and I see Oriana turn to face us as she takes notice of this. She looks a little confused, but Miranda looks rather... well, I dunno. Pleased, I guess.

"Art," says Miranda as we approach. "I hoped I might find you in the 800 blocks."

I shrug. "I didn't think we'd find you here, Miranda," I comment. I look directly at Oriana. "Spending time with your sister, I see."

It's then that some recognition dawns on Oriana. "You're... Art, right?" she asks.

I nod, smiling. "The one and only," I comment. "And you're Oriana."

"Yes," says the younger of the two sisters. "Miranda and I were actually just catching up."

I nod, looking back to Miranda. "That's great," I say. I glance back at Yelena before turning my attention fully to Miranda. "I don't think you've met Yelena T'Onyu."

Yelena nods. "Miranda Lawson, yes?"

The former Cerberus operative nods, standing up. "Yes," she says. "I heard about you, but I don't believe we ever met. It is nice to finally put a face to a person."

"As it is here," says Yelena. "You've done so much for Mangdalar and I... and... well, I wanted to thank you in person."

Miranda shakes her head. "The thanks are unnecessary," she says. "I am glad I was able to help."

"Nevertheless, thank you," says Yelena. "From the bottom of my heart."

I glance behind me as Sturge finishes introducing himself to Oriana before turning to Miranda. "So what brings you to the 800 blocks?" I ask.

"We came here to eat," says Miranda. "We are actually located at the Kithoi Ward at the moment."

I nod. "I see..." I comment. "So you're staying with Oriana and her family."

"Yes," says Miranda. "Her parents are actually rather nice people. She has a family that cares about her, and they are very friendly people."

"That's always good," I say. I turn my attention to Oriana. "And now you've got Miranda here."

"I can't say I was expecting that," says Oriana. "Especially not the part where she moved everything she had on her ship into the guest room of my parents' apartment."

Yeah, 'cause that's crazy enough. "Well, everything had to go," I say. "The Normandy's repairs won't do stuff with stuff still inside."

I see Oriana give a confused look. "Uh... repairs?" she asks. She turns to Miranda. "What does he mean, 'repairs'?"

...

"She didn't tell you about that?" I ask, looking at Miranda. "That's odd."

Miranda looks impassive as ever, but there's a slight twitch of her hand that I notice as she looks at the rest of us. And when I look at her eyes closely... Hey, wait...

"I... Yes, I wasn't able to find you to tell you this," says Miranda. "But... I believe that as far as I am concerned..." She pauses, glancing at Sturge before looking back at me. "I believe that this is the end as far as my time on the Normandy goes."

...

Wait, _what?_

**_What?_**

"Hold on..." I pause, looking at Miranda. "You mean... you're not coming back to the Normandy once the repairs are done?"

Miranda sighs. "I am afraid not," she says.

...

No. No frickin' way...

"Oh, boy," I hear Sturge say from behind me. "This ought to be interesting."

"I... I just don't..." I pause, looking at Miranda. "You've been with us since Shepard came back to life, and now you're just...? You're just up and leaving us?" I shake my head. "Why?"

"Oriana," says Miranda without pause. She looks at her sister briefly before turning her attention back to me. "I have been extraordinarily fortunate that Cerberus has not succeeded in finding her and targeting her, what with the Illusive Man knowing where she is. But now that the trial has ended the way it has, and knowing what happened on Kahje..." She shakes her head. "Oriana is a prime target. And I need to watch her to make sure that Cerberus cannot harm her, and that they cannot use her against me in the event they try to blackmail me with her safety."."

I look to Oriana... Hm... Well... It is in fact true that Cerberus knows where Oriana is. So when they know where Oriana is... Yes, I could see...

"Well..." I nod, biting my lower lip. "I don't really like that you're leaving the Normandy, Miranda, but in this case I don't think it can be helped." I shrug. "Besides, that's more time you get to spend with her anyway."

"Yes," says Miranda.

"I'm surprised she's taking this all so well," Sturge comments. "You just said she's a target, you know."

"I already talked to her about that," says Oriana. "I..." She pauses, glancing to the side. "I don't know how to take being a target..." She looks at Miranda. "But Miranda knows what she's doing. She's helped me so much already."

I nod. "Miranda's a good woman, and I think she'll be able to protect you from Cerberus," I comment, looking back at the older of the two women. "And lemme just tell you now, Miranda: the Normandy's going to feel pretty empty without you."

Miranda nods, smiling. "And I'll miss being on the Normandy," she says. "It has been a wonderful opportunity."

I nod. "It has for all of us," I comment. "Just... take care of Oriana." I then look around, turning to Oriana. "And you better take care of Miranda, too. It takes two to make a family relationship work, and don't you forget that for a second."

Oriana nods. "I will," she says.

I smile. "Good," I say. I then turn to Miranda. "Well... when this is all over, I guess I'll know where to look?"

"I believe so," says Miranda. "It was good to see you before the Normandy's repairs begin. The crew will be around for a few more days, no?"

I nod. "Yeah," I comment. "Hopefully, we'll bump into each other then." I sigh, giving Miranda a weak smile. "You take care."

With this, Miranda nods, and I walk by her. Sturge and Yelena follow me, and when I glance back I notice that Miranda and Oriana are both talking again. I sigh, walking forward and away from that cafe.

"Hey, are you all right?" asks Sturge.

"I dunno," I say. "Miranda... She's a good person." I pause, sparing a final glance at Miranda before turning my attention to Yelena and Sturge. "It's gonna be hard getting used to not seeing her on the Normandy. But I'll live, I guess."

"Yeah," says Sturge. "She's a good person indeed. But she's here..."

"And her sister is important to her," I add. I sigh. "I don't like it, but it's for the best. And I can't get in the way of what Miranda thinks will be for the best just because I don't like it." I shrug, walking away. "Come on. We have other places in the 800 Blocks we need to see."

With this, I walk forward, with Yelena and Sturge both walking by my side.

* * *

><p>"So who else is staying on the Citadel after this?"<p>

"I don't really know, to be honest. But I hear that Jacob and Tidoses might be leaving the Normandy."

I cross my arms. "Aw, man, and I was just getting used to Tidoses," I say.

I shake my head, looking at Mangdalar and an unsuited Rael as they sit across the table in Mangdalar's apartment. "As was I," says Rael. "Even if I did not see her all that much. There is also a possibility that one of the scientist salarians would be forced to leave the Normandy to work on the genophage cure."

I frown. "Really?" I ask.

"The possibility is very real," says Rael. "We shall see how that unfolds, but either way someone needs to supervise Kal'Reegar's immunization process."

Mangdalar shakes his head, nursing his cup of turian coffee. "I still can't believe that salarian found a way to improve your immune systems like this," he comments. "I mean... I never thought I'd see what a quarian looked like outside of his suit, and yet here we are."

"I did not believe I would step out of that suit either," says Rael. "And yet, here we are."

"Indeed," says Mangdalar. He takes a sip of his coffee. "And I thought sudden world-jarring revelations couldn't get any crazier than Art's real history."

I snort, shaking my head and looking back at where Tali is likely still trying to get some damn sleep. "Apparently, they can," I comment. I sigh. "I hope Tali has been able to get some sleep. She hasn't slept well since... well, you know."

Mangdalar frowns. "I still don't get why that's such a big deal," he says. "He took her suit off but didn't actually do anything to her. How does that translate to mind rape?"

I sigh, looking down at the ground. "It's a quarian thing," I comment. "They're naturally more sensitive to that whole intimacy thing, and... well, taking a suit off is considered a form of bad touch in that culture."

Mangdalar shakes his head, setting his coffee down. "But you'd think they'd want to get out of their suits," says Mangdalar. "I mean... you have Rael here who doesn't seem to have any problem taking his suit off."

"I took my suit off by choice," says Rael. "My daughter..." He pauses, glancing down sadly. "She was not so fortunate. It was forcibly removed by someone else. It would be akin to rape, even if there was no touching..."

Mangdalar pauses, and I see him glance down. "I... I see..." he says nervously. He picks his coffee back up and sips it again. "Let's talk about something else."

"Yeah, let's," I agree. "So... I wonder what Albert is going to do..."

"Actually, I heard he may stay on the Normandy," says Rael. "I also hear that he may step in as the Normandy's new XO after the departure of Garrus and Miranda."

I nod. "He helped keep Cerberus from getting the Normandy," I comment. "Any complaints of nepotism can be directed to that, thank you very much." I shrug. "And if Albert is staying, I'll bet you ten credits that Jack will be staying too. The two are basically inseparable by now." I sigh. "And who else would want to leave...?"

"I know not, but I know the Normandy will feel quite a bit emptier without any of them there," says Rael. "It is strange, I find. I barely know most of the crew of the Normandy, and yet-"

He is interrupted by my omni-tool going off. I frown, looking down at it as I open it. "Huh, that's weird," I comment. "I'm getting a message from Shepard."

"I thought the Commander wasn't a morning person," says Mangdalar.

"I was under that impression too," I comment as I open the message. Hm... I read the message, and... "Hm. Interesting." I close the message. "Shepard says that the Council has found someone to step in as turian Councillor. Even better, he's already on his way to the Citadel, and he should be here later today."

"Oh?" asks Mangdalar. "This oughta be interesting. Who'd they get?"

"I... don't know who he is, I have to say," I comment. "But since you're a turian who knows people..." I look up to Mangdalar. "Does the name 'Adrien Victus' ring any bells?"

Mangdalar jolts. "Adrien Victus?" he asks. "Does that name ring any bells?" He leans forward. "Art, are you _sure _that message said 'Adrien Victus'?"

I open my omni-tool and show Mangdalar the message. "See for yourself," I comment.

Rael leans forward as well, turning to look as Mangdalar looks at the message like a goldfish. "So I take it you know who Adrien Victus is," says Rael.

Mangdalar leans back. "Adrien Victus is one of the most well-known generals in the turian military!" says Mangdalar. "Hell, there are rumors that he's supposed to be next in line as Primarch of Palaven."

I blink. "Wow..." I comment.

Mangdalar waves a talon dismissively. "Well, they're unsubstantiated rumors, but still," he comments. "Oh, dear... I think we need to be there when Victus comes along. Though, I'm not sure why they would pick General Victus to go to the Council. It seems like an odd decision."

"And why is that?" asks Rael.

"He has... a _reputation _for having iffy ethics surrounding his actions," says Mangdalar. "No one will deny that they get results, but on the Council, I don't know how well that will go over. And then there are the rumors about his being next in line for Primarch. You'd think that they would want the next Primarch to remain that way if those rumors are true."

"And why would that be?" Rael asks, shifting where he sits.

"The succession rules for the Hierarchy are... complicated," says Mangdalar. "I don't know how they do it half the time myself. Either way, this is an event. And I think we need to be there when he comes in. I mean, I can barely believe it."

"Well, Shepard's going to be there when this Victus guy comes in, so..." I shrug. "I'm sure she won't mind if I bring in about twenty extra add-ons." I look to Rael. "Especially since you need to know who the new turian Councillor is."

"Indeed," says the older quarian. "The admirals would be interested to know about this development as well."

I nod. "So we crash Victus' welcoming party, then," I comment, smiling. "And then we let the rest take care of itself. Sounds like a plan."

"Yes, it does," says Mangdalar. He then looks behind him. "I wonder why Yelena isn't up yet. She'd normally be up to practice at this hour."

I shrug. "Well... I guess she just needed some extra shut-eye after everything that happened," I comment. "So... yeah." I look over at Mangdalar. "How, exactly, is the Kurubus commission going?"

"Oh, well, it's making major progress," says Mangdalar. "So... you know the story of it, right...?"

* * *

><p>Several hours later, I watch as Shepard, Wrex, Dsrondo, and Rael all take a place by the Council at the docks. Rael has stepped back into the suit again, and I'm honestly beginning to wonder if doing it repeatedly is going to mess with Rael's immune system in any way that could undo everything Mordin did. I watch as the Council watches on, ready to receive Victus as Councillor. I guess. Or something. Either way, I'm standing not too far away from them, though I'm not immediately next to them. I can hear snippets of Shepard's conversation with the Council, so I'm close enough.<p>

I stand there with Mangdalar and Yelena. Sturge elected to stay behind since Tali... well, she didn't want to go into a crowd again for whatever reason. I shake my head, wondering what has overcome her lately. I just... I shake my head, looking to where most of the rest of the Normandy's crew is standing. I notice Al standing on the side with Jack close by, and I notice too that Carhon and James are both standing there as well. Huh. I glance back at the Council, seeing Alanya and Kaidan both standing close by the Commander.

And then... Hey...

I raise my finger, pointing at the man who is standing by Udina. "Is that...?" I ask Mangdalar and Yelena.

"It is..." says Yelena. "I am not sure what Captain Anderson is doing here."

I nod. "I know, I don't know either," I comment. "I thought he wanted nothing to do with the Council!"

"Well, you ever know," says Mangdalar. "He's probably associating with them again after what happened during Shepard's trial. It's possible they wanted to get his advice on the Reapers as well."

"Yeah, I guess that would work," I comment. "Anderson was the only one who helped Shepard when she needed it, and I'm sure he's found something. Maybe. I dunno." I shrug. "Either way, he'll be a valuable ally in the fight against the Reapers, so I guess it's good that he's talking to the Council again." I shrug. "Maybe he'll act as a liaison between the Council and the Alliance, given that he's been in both."

"That sounds about right," says Yelena. "I wonder where-"

She is interrupted by a ship of turian design coming in, and I notice that it goes right up to the docking thing.

"Huh," says Mangdalar. "You have the odd ability to summon ships to their docks, Yelena. I always wonder how you do that."

Yelena looks at the turian with a perplexed look. "And you believe that it is somehow my doing that the ship is there," she says.

The turian shrugs. "Well... It's easy to think that when you always seem to say 'I wonder where these people are' before they show up," he comments. "It just happens like that, I guess."

Yelena nods, and we turn our attention to the ship as it docks. It takes a few minutes, but finally, we see a group of armed turians surrounding an older turian gentlemen in... well, _killer _clothing walk out of the ship. He moves around, and I watch as the older turian walks forward. Hm... White face paint, looks like he's seen wars... and that _outfit_... Damn...

I watch the older turian as he comes to a stop in front of the current Councillors. He nods, offering a salute to the Councillors.

"Councillors," he begins. "I have to say, I wasn't expecting to suddenly become the next turian Councillor, nor was I expecting it to be so sudden."

"It cannot be helped," says Tevos. "After the arrest of Councillor Sparatus, we need someone the Hierarchy could trust."

"We understand, Councillor," says Victus. "I didn't think Sparatus would be capable of committing treason, but that shows how much we know, yes?"

"I believe so," says Udina. He then gestures to the Commander. "I don't think I have to introduce you to Commander Shepard."

"She is all anyone has ever spoken of lately," says Victus as he looks to the Commander. "A pleasure to meet you, Commander."

"And to you as well, Victus," says Shepard as she shakes the new Councillor's hand. "I hope you won't make the same mistakes Sparatus did."

"If it were up to me, I would have followed Tevos and Valern after the testimony of the Justicar," says Victus. "They tell me there was more to it than that, however." He glances to where Wrex and Rael are standing. "And we have a krogan, a batarian, and a quarian standing here. Things are changing quickly."

"That sounds about right," says Wrex. "Lots of things will have to change. Fast."

"The Reapers are coming," adds Rael. "My own people fought one on Rannoch."

Victus nods. "I read the report that the Council sent," he replies. "I'm not going to lie: the thought that something exists soley to destroy all sentient life every fifty thousand years is a terrifying thought. If the evidence that was in the report hadn't been as extensive as it is, I might have denied their existence myself." He shakes his head. "But the facts are clear. And we need to prepare."

Sweet, another guy who gets it! "Good," says Tevos. "I do not assume you have had time to speak to Primarch Fedorian."

"I have not," says Victus. "And I guess we'll have even less time now that we have the issues of these three to sort out."

"Yes," says Valern. "We were going to speak with them once you arrived."

Victus nods. "Then I don't think there is any point in keeping them waiting longer than they have to," he says. "I believe I have to be sworn in first."

"Yes," says Tevos. "We should indeed take care of that as soon as possible. Follow us, Adrien."

I then watch as the Council, Anderson, and Shepard all walk away. Victus follows them, with Wrex, Rael'Zorah, and Dsrondo all following them rather closely. I stay behind, watching the rather small procession go on without us. I turn to Mangdalar and Yelena briefly, and then watch as they vanish. I sigh, glancing at the other four members of the Normandy's crew. They walk towards us, and I look as they approach.

"Well, I wasn't expecting to find you here, _chiquitín_," James says immediately.

I blink in surprise. Wha...? "_Chiquitín_?" asks Yelena from behind me.

I roll my eyes. "Really, James?" I ask. "You're calling me 'tiny' now?"

"I've gotta say, you're pretty fuckin' small for a soldier," says Jack. "And I see you dragged your composer friends with you."

"Actually, we wanted to come," says Mangdalar. "When I heard the great general Victus was involved..."

"I'll bet," says Carhon. "Anyway... We actually ran into Isaac on our way here."

I raise my eyebrows. "You did?" I ask.

"Yes," says Albert. "He wants to meet with you at the Presidium later today. I think he said he was going to be around where the Embassies are throughout most of today."

I nod. "I see..." I say. "I'll be there when I can. Thanks for telling me."

"Any time," says Al. He then turns to Yelena. "So you must be Yelena."

"I am," says the asari. "And you are Albert Shepard. A pleasure."

Albert nods, but before he can say anything James points at the two people behind me. "Wait, so you know these two people?" asks James.

"They're friends of Art's," says Al.

"Very good friends of mine," I reply, gesturing to them. "Mangdalar, Yelena, this is James Vega and Carhon Erash."

* * *

><p>Some time later, I find myself walking around the Presidium, close to where the embassies are. Hm... It still overlooks this area of the Presidium. It's almost weird how it hasn't exactly changed location. That would just suck if it did, really. I never do get why things like that happen with government offices, but...<p>

I look up at the office where the human embassy is... was... is... Man, that place holds a lot of memories. First place I ever met Udina and Anderson. Well... maybe not to that capacity, but still, it was where a lot of things were established. And we were all there, all of us on the original Normandy. Kaidan, Wrex, Garrus, Ash, Shepard, Tali... We were all there, and...

I sigh. Man... I still remember that whole day. It was crazy, with all the running around and the thing at Chora's Den and calling Wrex by his clan name rather than his given name...

Where the hell did all the time go?

I turn around, looking out at the Presidium and sighing. Man... I never seemed to catch how beautiful this place is. Ever. I look out, leaning against the railing. Hm... Yeah, this place has the nice river, and the plants... And I can even see a few flowers growing over by where that artificial river is. They seem to stand out amidst all the green. How that happens, I have no idea, but there it is. It's...

It's kind of beautiful. And it's a rare piece of nature.

"It's a beautiful place, isn't it?"

I blink, looking to my right to find that Isaac is standing there. For the first time in my life, I'm seeing him in something _other _than improvised armor, if the civilian outfit he's wearing is any indication. Seriously... Wow, someone treated him well in the clothing department.

I look back out to the Presidium. "I guess when you get to being in my shoes, you actually appreciate things like this more," I say. "You know, since most of the time you're in nothing but steel corridors."

"I wouldn't know that feeling," says Isaac. "I'll tell you this, though: it's been a long time since I've just been able to _relax_." He breathes in, letting out a sigh. "The past few years haven't been all that great, as you know. And now, here I am in a galaxy where things like this still exist."

I look at Isaac. "Most people would say this galaxy sucks," I comment.

Isaac shakes his head. "And most people haven't been through multiple zombie apocalypses," he replies.

I nod, chewing on my lower lip. "Point taken," I say. "I guess you even managed to get some civies there."

The CEC engineer shrugs, looking back out to the Presidium. "Kasumi insisted," he replies. "She bought the outfit for me with her own credits."

I snort upon hearing that. "Kasumi's buying you clothes now?" I ask. "Oh, man, that must've been an event."

"It certainly was," Isaac agrees. "I think she was right in a strange way. I guess it feels good to wear something other than improvised body armor for once." He glances down, and I notice that he is looking at the sleeves of his civilian clothes. "It's weird, wearing things like this again. I don't recognize the material, and yet it feels nice." He pauses, turning his attention back to me. "If only I wasn't seeng Nicole here. I don't know, Art... I'm still worried about the fact that I am seeing Nicole here."

Ah. "I had a feeling you wanted to talk about that," I comment. "It's funny, really. You've seen Nicole on Omega, you've seen her on Rannoch, and then you saw her again when you found that object in Sparatus' apartment."

"And you're sure that this 'indoctrination' thing has something to do with why I'm still seeing Nicole and that the Marker also has something to do with it," says Isaac.

"It's the only explanation I can think of," I comment. "I mean, think about it. You always see Nicole when you're around Reaper technology, and the Marker affected your mind so you saw Nicole all the time while you were around it. So it might be that whatever influence the Marker had on your mind is reacting whenever we're around Reaper technology."

"I don't get why it would happen, though," he replies, looking out to the Presidium again. "I thought I destroyed the Marker's influence on me on the Sprawl. If that's the case, I don't understand why Nicole would still be haunting me."

"And neither do I," I say. "But it's the only explanation I can think of."

Isaac shrugs. "And it's the one we'll have to go with for now," he says. "In which case... I can't believe I'm a living Reaper technology detector. It'll be useful for the Normandy."

"Yeah," I comment. I shift so that I'm leaning against the rail looking at Isaac. "So you're still staying on the Normandy."

Isaac sighs. "I still need to find Ellie," he says.

I nod. "I see," I say. "Do you think we'll find her when we get into batarian space?"

"I hope so," says Isaac. "I just... I need to help her, wherever she is. She can fend for herself, but if what Carhon and Dsrondo have told me about batarian slavers is any indication..." He pauses, and looks back at me with a glum expression on his face. "I hope she's all right."

"We'll find her, Isaac," I say. "And when we find her, she'll be okay."

Isaac nods. "I hope so," he says. "Speaking of that kind of thing, actually..." He stands up and opens his omni-tool. He pauses, looking at the technology before moving his finger around the interface. He spends a few seconds doing this, before hitting the holographic projection. "I managed to create the plans for that FTL drive the rachni were going to try to build."

"Oh?" I ask, opening my omni-tool. "And you think it'll work?"

"I had to make adjustments to account for element zero output being quite different from regular fuel outputs back home, but it should work," says Isaac. "Hopefully, the rachni will be able to refine it a bit."

"They... _do _have a quarian sitting on their planet right now," I comment. I grimace at thinking about her. "And as much as I would love to have had the rachni ostracize her on their planet, I'm sure she'd be useful in this sort of thing."

"Perhaps," says Isaac as he finally gets around to sending the file to my omni-tool. "I'll let you send the data to the rachni."

I nod. "Yeah," I say as my omni-tool receives Isaac's file. "I see you're getting used to our technology."

"I am, yes," says Isaac. "I never thought I'd get used to things like omni-tools, but here we-"

"Oh. Well, look who I run into."

Isaac and I both look behind us to see Wrex standing a short distance behind us. He comes lumbering towards us, coming to lean against the railing on the Presidium and looking at us.

"Oh, hi Wrex," I comment. "I don't think either of us were expecting to bump into you here."

"The meeting went by quickly," says Wrex. "Took 'em a bit to swear that Victus guy in, though." He shakes his head. "And I was the first person they talked to. Made it interesting since Jarel and Anahit were both there."

"And how'd it go?" I ask.

Wrex shrugs. "Well, I can tell you that nobody was really excited about curing the genophage," he says. "The new turian councillor was probably the only one really thinking about it. I didn't think I'd meet a turian who didn't have his head stuck in his ass, but there you go."

"But you managed to come to an agreement with that," I say.

"We did," says Wrex. "But it means that Jarel and Anahit both need to leave the ship. The Council's providing them with a lab to help develop the genophage cure."

I frown. "Really?" I ask. "They were willing to do that?"

"It was the only way they'd agree to it," says Wrex. "We set up on their lab, and they get to watch this cure get developed every step of the way."

I hear Isaac frown. "When you put it that way, it sounds like they're trying to make sure you don't betray them," he says.

"Yeah, that's basically what it sounded like," says Wrex. "I don't want some goddamn turians staring at them all day, but..." He shakes his head. "It was the only way they'd accept Jarel curing the genophage." He snorts. "That's the only thing stopping me from ramming that pyjack's horns up all of their asses."

Isaac shakes his head. "I've never understood why governments do things like that," he says. "Next thing we know they will be attempting to sabotage the cure from within."

"That's what I said," says Wrex. He rolls his eyes. "That asari councillor didn't take that comment all that well, but that might not be as big of a problem as you might think. So we managed to come to an agreement."

I frown. "So they're leaving the Normandy?" I ask.

Wrex shakes his head. "And I'm going to have to stay behind as well."

...

W-what?

"You're... you're leaving the Normandy too?" I ask.

Wrex shakes his head. "And I was just beginning to get back into it," Wrex comments. He then looks to Isaac. "But I told the clans of Tuchanka that I would help make sure this genophage cure was created. And I need to do that."

I nod, biting my lower lip. "Well..." I look up, sighing while tapping my foot. "I guess there's a life lesson to be learned from most of what's gone down lately: life is a bitch."

Wrex smirks in agreement. "Yep," he says. "And here I was looking forward to actually shooting up Reapers with Shepard."

"Yeah," I comment. I glance back to the Presidium briefly before looking back at the krogan in front of us. "Well... I guess it was fun while it lasted."

"Hey, don't be so hard on that," says Wrex. "I'm going to have to come back to the Normandy at some point. You know, when Jarel has successfully cured the genophage and everything."

"And until then..." I shrug. "Well, we go around the galaxy without you." I sigh. "The Normandy's going to feel pretty empty without you and Garrus there."

"You'll manage," says Wrex.

"Just not as stylishly," I comment. "We always did need some style there."

He nods. "I'll bet," says Wrex. "I don't think you'll need to work that hard, though. You've got a lot of personality on this Normandy." He gestures to Isaac. "Hell, we always needed someone who could see dead women whenever the Reapers show up. That definitely would've spiced things up."

Wrex chuckles, and I turn to Isaac to see that he is giving Wrex a very unimpressed look. I shrug, looking at the krogan.

"Yeah, but there's something about old krogan men with scars that every ship needs," I comment. "We'll miss you, Wrex."

"I bet you will," he says. He looks up to where I'm sure Udina's office probably is. "Now... I wonder what they're talking about with Rael."

I nod. "Yeah, he was supposed to go today too," I comment. "Hopefully it'll be good for the quarian people, and I'm sure that Rael has brought in the admirals. We'll just have to see what happens with that."

"Yeah," says Isaac. "Come on. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling hungry for food for the first time in years."

I smile. "Yeah," I say. "Let's go find something."

* * *

><p>A couple more days pass by in similar fashion. I guess... well, since I'm not technically on the chain of command of the Normandy, it means I just sit here waiting for something to do. I guess it was nice, in a way. It really gave me a chance to unwind, and I actually got the opportunity to pick up my viola again. But either way, a whole lot of nothing happened in those days on the Citadel.<p>

Which made the announcement that the repairs on the Normandy were finished all the better, I guess.

I sit down on my remade bed, looking at Tali as she too sits down. Hm...

"Well, nothing much has changed," I comment. "guess floor repairs go pretty quickly."

"Yes," says Tali. "I... It was good... to see Mangdalar and Yelena..."

Hm... Tali seems to be hesitating a lot. "Yeah, it was," I say. "You all right?"

"I..." Tali pauses, and I can see her hesitate. "I think so..."

I frown, turning around on the bed. "You sure about that?" I ask. "There's been a lot that's happened..."

Tali sighs. "I'm fine," she says with a shaky tone of voice.

I shake my head. "You got pretty close to me when we were walking through the crowd, and it didn't look like you wanted to leave Mangdalar's apartment once we got there," I point out.

Tali remains quiet at this. "I..."

I sigh. "Tali, are..." I pause. "Is everything really all right?"

"I..." The quarian pauses, and I can sense that she's swallowing. "I... don't know. But when I went outside, I just felt my chest seize up... I couldn't breathe... And I could only hang on to you..." She shakes her head. "But you don't need to worry. I'll be fine."

I shake my head, chewing slightly on my lower lip. "Tali..." I sigh. God damn it... Here she is, hiding stuff and... "Don't say that. You walked out into a crowd and... I don't know. But it's..." I pause, not sure of what to say. "Just... tell me next time when something is bothering you, all right?"

She nods, slowly. The quarian sits there, bringing her hands together. She says nothing, and I don't really say anything. We just sit like this for a few minutes in each other's company.

After a minute or two, I place a hand on Tali's shoulder. I look out to the drive core, watching as it continues with being all blue and shit.

* * *

><p>After a while, I end up leaving the room. When I do, I walk over to the mess hall and notice that Gregor, Jenny, Kal, and Rael are all sitting at a table in the mess hall. The rest of the mess hall looks empty, and I notice that Kal'Reegar has his face mask off to the side, where Jenny is looking at it. As Kal's back is turned to me, though...<p>

Gregor notices me almost immediately. "Well, 'ello thar," he says. "Guess we got a hooley formin' 'ere."

Jenny, Rael, and Kal all look at me. I blink in surprise at seeing Kal's face for the first time, surprised at all the wrinkles and the lavender-toned skin and stuff. "I..." I clear my throat. "Wow, Kal, going with Mordin's immunization already?"

"Got the treatment right before I left the ship, sir," says Kal. "Today's my first exposure."

"We thought we'd throw 'is face a small little welcomin' party," Jenny adds. "Well, if ya don't mind."

I raise my hand. "Jenny, Kal, I'm not on the chain of command anymore," I comment. "I can't tell you what you can and can't do. It's fine." I look to Kal. "Yeah... this looks pretty crazy."

"Well, I think we've got room for one more on this 'ere," adds Gregor.

"Yeah," Jenny ads. "And it'd be good if ya could sit 'ere suckin' diesel with us."

Suck diesel? What does that...? Wait. Suck diesel... Hm... Maybe it's just some way of saying 'hey, come hang out with us'.

I sigh. "Sure, why not?" I ask, walking over to them. Jenny flashes me the broadest grin as I move to take my seat next to Rael. Gregor lets out a cheer as soon as I get over there, and he only finishes when I've sat down and am looking at the rest of the table. I briefly notice that there's some kind of small plate sitting in front of where Kal is.

"So... welcoming party to Kal's face," I comment. "Complete with... whatever that is."

"It's some kind o' turian thing," says Gregor. "Jenny went an' got it before we came back 'ere." He looks up. "They did a bloody good job on this 'ere ship."

"That they did," I comment, looking at the ceiling by the forward battery where the hole used to be. "That they did," I comment before turning my attention to Kal. "I'm guessing your first time eating non-paste foods worked for you, Kal."

"I'll be honest," says Kal. "I can't get enough of being able to breathe actual air here. And to think that in a few weeks I'll get to breathe without glass two inches away from my face..." He shakes his head. "It's crazy."

"Ya bet it is," says Jenny. "But 'ey, you're a fine bit o' stuff. I could get used to ya like this."

Kal blinks. "Really?" he asks.

"Oh yeah," says Jenny as she holds her hands in front of her. "Yer eyes're just grand, an' ya've got a nice ol' face there."

I notice Kal blush just the slightest bit. "I... uh... thank you, ma'am," says Kal.

Jenny frowns. "Oh, ya don't have ta act like this is some kind o' holy show or somethin'," she says. She smiles almost immediately, but it's a much gentler smile than I'm used to. "Makes me wonder why things'd 'appen that ya had to wear a glass mask in front o' ya face."

Kal's blush remains constant, but I notice that his eyes seem to shine a little more brightly. "Well, now you get to see unmasked quarians, ma'am," he says. "I don't know what you think of that..."

"I think it's gonna be grand," she says. "What with you sittin' there, with your face." Jenny waves her hand. "And bloody 'ell, mate, don't call me 'ma'am'. I'm no kind o' drill sergeant, am I?"

"Uh... no?" asks Kal.

"Then call me Jenny," says the colonist.

"I... I'll try to do that... Jenny," Kal says. He looks at Jenny, and I can tell that... Hm...

"See?" asks Jenny. "There ya go. Now if ya could get used to it..."

Kal nods. "I dunno about that, ma-... Jenny," he says. "I just shoot things and answer orders. Until now, I haven't really gotten around much."

Jenny smirks. "Looks like ya have to loosen up a bit," she says.

"Yeah, that would be a good thing ta do with yer fella, innit?" asks Gregor.

"Yeah, it-." Jenny abruptly pauses, looking at Gregor with a shocked look on his face. "Gregor, did ya-? What in-? 'E's _not _my bloody fella!"

Gregor smirks. "Oh?" he asks. "All ya do around 'im is blather 'is ears off. And ya take to 'im quite quickly: I mean, I don't think I've ever seen ya in a room together where ya ain't blatherin' 'is ears off."

"So?" asks Jenny.

Kal rolls his eyes, and I notice that the blush he used to have is gone. "Well, I dunno, ma- Jenny: you talk to me a lot."

"Well, that's 'ow I get around quarians!" she replies. "I like 'em a lot! Doesn't mean I wanna get in their holes!"

"Uh..." I say. "Get in their holes? What?"

Rael looks at Gregor. "A translation of that would be nice," says the older quarian.

"Well, uh..." says Gregor, suddenly looking a little embarrased. "I ain't tellin'. I _really _don't think ya wanna know what it says."

"Well, it depends on what it is," says Kal. "I think."

Jenny shrugs. "Well, it ain't important," she says. "But whatever."

The marine shrugs. "I don't know, though," he comments. "You've been talking with me a lot after I got assigned here."

Jenny shrugs. "Well, ya know how it is," she says. "But... if ya don't like it..."

Kal blinks, a frown coming on his features. "I didn't say that, ma- Jenny," he says. The blush returns, but it's more subtle now. "If you asked me, I'd actually like to talk a little more."

Jenny blinks, her hand twitching as Kal looks at her. "Really?" she asks.

Kal shrugs, looking at her, his frown melting into a smile. "You're good company, ma'am," he says. He realizes what he's said, and shifts slightly. "Uh, Jenny. Sorry."

I look over to Rael, seeing him looking at me with a similar expression of surprise on his face. I shrug, watching as Jenny smiles in turn. "Well, I guess I better get on it then, innit?" she asks. I watch as... Whoah, how close are Kal and Jenny's hands getting there? That's... okay... uh...

Uh...

I do not think I should be here right now.

I cough nervously. "I just remembered I have to find... Kasumi!" I say, standing up. "Yeah!"

"And I... must see Mordin," says Rael uncertainly, standing up.

"And Janey Mack, I've got some guns that need some fine tunin'," Gregor adds as he too stands up.

"Yeah," I comment, glancing nervously to the side as the three of us start leaving the mess hall. "We'll just leave you here..."

And with this, we round the corner before Jenny and Kal can get a word in edgewise. I look to Rael and Gregor as soon as we're safe by the elevator.

"Did we seriously just see what I think we did?" I ask.

"Ya better believe it, mate," says Gregor.

Rael shakes his head. "And here I was hoping to think about other things," he comments.

I shrug. "I'm surprised you're still here," I comment. "I thought you'd be staying on the Citadel."

"Shala'Raan and Han'Gerrel will be at the Citadel when we leave," says Rael. "Zaal'Koris is in charge of the Fleet while they have departed, along with the new admiral that was voted in."

I raise my eyebrows. "They voted in a new admiral, then," I say.

"Yes," says Rael. "I was hoping to tell you that I would stay on the ship as well, but..."

I smile. "I appreciate that, Rael," I say. "Well... anyway, I really should see what Kasumi is up to. She hasn't told me where she stands yet."

"And I really do need ta get goin' on tunin' those guns," Gregor adds. "I've got a lot o' work on my plate now that Jacob an' Tidoses're both off this 'ere bird."

I nod. "I'll see you guys around, then."

And with this, I turn towards Kasumi's part of the ship.

* * *

><p>"So Liselle and Grunt are still on this ship, after all."<p>

"But no Garrus, no Madison, no Miranda, no Wrex..." I shake my head. "Between that and Thane's death, it's like the Brotherhood has been cut in half. And here I thought we'd never get separated."

"Yep."

I sit next to Kasumi on the couch from where she's nursing an alcoholic beverage. In the viewport I can see the Citadel. By now, everyone that's staying on the ship has boarded, and anyone that isn't has already left. I sit there with Kasumi, and I see Isaac sitting at the bar nursing some gin and tonic in his new civvies. I myself have a cup of sangria in front of me, with a glass of gin sitting in front of Kasumi.

I sigh. "Yeah, this is crazy," I comment. "Who'd have thought we'd end up like this?"

"Not I," says Kasumi. "I mean, we've got the Council actually doing something, we've got Shepard back, we have a new turian Councillor..." She grimaces suddenly. "Now we just needed Jacob to stay on the Normandy and my day would've been complete."

"Then why didn't you stay on the Citadel," says Isaac from where he sits.

"And miss out on all the action here?" Kasumi replies. "Please, Isaac. The Citadel may have all the hot men, but I'm pretty sure that the galaxy has all the things Shep and the rest of us would fight. And for once, I'm actually interested in seing how this goes."

"That's not something I would've expected to hear from a full-time thief," says Isaac.

"You and me both," I say. I look out the viewport again before shrugging. "Well, we left the Citadel rather quickly. I wonder what happened?"

"I hear Shepard is being sent somewhere to collect some Reaper evidence," says Isaac. "Or something. I don't know."

"_I _hear she's getting a mission from Admiral Hackett himself," says Kasumi. "_And _I also heard that it was too sensitive to talk about on the Citadel."

"I thought Shepard had the Shadow Broker in her pocket," Isaac comments.

"She does," I comment. "But you'd be surprised how much information brokering goes on in this day and age."

"I'll bet," says Isaac. "Who would think it is sensitive?"

"Who knows?" asks Kasumi. "That's the fun part, finding that out. And fortunately..." She turns to EDI's terminal with a wicked grin on her face.

I start. "Wait, Kasumi, you can't seriously think...?" I begin.

"Why not?" she asks. "EDI can tell us everything."

Almost immediately, EDI's terminal lights up. "_I would not recommend that, Ms. Goto,_" says EDI. "_The discussion happening in Shepard's quarters concerns a delicate matter._"

"And besides, I'm not on the chain of command anymore," I comment. "This is a really bad idea, Kasumi."

"So you're not even just a little bit curious?" asks Kasumi.

"I'm not," says Isaac flatly. "I would rather not incur Shepard's wrath so soon after meeting her."

Kasumi sighs. "Oh, all right," she says. "I guess I don't want Shep getting mad at me either."

"_Logging you out._" With this, EDI's avatar disappears.

I nod. "Yeah," I comment. "And I don't think it'll have as good an outcome as it did when you suggested doing something against Shepard's orders on the Rayya, anyhow."

Isaac frowned. "She suggested going against orders of someone who wasn't there?" he asks. "Why didn't I hear about it?"

I shake my head. "We're talking about a completely different incident here," I reply. "Long story, involving Tali being tried for treason and stuff. Happened before you came here." I shrug. "Anyway, here we are."

"Yep," says Kasumi. "I think we're in a good place."

I nod. "Yeah, I think we are..." I say. I sigh, looking down. "It's too bad Thane couldn't be here to see it."

Kasumi nods grimly. "Yeah," she says. "Thane was a good guy."

"He was," I say. "Started off as an assassin, but by the time he died... well..." I sigh. "He was a good man. And for his sake, I need to do better."

Kasumi nods. She leans forward and picks up the glass of gin in front of her. "Well... I didn't think I'd have to do this, but I say we toast."

I nod, grabbing my sangria. "To Thane," I say.

I watch as Isaac turns and reluctantly lifts his glass of gin and tonic. "To Thane," he and Kasumi both say at the same time.

We all sip our drinks at the same time, and I place my sangria down rather quickly. I sigh, looking out the viewport yet again and feeling the sangria travel down my esophagus.

I sigh. "Do you think he-?"

Before I can finish the question, however, EDI's avatar appears again. "_Art_," she says. "_I have listened in on Shepard's briefing with Admiral Hackett._"

I jolt, as do Isaac and Kasumi. "EDI, I thought we weren't doing that," I say.

"I thought so too," says Isaac as he stands up and walks towards us. "Are you-?"

"_This is nothing like what you think it is,_" says EDI. "_We listened to the Commander's conversation. But... our data banks stored memory of something you mentioned in one of your meetings here._"_  
><em>

I blink. "Wait, what?" I ask. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"_I will tell you shortly,_" says EDI. "_The mission the Commander is being sent on is intended to be a solo mission into the Bahak system._"

"The Bahak system?" asks Kasumi.

Isaac jolts. "You know that?" he asks.

"It's a batarian-owned system in the Attican Traverse," says Kasumi. "Keiji went there to get a batarian artifact once." She shakes her head. "He ended up treating me to dinner after that. I'm not sure why."

I shrug. "Probably has something to do with the fact that the Hegemony is North Korea in space," I comment. I look back to EDI. "You said a solo mission?"

"_Yes,_" says EDI. "_It is a mission the Commander has been told she must take alone._"

I blink. "And you're telling us this... _why_?" I ask.

"_It is the objective of the mission that raised some flags in my protocols,_" says the AI. "_You had a conversation about this 'Fade', and how you saw a vision there, correct? One in which you postulated that the Normandy could have a hand in genocide._"_  
><em>

I... wait, what?

...

Oh no... No... She can't be...

"Uh... Yes," I say. "It was that conversation..." I shake my head. "EDI, what're you getting at here?"

EDI pauses. "_Art,_" she says. "_The objective of this mission is to rescue a woman from a batarian prison by the name of Amanda Kenson._"

...

No...

"You... I... You don't mean..."

"_Yes._"

Fuck... No... No, that can't be right.

"It's... It's just in an isolated system, right?" I ask. "It... It can't just be in a civilian area!"

"_It is not,_" says EDI. "_There is a batarian colony on the planet Aratoht that rests in the Bahak system. There are 300,000 colonists on this colo-_"_  
><em>

"_Fuck!_"

I kick the footrest where my sangria is resting. I don't even care that it causes both my sangria and Kasumi's gin to fall to the floor. I end up kicking it again, breathing in and out.

"That can't be true!" I say. "_Three hundred thousand batarians!? _EDI, if this is a joke, I'm going to be the happiest man alive. Please, God, just tell me this is a joke!"

"_It is not,_" says EDI. "_It is not a joke._"

Oh my... No... No!

"No no no no no no no!" I almost shout, grabbing my hair. "No, this can't be happening!"

"Art, calm down!" says Isaac.

I shake my head. "Isaac, we're talking about _three hundred thousand lives_ down there!" I say, gesturing loudly. "This is..." Fuck fuckity fuck... "This is what I was afraid of! That something like this would go down, and... and..." I place my hands over my mouth. "_Fuck!_" I begin pacing around the room wildly. "Shit..." I look to EDI. "How much time have we got?"

"_Our current ETA to the Bahak System is four hours_."

Shit! "And we don't even have a plan here!" I say. "Damn it..." I shake my head. "We need to save those colonists somehow. I have no idea how we're going to do it, but we need to save them somehow."

"Yeah," says Kasumi. "I mean, we know about it and we can... right?"

"I don't know if we can stop it," I say. "I... why are we talking about this like we're the only ones who can do something about this? I mean..."

"We need to tell Shepard, right?" asks Kasumi.

"_There is no need,_" says EDI. "_I have already alerted Shepard to the fact that Art has seen this. I have given what information I can. She is currently on the elevator to the Crew Deck._"

I blink. "Huh," I comment. "That was fast, I guess..." I shake my head. "I guess she was right about the whole 'the Fade will be more useful here than on the Citadel' bit."

"You know what can happen," says Isaac.

"Yes, but I don't know if that'll translate to instant tactics expertise," I say. "And I don't really know why she'd trust it."

"Why do you think that?" asks Kasumi.

"Well, let me put it this way," I say. "Would _you _trust me if I got your boyfriend killed?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Exactly!" I say.

"Then you let her come up with the plan," says Isaac. "Lay out the scenario, but let her come up with the plan."

I blink, and look at the former CEC engineer. "Let her come up with the plan," I say. Hm... I nod. "Yes, I see what you're saying. But that doesn't-"

I hear the door open almost immediately. Standing there is Commander Shepard herself, and... Wait, why's she looking concerned?

She enters the room quickly. "Shep?" asks Kasumi. "You're here pretty quick."

The Commander shrugs. "Apparently, the Citadel's engineers sped up the elevator, amidst everything else they did to fix the ship," she says. Wait... wow, I thought it was odd that the elevators were moving faster than they normally do. She then turns her attention to me. "That's not the important part. The important part is..." She walks towards me, the door closing behind her as she looks to me. "EDI said you were talking about a vision from the Fade when I was still in prison, and it has something to do with Dr. Kenson."

I look up. "And you need me to fill in the details," I say.

"EDI only gave me general information once my conversation with Hackett was over," she replies. "Such as how this mission could cost three hundred thousand lives. She left some information out." She pauses. "She also told me you would know the rest."

I bite my lower lip. "I do," I say, feeling my heartbeat begin to pick up in speed. "All right. I'll tell you everything I know. But you have to come up with the plan. I'm not putting people at risk again."

Shepard nods. "That is acceptable," she replies, crossing her arms in front of her. "What do you know?"

I breathe in. "Okay..." I say. "This is going to be difficult to believe, but this is what I know."

And with this, I proceed to tell her everything that I know about the Project, Amanda Kenson, and Object Rho.


	28. Chapter 27

_A/N: Well, guys, I think this is where things will begin to get crazy. So last time, we had the arrival of... well, the Arrival DLC. So yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is where I finally get around to the Arrival arc. What to expect from it?_

_Well, expect it to start in a familiar place, and then expect it to go somewhere totally different. And that 'totally different' will not be happy. Know that just because certain things happen does not mean that it will all end on a happy note. You'll see what happens, and it will not all be happy-happy joy-joy for our heroes._

_I promise you guys this: it will get crazy. So stay tuned, and you'll see what happens._

* * *

><p>Chapter 27: Arrival Part 1: Britten: Four Sea Interludes<p>

I grab my helmet in my hands, looking at it and studying it. I sigh, ruminating briefly on everything that has happened and will happen soon enough. I look on it, seeing my reflection in the black glass and sighing.

Damn, a lot of shit has gone down. Hopefully, though, Shepard's plan will actually work here. I have to admit, it's some pretty good stuff, but what if we fail? I mean... if we fail, that's three hundred thousand lives at the very least, not to mention the fact that the Reapers will invade.

... No, that won't happen. The archvision said so. That relay will blow up some way or another. We just have to see how _that _will happen.

But in the event that it does...

I look back at Tali where she sits on the bed. She looks at me, and I can tell she's just a little on edge.

"You're not really leaving, are you?" she asks.

I nod. "I'm afraid I have to, Tali," I say. "Shepard's got something important to do, and I can't stay here for it."

I walk to Tali, sitting next to her on the bed and placing a hand on her shoulder. "But I'll be back," I say. "And who knows? Maybe it'll end just like another mission. And maybe..."

Tali nods. I nod in turn, patting her lightly as I stand up.

"I've told Sturge and Rael to check in on you every so often," I say. "If you're worried about anything, don't be afraid to ask them."

Tali nods reluctantly, and I very slowly take my hand off of her shoulder. "I..." She doesn't finish it, but I hold her hand tenderly.

"It's all right," I say. "They'll help you as best they can." I nod, smiling down at Tali. "I'll be back, I promise."

And with this, I walk to the door of my quarters. At the door, I pause, sparing one last glance at the quarian. She sits there quietly, and I sense that she is secretly afraid of what I have to do.

But at the end of the day, I have to do it. Shepard... She needs people down there.

With a final glance, I leave the room. Don't you worry, Tali, I'll be all right.

* * *

><p>I get down to the shuttle to see Kasumi, Shepard, Carhon, and Kal'Reegar all standing around waiting. I nod to them, looking at Jenny as she climbs down the rope ladder again.<p>

"Well, 'ere we are," says Jenny. "We're all 'ere."

I nod, looking to Carhon. "Commander, maybe you could reconsider this," says Carhon. "I should not be in the Bahak system. And if I am..."

"Carhon, if everything happens as I hope it does, we'll need you to act as a negotiator with the batarian people," says Shepard. "I won't argue with you on this point. If I'm going to help the batarians escape, I will need a fellow batarian to prove that I am not here to kill them all."

The batarian shakes his head. "Shepard, I already explained this to you," he says. "You know my history on Aratoht. If I go down there, it could undermine your efforts."

"And you forget that I'm better known in some circles of the Alliance as the "Lion of Elysium," says Shepard. "I don't think the batarians will have forgotten that." She shakes her head. "I know you explained it. But you are the only chance I have to get the colony on Aratoht to see reason. And I'll take that risk."

Carhon shakes his head. "And it is going to backfire spectacularly," he comments.

"We'll see," says Kasumi. "For now, here we are."

"I guess Al's in charge of the ship until we get back?" I ask.

"Yes," says Shepard. "He'll be in charge until we get back... Or until we call him in once we get off that asteroid."

"If we even get that far, ma'am," says Kal'Reegar.

"Oh, trust me, we'll get there," says Kasumi. "Shep isn't _the _Commander Shepard for nothing."

I nod. "Kasumi's right," I say, looking at the Commander. "We shouldn't sit here any longer than we have to, Shepard," I say. "Let's get going into the Bahak system, shall we?"

"Yes," says Shepard. She looks to the rest of us. "Come on. We have a colony we have to save."

She is the first one up the ladder, with Jenny following rather close behind. Well... once I enter this shuttle, there's no telling what'll happen. And this time, I'll have to sit there and wait for something again. But by now... I'm used to it.

I gesture to Carhon, who begins climbing up the rope ladder with a begrudging expression on his face. The batarian is followed by Kal'Reeger, and then I climb up the ladder after the marine.

* * *

><p>The shuttle ride to Aratoht is pretty much uneventful, in the way that nobody really says anything of note. Kasumi and I sit there in silence, with Carhon standing there glowering at us and Kal hanging out with Jenny in the cockpit. Shepard looks a little nervous, but she hides it for our sake and doesn't really say much of anything throughout much of the ride to Aratoht.<p>

And me? I sit there.

It feels like forever when I notice some commotion in the cockpit.

"Commander, we're gettin' inta Aratoht soon," says Jenny. "We'll be hittin' those coordinates Hackett gave ya in two minutes!"

Shepard nods, looking at the rest of us and standing up. She places the helmet on her head, and looks to the door. "Well... in two minutes, it begins," she says. She then looks to the rest of us. "You know the plan, right?"

"Yes," says Kasumi. "We sit here, wait for you to rescue Dr. Kenson, you'll steal one of the batarians' shuttles, and we immediately get off-world and turn our scanners on."

"And as soon as you see me break through Aratoht's atmosphere, you wait for a shuttle to move, and you follow it to the Project." Shepard nods.

Kal shrugs. "I still don't get why we can't just pick you up, ma'am," says Kal. "We can go in and out quietly."

"And that's when Dr. Kenson could get suspicious," Shepard replies. "If it's true that she might be indoctrinated, we can't risk her knowing too early. If she knows there are more than one of us, then that could be a problem when we discover what the Project is." Shepard shakes her head. "Besides, it lessens the impact of the surprise we have for her when I go to the Project with her."

"I don't even know how this kid knows any of that shit," says Carhon as he gestures to me. "What, did he get that information from some voice in his head?"

...

I'm pretty sure Orange would resent that comment, but to be fair I can't say I blame him.

"Call it instinct," I reply.

"Instinct as I know it doesn't get so specific," Carhon replies. "What are you hiding, kid?"

"Quite a lot," says Shepard. "But don't worry. He hasn't left me out of the loop."

"And I'm supposed to trust him because you trust him," says the batarian bitterly. He shifts. "I have no idea how that quarian over there isn't voicing things like this."

"Kal?" asks Shepard as she turns to Kal'Reegar.

The quarian looks out of the cockpit and shrugs. "Well, ma'am... I'd be lying if I said I didn't find all this knowledge suspicious," says Kal. "I don't know how he got that information. But if this really is about trying to save lives, then I'm in. Tell me where to aim, and I'll shoot."

The Commander nods. "He'll explain once I get dropped off at this prison," she says. "Until then, I ask that you trust us."

At this, Carhon simply throws his hands in the air. "I don't even know why I came on this mission anymore," he says.

I nod. "Look, Carhon," I reply. "I understand why you're suspicious. Hell, in your shoes I'd be asking the same questions you're asking now." I nod at his slightly surprised expression. "But if this information is correct, which I'm pretty sure it is, then there will be three hundred thousand lives at stake. I won't hide information like that if that many innocents can die because I held it back."

Carhon sighs. "And you would really stick your neck out for my people," he says.

I nod. "And so would Shepard," I say. "If the plan she came up with pans out how I hope it will, then hopefully there'll be a chance to save that colony."

Carhon shakes his head. "I still don't trust this information," he says. "But I guess I finally remembered why I joined up with this mission in the first place." He leans back.

I nod. "And to be fair, I understand why you're so suspicious," I say, sighing as I lean back against the shuttle wall. "I may not like that, but I can't really hold it against you. And I promise you that you'll be getting an explanation soon."

"All right, we're gettin' to the drop zone!"

Jenny shouts this as I feel the shuttle level. I look to Shepard, watching as she attaches her helmet on and steps up to the shuttle door. It opens out to a forest of some kind, and Shepard stands there. She casts a look back to us, and raps her fingers against the space right next to the door.

"We'll pick up this conversation later," says Shepard. "Art?"

I look to the Commander. "Shepard?" I ask.

"Make sure they know before I meet up with them," she says. "You'll have plenty of time to tell them when I'm down here."

I nod. "Yeah, I'll have time to talk about it here," I say. "Good luck, Shepard."

The Commander nods, and then steps off of the shuttle. As soon as she is a few paces away from the shuttle, the shuttle door closes. I then feel some lift-off as the shuttle pulls away from the ground and flies towards the atmosphere.

As I feel gravity act oddly towards my body, I look to Kal as he steps out. "So, this explanation..." says Kal. "How did you know about this information?"

I nod, looking to Kasumi. She nods, and then I face Carhon and Kal.

Okay... I slowly remove Orange from where she's sealed in my vacuum pocket, and hold it out for Kal and Carhon to see. "This," I say. "What I'm about to tell you two is so strange that even I have a hard time believing it's real sometimes."

"Trust me, I'd know," says Kasumi.

"So you know about this," says Carhon.

"And I do too, mate," says Jenny. "Trust me, it was pretty 'ard for us to swallow."

I nod. "But I swear, it's all true," I say. "And to demonstrate this..." I hold out the device to Carhon. "I want you to hold this, and tell me what you hear."

* * *

><p><strong>*Jocelyn Shepard POV*<strong>

I draw my pistol and look in front of me. In front of me, I see a structure that looks industrial. Hm... And there's a door right there with the panel flashing red.

Hm... Well, this must be the entrance closest to Dr. Kenson. All right. Let's see...

I walk towards the door, but it's not until I walk to the other side that I see a terminal there. Yes... I should be able to cut the power from here. I open my omni-tool, looking at the terminal for a few seconds before finding the right option on my omni-tool. With a click of a holographic interface, the door by me opens. All right...

I move into the facility immediately, checking my ammunition on my pistol. Full clip... that should last me until I get to Dr. Kenson. I look ahead to find a rather large gap which looks like there should be a bridge. I charge over the gap, feeling the rush of biotics as I fly over the gap. I briefly catch sight of a varren below me, but when I have charged to the other side of the gap I continue onwards anyway. I don't have time to worry about whatever is in that gap. I have to rescue Dr. Kenson, and after that I have to somehow save an entire colony.

I shake my head as I continue maneuvering down the hallway. Damn... I still have no idea how I am going to save an entire batarian colony. I simply go to the Project, let whatever happen there happen, and then somehow convince them to evacuate. All that is easier said than done, it really is, and especially on such notice. I mean... two days?

I hope that Art's projections turn out to be incorrect. Because if I could have more than two days to save three hundred thousand colonists...

"_Get the human into questioning_."

I am jolted out of my thoughts by a batarian voice grunting this out. I suddenly notice a bunch of lasers that move around immediately to my left, and I notice a locked door beyond those lasers.

"_Get your hands off me!_" I hear a female voice say.

I blink. Well... there is Dr. Kenson. But of course, I can't get past those lasers. I look to my right, seeing that there is another hallway that is right there. Maybe there is another way around.

I swing my gun forward, following the contour of the hall. Hm... It seems very run-down, even for a prison. I move forward, being mindful of a few leaking gas mains. There are a couple of times where I actually end up having to turn valves to progress, though it does make me wonder why these batarians would allow a gas main to leak fire.

I continue onwards regardless, eventually coming out of what I assume is the sewer of this place (why else would it look so run-down), and eventually come across an area that looks a little more well-maintained. I see a bookshelf there as I ascend a series of stairs. I look around to see a window looking into an area where-

I quickly duck underneath the windows that I have just seen. I unconsciously let out a shaky breath, but otherwise do not let anything out about my state. I stay still for a few seconds, looking above me. Damn, there are batarians there. If they see me...

I guess Hackett was right about one thing: this was not going to be an easy job for me to do alone. But I will make due.

I pause, sitting there leaning against the wall. What I wouldn't give to have Kasumi next to me right now...

And then, from above, I hear a batarian begin to speak.

"_They wanted to slam an asteroid into the mass relay_," he says.

I blink, but before another thought can come to my head I hear another batarian reply. "_Can they even do that?_"

"_What difference does it make?_" asks the first batarian. "_We caught 'em._"

The batarians... They're talking about scientists wanting to slam an asteroid into the mass relay...

So that is the objective of the Project after all. Crash an asteroid into the relay and stop the Arrival. And now, we somehow have to save hundreds of thousands of colonists.

I sigh, looking ahead of me and waiting for them to say anything more. They don't, however. I breathe in... Maybe they have left the room I can look in to?

I turn around slowly, looking at the room I can look into and seeing that it is indeed empty. I nod, and climb the rest of the staircase up. I look over there to see a door, and walk towards it quickly. I open it, and find myself standing outside again. This time, however, I see the rest of the facility. Hm... I guess this is where the actual break-in occurs.

I raise my pistol, noticing a truck with a few barriers right next to it. I quickly and silently make my way over, stopping at a barrier closer to where I am. I lean down and flatten my back against the waist high barrier, and not a moment too soon I hear a pair of batarians simply chatting about what I assume is Dr. Kenson. I hear one of them say something about wanting to kill her, but I pay no attention. All right... there's a truck... I can use it for cover, actually...

With this, I quickly make my way over. I get to the truck rather quickly and lean against it... All right... Now, I just need to find a way to the facility, and hopefully to where Dr. Kenson is being held...

I look up, and notice a platform just above me. Hm... Maybe that is where I should start heading.

I nod, and climb up the back of the truck quietly. Here goes nothing...

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

"And this is how you found out about this Project."

"It is, Carhon."

The batarian looks at me as if he's seen a ghost. Kal'Reegar looks just as surprised as Carhon is, but I don't get the sense that he wants to throttle me the way Carhon does right now. Carhon's four eyes are screaming bloody murder in my direction, and he looks... well, I dunno, but it's hella scary.

"I..." The batarian scoffs. "I can't believe this. I have to be dreaming this!"

"Trust me, you're not," I reply. "I really did just tell you that this stuff is true."

Kal shakes his head. "Uh, sir?" he asks. "Permission to speak freely?"

"Sure," I say.

"That's... I don't think you're sane," he says. "You... You can somehow see the future by talking to strange objects?"

I nod. "If you need your proof, just ask Shepard once we've met up with her," I say. "She'll confirm it."

"Hopefully there won't be people shooting at us when we meet up with her," says Kasumi.

Carhon stands up, turning away. "I just... I find this so difficult to believe," he says. "And now I see why you waited until now to tell us. This is..." He shakes his head. "This is too insane to be real."

I nod. "Trust me, even I have a hard time believing it," I comment. "I don't expect you to swallow it all at first. But..." I lift Orange again. "You talked to her, and then there's the fact that... You know."

I turn to Kal'Reegar, who is looking to Jenny in the cockpit. "And you knew about this, Jenny?" he asks her.

"Yeah, mate," says Jenny. "I was a bit cheesed off when 'e admitted it. But 'e got better about it."

I nod. "Yeah, that was a bit of a dick move I did on Jenny," I comment. "Trust me. She was pretty pissed off about it. And with good reason, I might add."

"Yeah, but there's the whole 'I was takin' it a bit far' thing, ya know, mate?" Jenny asks.

I shrug. "Doesn't mean your anger wasn't justified," I comment. I look back to Carhon. "Believe me, I know how crazy it sounds."

"It does sound crazy," says Carhon. "And I still don't know about this information. Still, though..." He shakes his head. "I guess it's better revealed now rather than later."

"Probably," I say. "Kal?"

"Well, I don't know," he says. "This is crazy, but at the same time you did somehow save Rael'Zorah. I don't know how that happened, but... You knew about that, right?"

I nod. "I did," I say. "Rael'Zorah..." I pause. "If I had allowed the events of the game to unfold the way they did, he'd be dead. I couldn't do that to Tali, so... I took it on myself to save him." I shrug. "Looks like it turned out even more for the better than I thought it would."

"That it did, sir," says Kal. "Well... I still have a tough time wrapping my head around this, sir, but I'll do my best."

I nod, smiling. "Good to hear," I say. "You can talk to some of the other people on the ship. There's a sizable body of people that know." I sigh. "Even when half of them left on the Citadel."

"Apparently," says Carhon. He leans forward, looking right at me. "So you know about...?"

I frown, looking at the batarian as he looks at me inquisitively. Huh...

"Know about...?" I ask, leaning forward.

"You know." The batarian crosses his arms. "I guess you're going to reveal it now."

... Hold on here.

"Reveal what?" I ask.

Now it's Carhon's turn to frown. "You know," he says. "It. Why me coming here was a bad idea in the first place."

I... Oh. Oh! He thinks I...

I blink in surprise before raising my hands in the air. "No, no," I say. "I don't know about... uh... whatever it is you're talking about! My precognitive abilities aren't _that _powerful!" I pause. "Actually, they weren't all that powerful to begin with, but still." I lean forward. "What is this thing that I'm supposed to know about?"

The batarian shakes his head. "Never mind," he says. "I thought you'd know."

I shrug. "If I did, I would've told you that information to your face to prove my precognition," I reply. "I don't always know everything, Carhon, and sometimes shit changes."

"Indeed," says the batarian. "Well... now I have to deal with the explanation that you have a prothean fairy sitting in that thing that talks to you, and the even more improbable fact that it's _true_." He shrugs. "Well... here we are, I guess."

I nod. "Yep," I reply. "Here we are. And now we wait for the Commander to return."

"That we do," says Carhon.

And with this, we sit back, and look at each other calmly.

* * *

><p><strong>*Jocelyn Shepard POV*<strong>

"_...frenzied rambling so far._"

Yes... Frenzied rambling... that sounds like something that an indoctrinated person would do. I have to be careful around Kenson. If she knows I know, then this plan will be for nothing.

I leave the office I have entered, quickly moving along. I quickly move past a control area where there are a bunch of batarians standing in front of several controls. I near them talking about something, and I briefly catch a glimpse of a human woman inside of there. That... That must be Dr. Kenson.

"This one's apparently the mastermind," says one of the batarians.

"If she doesn't talk, kill her," says the other one.

Mastermind... Yes, she's Dr. Kenson. And if they're going to kill her... I need to move fast.

I move quickly down the hallway, seeing a hallway that looks like it could lead to the room Dr. Kenson is in. I quickly travel down it, and see a door at the end. Yes... I open the door, seeing a batarian inside of the room that Dr. Kenson is in. All right. I quickly move up to him, and begin concentrating on my fist. I feel a rush of power there, and when I look down my hand is glowing blue. The batarian in the room quickly notices, but before he can say anything I bring my fist up and punch him in the face.

I then turn to Dr. Kenson, seeing a woman with platinum blonde hair who is tied to the interrogation device. There is a pronged device directly in front of her, with both prongs having come to rest on either side of her head. She looks at me, and I notice her eyes are wide with fear.

"Who are you?" asks Dr. Kenson. "What are you doing?"

"Dr. Kenson?" I ask as I open my omni-tool while standing directly behind the device she is strapped to. "I'm Commander Shepard. A friend sent me to break you out."

The woman is silent as I open a few omni-tool menus. "A friend sent you?" she asks. "Hackett got my message, then..."

"He did," I reply, hearing a hiss as the restraints are undone on the device Dr. Kenson was bound to. "The message sounded urgent, from what he told me."

"It is urgent," says Dr. Kenson. "The Reapers are coming, Commander. We have to get out of here and stop them."

I nod, watching as Dr. Kenson picks up the pistol that was at the batarian guard's hip. "So how do we get out?" I ask.

"Find me a terminal," says Dr. Kenson. "I can hack us an escape route from there."

I nod, walking to the door and opening it. "Got it," I say. "Let's go."

I hear a sick sound of someone stamping on someone else's neck from behind me. "Ready," says Dr. Kenson, perhaps a little too snarly for my taste.

I nod, taking out my trusted shotgun and leaning outside. Almost immediately, I see a batarian guard there, and so I fire a round. The round hits true, sending the batarian flying back. I nod to Dr. Kenson, who comes rushing out of the interrogation room. I move very soon after, matching her pace as we quickly move down a flight of stairs. I check my ammo, pumping my shotgun as we move on.

"This is a cell block," says Dr. Kenson. "Maybe there will be a terminal here."

As soon as she finishes saying this, I see a door directly in front of us. "This way," I say, gesturing her to follow me.

I walk towards the door, opening to find myself in a very open cell block. Already, I see a few batarian guards out in the open, raising their weapons as I walk forward. I concentrate on some of them and feel a rush of biotic energy, and before anyone else can blink I have already charged at one of the batarian guards. The biotic punch sends him flying away, and over a railing as he lets out a primal scream of fear. I don't give myself time to concentrate on him, however, quickly turning to a second batarian guard that was standing close to the person I just charged at. I fire a pair of shotgun rounds at his direction, both of them hitting him and sending him colliding against the wall.

I look over to a third batarian guard, but I see him take a shot to the head, no doubt from Dr. Kenson's pistol. I nod, running down a corridor that is just down to the side. I take cover, seeing as three batarian guards rush forward. Without hesitating, I concentrate, feeling the biotic energy flow again as I lean out from cover and raise my hand. As I clench it into a fist, one of the batarian guards suddenly levitates in the air. This gives me enough time to shoot at one of the other guards with my shotgun before the first guard suddenly slams into the ground beneath him. The only remaining guard looks on in panic, but by then I have already aimed my shotgun at him. I fire it twice, the first round hitting him in the arm while the second round hits him directly in the torso.

I pump my shotgun, reloading as I move forward. I scan the area again, seeing no batarian guards of note. Okay... I think this area is clear for now. But once Dr. Kenson begins hacking into the systems...

I shake my head as I move forward. What I wouldn't give to be able to have Kasumi next to me right now...

I move forward, and look behind me to see Dr. Kenson has just caught up with me. I nod to her, and we both walk forward to a little outcove. I see some ammunition laying on a couple of crates, and I pick up one of the heat sinks there and pocket it. As soon as I do this, I look to my right to see...

"Yes," I say. "There's a security console right here."

I watch Dr. Kenson walk right up to the security console, stowing away the pistol. "Good," she says. "The batarians will know we're here. Keep them off of me while I hack my way into their systems."

I nod. "You got it," I say, looking ahead of me and seeing the cover. I put my shotgun away, pulling out my assault rifle as I take my place behind some conveniently-placed cover.

I hear the batarians shout something over head... All right, here we go. I come up, raising my assault rifle and unceremoniously gunning down a batarian slaver as he comes rushing in. I turn around very quickly when I hear someone come in from my left, and quickly send a batarian security guard floating into the air. He floats right above me, and I turn my attention back to the area directly in front of me. I shoot at another guard that is directly in front of me, and then duck down when a few rounds ping off of my shields.

Hm... I look at my weapon, and begin fiddling with it. Perhaps this would be easier if...

Ah, there we are! The incendiary rounds on my assault rifle are now turned on, and I nod as I peer over cover. A few more batarian slavers have appeared, and I'm the only one who can stop them.

All right.

I come out of cover at the same time one of the guards does. I fire at him with my assault rifle, and sure enough the incendiary ammunition burns through his armor as he screams out in pain. I turn my attention to another batarian guard as he comes out to shoot at me. Seeing him there, I summon a biotic disc and throw it in his direction. As he is suddenly pulled up from the ground, I fire my assault rifle at him. I barely get time to watch him as he gets set on fire, however, for then a few more rounds ping off my shields and I hear the critical sound of my shields powering down.

I duck back behind cover, and not a moment too soon if the batarian guard over there says anything. I simply flick my wrist, however, and watch as the batarian gets lifted and then promptly slammed into the ground right there.

"We need to close the door we came in through!" shouts Dr. Kenson. "Keep them out."

Hm... This sounds like a job for something more personal.

"Got it," I say, quickly switching to my shotgun. I pump it once, and then look to the remaining batarians... Hm... There are two more guards here, and they're both close together... All right.

I come out of cover, feeling the rush of biotic energy enter my body. I charge towards the first guard, knocking him right off of his butt and watching as he crashes into his buddy. I unload a couple of shotgun rounds into the both of them immediately afterwards, and then I rush over to the door in question. I encounter no further resistance as I run up to the door. There's the override button... Yes.

I get to the door and hit the override button quickly. All right, that takes care of the batarians from this side. Now... to get back to where Dr. Kenson is-

"_They're coming up from below!_" I hear Dr. Kenson shout. "_Other side!_"

I turn around quickly, wasting no time at all in running back to where I came from. That is when I notice a door open down below, with a group of three batarian guards coming out to shoot at me.

I hear the rounds ping off of my shields before I manage to jump behind a piece of pipe for cover. I quickly switch back to my assault rifle, peering out of cover and taking aim. I fire a few rounds at the batarian guards there, but from this distance I only manage to pick one of them off. The rest are able to ride the elevator to our level, and I end up being forced behind cover as my shields drop again.

I take this time to reload my assault rifle. "Doctor, how far are you?" I ask.

"I'm opening all the hangar doors!" says Dr. Kenson. "I still need a little more time."

I hear a ping from my armor, signalling that my shields have recharged. "Keep at it!" I shout.

I come up again, firing my assault rifle at the two remaining batarian guards. Since they are closer now than they were before, I am able to take them both out with some well-placed assault rifle rounds. As soon as I have this, I rush forward, seeing another elevator deposit another group of three batarian guards. Since I'm closer now than I was before, I'm able to drop two of them right at the elevator. I ball my hand into a fist, and the third one gets lifted and slammed off the edge of the elevator. I raise my assault rifle, suddenly hearing the lift rise from-

I get no warning before my shields get pelted by rounds from my left. I turn around, quickly getting behind cover... Yes, there was an elevator over there, with yet another configuration of three guards... I sigh, coming out behind cover and shooting at one of the batarian guards. That one struggles a little after having been shot with an incendiary round, but I turn my concentration to the other two. I shoot some rounds at the other one before I am forced back into cover by my shields dropping again.

"Disabling the orbital tracking, and bringing a lift up to the hangar," says Dr. Kenson. "We're almost done here!"

I nod as my shields recharge. "Good," I say. "Get going with it!"

I don't waste any time, coming back out of cover and shooting at the guards again. I manage to fell one of the guards before realizing one of them actually has shields on. Damn it... My rounds don't affect him much, though I notice that the first batarian of this group I shot is now laying unmoving to the side. I exchange rounds with the shielded batarian again, and then watch for the tell-tale sign that his shields have-

There! I raise my fist again, feeling the biotics flow as I lift the batarian. I raise my assault rifle and manage to get a few rounds in before the batarian in question slams head-first into the ground. This puts him down, and then I hear the sound of a large lift being lowered.

"That did it," says Dr. Kenson. "Let's move."

I nod, running over to where a bridge is extending over the gap. I meet up with Dr. Kenson there, and we both notice a final elevator coming up to our level. We take care of these batarians quickly, however, and they don't even get to ride the lift all the way to the top before they get gunned down. Kenson and I both make it to our lift safely, where I see a control panel there. I walk up to it, and then Kenson and I are riding it to the hangar.

"Got the hangar doors open?" I ask.

"No," says Dr. Kenson. "We need to break those open the old-fashioned way."

I nod, reloading my assault rifle. "Leave that to me," I say.

The elevator reaches the hangar rather quickly, and then I immediately see a batarian there. I fire at him rather quickly, watching him go down almost immediately from the incinerate. All right... there's the hangar door. And... yes, there are places I can blow to open this door!

I immediately turn around, flattening my back behind cover. I hear Dr. Kenson do the same, and I look past cover to see... yes... I raise my assault rifle and shoot what looks to be a panel of some kind. I could've sworn I had seen that at Project Overlord, to be honest, but... I'll take my victories where I can get them.

I only get to fire two assault rifle rounds before the thing blows up, however. I look up, and watch as one half of the hangar bay doors opens up. There we are... Now we just have to get the other door...

I look in front of the door, seeing the shuttle that rests there. There we are... that's our way out. I only hope Jenny is ready to follow me once Dr. Kenson and I break out.

I look beyond the shuttle, and suddenly take cover again as some rounds ping off of my shields. Dr. Kenson fires her gun into the crowd, but I am already focusing on the shuttle. Hm... Maybe there's some good cover behind the shuttle...

Yes. I'll see what's there.

I switch to my shotgun before rolling right out of cover. I fire a round into the crows rather frantically, but it is meant more as a suppressing move. Either way, the round scorches the floor, and then I'm dashing for the side of the shuttle opposite the guards. Even then, though, I see a guard on my side of the shuttle, though a quick shotgun round takes him out. I pump my shotgun before doing anything else, and I rush to where the thing holding the door in place is. All right... there it is!

I fire my shotgun at the attachment, and watch as it too blows up. As soon as it does, I watch as the other half of the hangar door opens.

All right.

I run to where the back of the shuttle is and look to Dr. Kenson. "We're ready to go, Dr. Kenson!" I shout. "We just need to get onto the shuttle!"

"Got it!" shouts Dr. Kenson. I rush back out from the other side of the shuttle, seeing that the doctor has taken down a batarian security guard, with two more still in the running. I raise my hand and watch as one of the other batarians gets slammed, and for the last batarian guard there, I simply allow the biotic rush to take over me and I charge him. As he gets sent flying back from my biotic punch, I pause, shooting an extra shotgun round into him to be certain.

As soon as I do this, I turn to Dr. Kenson, who is already running for the shuttle and opening her omni-tool. She opens her omni-tool quickly, and after a few seconds the shuttle doors open. She climbs in, and I rush right towards her. I stow away my shotgun immediately, and join her in the shuttle.

The shuttle door closes after me, and I then manipulate the controls of the shuttle. All right... Come on... There we go!

The shuttle lifts off of the hangar floor slightly, and with a turn out to the entrance, Dr. Kenson and I come rocketing out of the batarian base. Whatever guards were left in there... I feel a bit bad for them, as they're probably getting burnt to a crisp.

Well... when we get to the colony itself... here's hoping that the batarian people will see reason.

Dr. Kenson comes forward, and then manipulates a few panels on the shuttle. She only takes a few seconds, and then looks directly at me.

"Autopilot is engaged," she says. "We'll be out of there before they can unscramble their security measures."

I nod. "Are you all right?" I ask.

"Yes," says Dr. Kenson. "If you had come any later, though..." She pauses, but I sense something... off, about her expression. "I'm hoping Hackett's message mentioned something about the Reapers."

"If I didn't, you did," I point out. "But I know you were researching something. What did your research uncover?"

"It uncovered the beginning of the Reapers' arrival," says Dr. Kenson.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

I lean back, watching as Kal, Kasumi, Jenny, and Carhon all chat amongst themselves. Me? I sort of shit here, having no importance to anything else that is going on. I watch on, my hands remaining on Orange. I sigh, sitting here waiting. Come on, Shepard...

"Keeper..."

I frown, looking at the object in my hand. What do you want, Orange?

"I simply wish to talk," says the oracle. "Perhaps this is not the best time to speak, though..."

No, it's fine. I'm just killing time here, and I was killing time while telling them anyway. Well... that...

"...and the batarian needed to understand," says Orange. "I wish to ask you something, Keeper. You seem to know quite a bit about what will happen on the Project. I believe I know the answer, but..."

I sigh. I... Well... I... uh... I already kind of...

"Keeper?"

...

I close my eyes.

All right, Orange. I disobeyed your orders. I went into the field and saw a vision on my own. Without you. And I did it... well... I just thought you were being unreasonable about the thing with the visions not turning out the way you'd hope is all.

"Of course..."

...

I frown.

Wait a second... You mean...?

I hear Orange chuckle. "You forget, Keeper, that I have seen your mind on many occasions," she replies. "I suspected your disobedience quite some time ago. I was simply waiting for you to admit that you disobeyed me."

I look at the paperweight, turning it in my hand. So is this... this is the part where I get yelled at?

"No, actually," says Orange. "Perhaps... perhaps you may learn something from this."

I blink. Really?

"Yes," says Orange. "Actions have a precedent, and a series of events that lead to them. The possibilities will be entirely different, but..."

You must be able to adapt...

"Yes," says Orange. "Perhaps this is one way of adapting. You have seen a possibility, and you seem to have pieced the puzzle together to attempt to prevent what consequences you have seen. And this time, you worked on more information than what you had before, and even if you had to wait until the last possible moment to act you still acted in a more informed manner than before. Perhaps this will be what we could have seen on Kahje."

I nod. Yeah... Maybe this will go better than how I think it might...

"It may, or it may not," says Orange. "Fate shall be the judge of that."

I guess it-

"'Ey, we're pickin' somethin' up!"

I stand up immediately, looking at Jenny as some of the people on the shuttle crowd around the pilot. "Is it...?" asks Kasumi.

"Yep," says Jenny. "Sure looks like it." Her hands move deftly across the control panels, and I watch as she looks directly in front of her. "Hang on, mates: we're about ta get quite off our nuts 'ere."

And with this, I feel a slight lurch as the shuttle moves forward. I hear some more chatter, but I have tuned out of it as I am now concentrating soley on what is in front of me.

Well, this is it, Orange. Once we get on that asteroid... things'll happen that'll change the galaxy. Right now... right now, it's the moment of truth.

"That it is, Keeper," she says. "That it is."

Yeah.

I take my hand off of Orange, and stand up to join the rest of them. I look over to Kasumi. "Okay," I say. "Once we get there, it's up to you to lead us in the right direction."

"Yep," says Kasumi. "Too bad we can't get a map of the place."

"That's the first thing we'll do when we get there," says Kal. "Get a map."

I nod. "And then we hope that it's enough," I add. "I don't think we'll have much time to run in there and get Shepard out..."

"Then we move quickly," says Kasumi. "Jenny?"

"I'm droppin' ya close to the Commander anyway," she says. "Hopefully you'll get ta run inta 'er or somethin'."

I nod. "Yeah, that would be nice," I say. "Come on, Jenny. Let's go see what this Project is all about."

* * *

><p><strong>*Jocelyn Shepard POV*<strong>

Dr. Kenson's shuttle lands as soon as she finishes her explanation of what the Project is. The Project... It's exactly everything Art feared it would be. And to think that Dr. Kenson is indoctrinated...

I step off of the shuttle, glancing around in the shuttle bay at the various people working there. It's... a rather bustling place. There are lots of people unloading crates everywhere with very few problems, and they all seem... strange about it. It's almost as if they are doing it by routine.

Focus, Jocelyn. You know these people are most likely indoctrinated by now. And if Art is correct, they will likely turn on you soon. Just...

I look up, and... Whoah. "What's that?" I ask, pointing to a timer above a door that I assume goes into the rest of the facility. It is projected in large numbers.

"That's our countdown to the arrival," says Dr. Kenson. "When it hits zero... the Reapers will have come."

I freeze, looking up there. Okay, this is in seconds... minutes... hours... days...

If that's true... Then that means we have just over two days to save the colonists and stop the arrival. Two days, three hours, and twenty-five minutes, to be precise.

Damn... This is going to complicate things. I knew we were already under pressure, but this? This is just...

I sigh. We may not be able to save everyone. But damn it, we have to try.

"Puts things into perspective, doesn't it?" says Dr. Kenson.

"How do we know this countdown is accurate?" I ask.

"The artifact has been giving off pulses at definitive intervals since we found it," says Dr. Kenson. "The intervals have been decreasing at a steady rate. The artifact is reacting to the Reapers' proximity. In forty-eight hours, the pulsing will become constant."

I nod. "This artifact gives off pulses," I comment. "Are you sure you took the proper precautions?"

"We did, Commander," says Dr. Kenson. "Trust us."

I look up. "Then we only have two days before the Reapers begin invading the galaxy," I say. "We don't have any time to waste."

"Then let us show you what I have," says Dr. Kenson. "The artifact is in the central lab area."

I nod. "Show me the way."

Dr. Kenson nods, and then leads me to the door. I walk there, feeling my heart rate begin to climb. Damn it... I hope Kasumi and the others are already working their way in... We have no time to spare, especially with the fact that we now have to do it in two days.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

"All right... Give it a second... and... there!"

Kasumi beams triumphantly, and I watch as the door in front of us opens. I nod, looking a few feet above us where the shuttle is. I nod, sticking my thumb up.

"All right," I say. "We're good!"

Jenny nods. "I'll just circle this 'ere asteroid a bit," says Jenny. "Get Shepard ta let me know when ya need me to come roarin' in."

"We'll remind her, ma-Jenny," says Kal.

With this, the shuttle lifts off from us, and takes off. I look to the others, noting that we're all using breather helmets here. Kal has Shepard's breather helmet at the ready just in case we have to run outside to escape the Project.

"All right," I say, standing outside of the place where the Project is most likely taking place. "Now... in an original version of this vision I got... it was actually me that was stepping into that room. But now it's Shepard, and I'm pretty sure the same thing will happen to her."

"Did you see what happened after Dr. Kenson put the gun to your head?" asks Kasumi.

I shake my head. "No," I reply. "But I'm pretty sure she wanted to make sure I couldn't leave."

"So our top priority is to hack into the security systems to give Shepard a chance to get out of that lab," says Kal. "Which means we need to find a control room."

"Without a map," Carhon adds bitterly. "You can't just use your little orange buddy because...?"

I shake my head. "There's a Reaper artifact in the vicinity, and the Reapers already know about what I do with the Fade," I comment. "Cerberus wouldn't have tried to get their hands on me otherwise."

"That's assuming they're indoctrinated," says Carhon.

"We got proof of that on Rannoch," Kal replies. "We know Cerberus is in league with the Reapers somehow."

I nod. "It'll be better if they don't know I was here," I comment. "Kasumi?"

"Yeah, the door's been open for a bit," she says.

"Then what're we waiting for?" asks Carhon. "Come on."

Kasumi opens the door immediately afterwards, and then we all step into what looks like a rather large airlock.

* * *

><p><strong>*Jocelyn Shepard POV*<strong>

The door opens, and almost immediately I see what is wrong.

There is Object Rho right in front of me. It is a colossal structure that hangs right over everything, like a flower in perverse bloom. It seems to glow ethereally, and just the sight of the blue light is enough to send a shiver down my spine.

I look up at the artifact as Dr. Kenson walks in front of me. "Commander, I give you Object Rho," she says, gesturing to the large object.

"Dr. Kenson..." I say. "You... you just left a Reaper Artifact standing out here... with no safeguards."

"We know what we are dealing with," says Dr. Kenson.

I look directly at the doctor. "Really?" I ask, pointing at the object. "Because _this_ does not show me that you know what you're dealing with."

"But we do, Commander," says Dr. Kenson. "It will give you the proof you need. Just give it time."

I turn to Dr. Kenson. "I don't think you understand something," I say. "Do you know how subtle indoctrination is? You could be indoctrinated right now and not even know it."

"We know what we're getting into, Commander," says Dr. Kenson.

I look at Dr. Kenson, but... her face... It is unnaturally calm. And that look in her eyes... I haven't seen a look like that since my encounter with Saren all those years ago.

No, she has to be indoctrinated. Which would confirm what Art said...

Before I can say anything else, however, I suddenly feel my mind blank out. I'm then assaulted by the image of a mass relay... Aratoht's mass... no, the Alpha Relay. I stand there, watching the vision as a bunch of Reapers slowly fly towards it. That... That's the arrival of the Reapers...

This...

And just as suddenly as it appears, the vision vanishes, and I find myself reeling. I look all around, seeing that the world has gotten just the slightest bit blurrier, with blue light arcing off of me in strange ways. I stumble around a bit before falling to my hands and knees. I find myself breathing in and out attempting to gain my bearings.

I jolt when I hear a firearm being drawn immediately to my left.

"I can't let you stop the arrival, Commander."

I look up at Dr. Kenson, frowning at her. Before I can control it, I hear a snarl emanate from my own throat. I somehow gain my bearings enough to jump up and smack the hand with the firearm away. I then punch Dr. Kenson in the face hard enough that she stumbles over and falls.

"Too bad I already knew that," I say.

With this having been said, I rush straight for the door, only to have it close and turn red on me.

I then hear the sounds of hundreds of footsteps behind me. I immediately turn around and see that there are suddenly a bunch of scientists rushing into the room, drawing all kinds of guns. They begin to swarm my position, moving around Object Rho to take aim.

It's not until my shields start draining from taking rounds that I register that yes, this is happening.

I shake my head. Damn it... I draw my shotgun, and quickly lean up against the railing where Object Rho is.

I mutter under my breath. "Art... Kasumi... now would be a _really _good time to let me know you're here," I whisper to nobody in particular.

With this, I look above cover, and notice a lone person with a sniper rifle setting up a position. I stand up, and feel a biotic rush come over me before I fly right at him.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

Kasumi opens a door with her omni-tool, and then the four of us are rushing right inside to see a couple of terminals everywhere. I look around the room as Kal and Carhon both do a final sweep of the hallway we just exited before the door closes behind them. I nod to Kasumi, and then glance around at all the terminals.

"Well, that was..."

I... What?

I look up at one of the viewscreens to see... Shit, that's Object Rho right over there! And Shepard is running around it frantically. That must mean that Shepard already saw the vision. Okay... From what I can tell...?

...

How many guys are down there?

"Art?"

I'm snapped out of my reverie by Kasumi, who is looking up at the viewscreen as well. I blink, looking to the thief as she takes a place in front of a terminal. "Kasumi?" I ask.

"Was Shepard supposed to be swarmed by a bunch of people?" asks the thief.

"I don't know," I say. "But it's likely that she would've been swarmed. They didn't seem to want me there in the vision."

"And if they are indoctrinated..." Kasumi shakes her head, opening the panel in front of her. "No use worrying about that now, I guess."

Kal nods. "I'll call her." The quarian places his assault rifle so it leans against the wall, and then opens his omni-tool. "Commander, this is Kal'Reegar. Do you read me?"

I hear some static on the other end, but it gets cleared pretty quickly. "_Good, you're here,_" says Shepard. "_I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever show!_"

"Well, we're here, ma'am," says Kal. He then turns to Kasumi. "Kasumi, what've we got?"

"We've got some crazy tech," says Kasumi. "Extra firewalls all over the place..." She turns to us and smirks. "But it's nothing I can't handle. We just have to worry about all those guys down there."

"That we do," I comment.

Kasumi nods, manipulating the terminal a little bit and suddenly blinking. "Wait..." she says. "These firewalls... I haven't seen these before..."

"Reaper tech," I comment. "The artifact must've done something to this asteroid's security."

"Yep, that sounds right," says Kasumi. "Commander... I can get you out of there, but you need to be at a very specific point!"

"_What specific point?_" Shepard asks.

I look up at the video screens, frowning. "Carhon, pull a map of this place up," I say.

"Already got it," says Carhon. I look to my right to see that the batarian has pulled up a map of the facility on this asteroid. He looks like he's been studying it for at least a minute, and points at a large open chamber in the center. "This is likely the room Object Rho is in. The Commander has four possible exits out. If we want to make this clean, we'll have to meet at some point in the middle."

"Which means bringing her to the control room," says Kasumi.

"Exactly," says Carhon. "If... Tell her to go through the south door. There should be an elevator right there that will take her up to our level."

Kasumi looks there. "I'll have to hack into the elevator too," she says. "These guys _really _don't want to see Shepard escape."

"One thing at a time," I say. "I think that right now, the priority should rest in getting her out of that chamber."

Kasumi nods. "Shep, get over to the south door!" says Kasumi. "I'll try to get it open!"

"_Got it!_"

I then nod, looking directly at Kasumi as the Commander cuts the line. "You sure you can do this?" I ask.

"Yes," says Kasumi. "But I'll bet she won't have a huge window of opportunity to work with."

I frown. "Why?" I ask.

She then gestures to a little something. "They're measuring how much power that artifact has stored in there," she says. "I don't know what that could be leading to, but it can't be good."

* * *

><p><strong>*Jocelyn Shepard POV*<strong>

South door... South door...

I cock my shotgun again, shooting at another scientist. I dimly notice that he was carrying a flamethrower, but I immediately turn my concentration to the other people in the room with me. I have no idea how many people are in this room with me, only that there are a lot of them, and they are all shooting at me. My barriers have taken non-stop hits, and it seems like I have to duck into cover every ten seconds.

It's just after I shoot the pyro that my shields drop again. A round whizzes by my head, and I quickly flatten my back against a nearby railing. I breathe in and out, looking behind me. Damn it...

Get to the south door, Shepard. You'll be fine if you get there.

My shields come up again, and I then turn around to see that there are more scientists around me. I close my fist and lift the nearest one into the air. I immediately turn to fire my shotgun at a pyro that has gotten too close for comfort, and shortly afterwards I hear the person I lifted slam into the ground. I move towards the door... Come on... I'm getting close...

This is interrupted by my shields failing on me again. I feel a round graze my leg, but I only snarl and bear it. I quickly jump into cover, looking at my newly acquired wound. Damn it...

"_The end of your species will come, Shepard_."

I frown, looking back up at Object Rho. That voice... I recognize it...

"Harbinger," I whisper in a half snarl.

I open my omni-tool and quickly apply a dose of medigel to my leg. I feel the substance's cool touch around my leg as my shields come up again. I look back out to the various people aiming and shooting at my position, and then frown.

"You'll have to work to get to me."

With this, I feel the biotics rush through my body. I quickly stand up, bringing my fist in the air. I watch as one of the scientists gets thrown into the air and launched down almost immediately. I waste no time, bringing my hands forward in a gesture that Thane taught me about... I shake my head, thinking of him as two soldiers are suddenly shoved back by an unseen force. My shields get drained by more firepower, but by then I have raised my shotgun and shoot another pyro as he approaches me. I look around, backpedalling rather rapidly as I raise my fist and use another slamming attack on a different unit.

I don't know how I do it, but I manage to take cover behind a railing very close to the door before my shields drop this time. I look behind me... There's the door!

I bring my hand to my earpiece. "Kasumi, I'm at the door!" I shout._  
><em>

"_Hang in there..._" I hear Kasumi tapping away at the interface there, looking over the piece of cover to see another pyro there. I rise up and fire a shotgun round almost immediately, pumping it as I retreat back into cover. "_Hold on... almost there..._"

The door behind me immediately opens.

"_Got it!_" shouts Kasumi.

I let out a primal yell, standing up out of cover and flinging one last biotic attack into the room. I then promptly run out of the door, out of the chamber and into a hallway. Not a moment too soon, for almost a split second later the door closes behind me and almost traps my foot in the process.

I look around, seeing that the hallway seems a little empty for a hallway. I sigh. Well... it looks like the worst of it is over, but these scientists will be swarming the halls looking for me before long.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire, as they said back in boot camp.

I bring my hand up to my ear piece. "What now?" I ask.

"_Okay..._" That's Carhon. "_There should be an elevator down the hallway to your... right, I think._"

I look to my right to see a door that juts out from the wall. The panel in front of it glows an eerie red, but nevertheless I recognize it. It looks very similar to the elevator I used to get to the artifact, after all.

"That's an elevator all right," I say. "But it looks like it's locked down."

"_I'm already working on unscrambling it,_" says Kasumi. "_Hurry, Shepard._"_  
><em>

"You don't need to tell me twice, Kasumi," I reply.

With this, I close the line, and stow my shotgun away. I draw my assault rifle, walking over to the elevator and wedging myself close to where the elevator is.

Immediately after I do this, a bunch of scientists suddenly appear on the other end of the hall, wielding the same guns as before. I wedge myself into cover as best I can, and then I fire my assault rifle into the oncoming crowd.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

Kasumi nods as her hands start flying across the display. "Okay, there we go," she says. "We just need to be fast, and..."

I look right at the artifact as the people inside the chamber start leaving the chamber. "Well, Shepard's out of there now," I comment. "So no matter what, that power build-up can't really affect her. So now we just need to meet up."

Kal nods, picking up his assault rifle. "Well, that's good," says Kal. "But what about these people? Won't they crash the asteroid into the relay?"

Carhon shakes his head. "The Reapers need the Alpha Relay," he states. "They're not going to risk blowing up a relay if it'll simplify their invasion. At least, I don't think they will."

"Yep, that sounds like the Reapers," says Kasumi. "Come on..."

"The elevator giving you problems?" asks Carhon.

"Surprisingly? Yeah," says Kasumi. "I'd normally be able to do this in my sleep, but for some reason..."

"It must be the Reaper tech," I comment. "Makes things hard for you."

"Yep," says Kasumi. She manipulates the display on her omni-tool. "Oh, come on! Give me the-"

The door behind us opens almost immediately. I turn around very quickly, raising my assault rifle right as we open out to see a few troops greet us at the door. They immediately open fire, the glass of the room around us shattering from their rounds. Without even thinking about it, I take cover behind a terminal, grabbing my pistol out as quickly as I can. I already hear the sounds of gunfire, however, and I catch Kal shooting into the crowd almost immediately.

"Well, this was unexpected," I comment, upon looking at Kasumi where she's rolled behind cover.

"You're telling me?" asks Kasumi. "Keep them off me!"

I nod, leaning out from behind cover and shooting my pistol into the small group of people that is gathered there. I fire off a shots and even manage to make a guy fall to the ground before I hear the ping that signifies that my shields have died.

As soon as I fall back into cover, I look over at the windows... Wait...

"Kasumi, you said that Object Rho was building power for something, right?" I ask.

"Yeah," says Kasumi.

I look up. "Do you think...?"

"I hope not," says Kasumi. "It's building power pretty quickly."

I shake my head, turning back and firing my pistol into the crowd of people that are still there. Damn it... "Just get that elevator open!" I shout. "Shepard can help us once she gets here!"

With this, I concentrate my fire on the doorway, even as rounds impact against my shields. There are only a few people there, but somehow there are constant replacements. Shit... I continue shooting from where I am, and only duck back when my pistol overheats. I sit back, ejecting the clip and shoving a new one in as Kasumi curses. I turn to her to see her frowning for... wait, Kasumi? Frowning?

I shake my head. Damn it... Just focus on the guys trying to break the door down.

I then turn around, firing my pistol into the crowd yet again. I manage to take down another mook, freeing up some space for Kal'Reegar to pull a little something out of his utility belt. Is that...?

"Take cover!" shouts the marine.

He then lobs what looks like a grenade... Grenade...

Shit!

I quickly flatten myself behind cover, and not a moment too soon: barely a few seconds after I do this, I hear a pretty loud boom from behind me, and for a few seconds, the sounds of gunfire stop. I... What the hell was that?

I look back from beyond cover to find that there are a few addled security people there now. Most of them are being picked off by Carhon, but what really grabs my attention is the fact that the bodies that are all around us look like... they've been electronically charred? What?

I look at Kal as he gives me a thumbs up. "Arc grenades," he comments. "Just a little somethin' I was working on with Gregor."

I frown, but before I can comment I hear Kasumi cheer. "Got it!" she says. The thief shakes her head. "Man, that took a-"

"_You will be the first to witness the arrival_."

W-wait, what?

I abruptly stand up, and then see myself looking at the artifact through the viewport. I watch suddenly as the artifact releases a pulse that sweeps over the entire area. W-whoah, wait!

I then suddenly duck, flattening my back against the wall underneath the window as best I can. It is not a moment too soon, for I suddenly feel an extreme rush of wind pass over me. I look behind me, seeing that Carhon got lucky and managed to hide behind cover. However, when I look to Kal, I see him fly back, impacting against the wall. He falls down, landing on his stomach as a loud electronic screech greets us. I immediately glance at Kasumi, but then hear a grunt from a different part of the room. When I look to where Kal is, I see that Kasumi has somehow landed right on top of him.

...

Shit!

I quickly stand up, running over to Kal and Kasumi. "Kal! Kasumi! Are you two okay?"

Kal stirs from underneath Kasumi. He lets out a soft cough before looking up to us. "I'm fine," says the quarian. "A bit rattled, but I've had worse wounds."

I then look at Kasumi... Shit... she's not moving... I bring my fingers to her neck, not that surprised to find that she isn't resisting to this contact. I place my fingers there... Okay... One... Tw-

Oh, thank Goodness.

"Okay," I say. "Kasumi's just unconscious. She'll be fine."

Carhon looks at the thief. "We're not leaving her here, though," he says.

I frown. "Of course not!" I say. "Come on. We're picking her up and meeting up with Shepard!"

Carhon nods, and then brings his hand up to his ear. "Commander, we've got the elevator door open."

"_I noticed!_" Shepard replies. "_Meet me at the entrance of the elevator on your level!_"

"We'll be right there," says Carhon. He disconnects the line, and then bends down and picks Kasumi up.

Kal stands up after Carhon has placed Kasumi so that he is holding her under the shoulders. The quarian rubs his shoulders before looking right at me. "Well..." he comments. "She's certainly heavier than she looks."

I nod. "I thought she might," I comment.

"You wouldn't expect that, sir, but there we are," says Kal. "We shouldn't keep Shepard waiting. Come on. Let's meet with Shepard and get off this damn asteroid."

We all nod our agreement as I switch from my pistol to my assault rifle. After this, we exit the room, and for my money we couldn't have gotten out of there fast enough.

* * *

><p><strong>*Jocelyn Shepard POV*<strong>

I bolt out of the elevator as soon as the door opens. I whip out my shotgun, and immediately shoot at the lone guard who was waiting for me. I rush out of the elevator... I did tell them to meet me here. So I just need to hold this position against whatever may come. Besides... I don't really know where the airlock is.

I move a short distance away from the elevator, wedging myself into the wall as best I can. I'm a short distance away from the elevator doors, however: I don't want to be gunned down by anyone who might use the elevator to come after me. That would not be good.

I pump my shotgun once, standing there in the silence.

I glance over to where the windows are that look out onto Object Rho... It's been quiet there ever since Harbinger shouted that thing about "you will be the first to witness the arrival". Whatever happened in there? I... I don't know, but that isn't important. What is, is that I got out of that chamber before whatever pulse went off had a chance to go off. Now... Now we just need to get out of here.

After a few seconds of waiting, I raise my shotgun, but lower it upon seeing the familiar shapes of my crew that was on the shuttle with me. Kal is the first to notice who I am, and he lowers his assault rifle first before nodding in my general direction. I look to Art and Carhon, and notice that the batarian is holding Kasumi over his shoulders.

"What happened to Kasumi?" I ask.

"She's out like a light, ma'am," says Kal. "Someone shot the windows out."

"And then the object emitted this energy wave," Art adds. "Knocked Kasumi clear to the other side of the room. She'll be okay, though."

All right. At least we can help her there. "Then we better get out of here soon," she says. "Where was the airlock?"

"This way," says Art. "Come on."

As we begin moving, Kal lifts his hand, and I see that he is holding my breather helmet. "Thought you might want this, ma'am," he says.

I nod. "Thank you, Kal, it'll do," I say. I store my shotgun on my back before grabbing a hold of the helmet. I quickly pull it on, and then grab my shotgun again as we run down the hallway to the nearest airlock.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

As soon as we get out of the airlock, I see that there are about ten or twelve guards sitting outside of the asteroid, waiting for us. I notice an YMIR mech sitting there as well, and it begins firing on us immediately.

I immediately take cover as people start firing at us, and I bring my hand up to my ear.

"Jenny, we're outside!" I shout. "Jenny, come in!"

I hear the line respond, but it sounds like... static? "-zzzat-..." I hear. "-Same pl-zzzt-"

I frown. "Jenny, I can't understand you!" I shout. "What's...?"

I hear her reply back, but it is only static.

Oh, god damn it...

I shake my head, looking to Shepard as she pulls out her assault rifle. "I can't hail Jenny," I reply.

The commander doesn't look fazed in the least. "She'll figure out where we are soon enough," she replies. "For now... we have to clear this area."

I nod, drawing my assault rifle. "That we do."

With this, I come right out of cover, shooting at one of the guards as he leans out from where he is hiding. I glance to the side just in time to see the YMIR mech fire at where Shepard and I are at. I quickly duck down, the missile passing over Shepard and I before impacting against the wall about ten feet behind us. I feel something rush, with some shrapnel eating away at my shields. Thank god for that, I guess...

I frown, getting out of cover and aiming at the YMIR mech. Man, it's been forever since I've faced down one of these.

I fire my assault rifle at the mech, watching as the rounds ping off of the mech's shields. I briefly glance to the side to see that Kal has dispatched most of the guards there, with Carhon having gently laid Kasumi close to him. The batarian is whittling away at what guards Kal can't get to, and I briefly notice that one of the guards seems to be flying away from the asteroid...

I shake my head, concentrating my fire back on the YMIR mech. The YMIR mech looks to be turning to face us again, but this time I slowly move as far to the mech's left as I can. I take the time to reload my rifle, moving slowly. I see another missile impact the far wall, but Shepard pays no attention as she pulls out...

Oh, dear, she took out the grenade launcher. Well... it's one way to deal with an YMIR mech.

I decide to take this time to look out, seeing that more guards have come out. As Shepard fires the grenade launcher at the YMIR mech, I fire at a guard that has just come out of the woodwork. The guard goes down very quickly, as does someone else close to that guard who is taken down by either Kal or Carhon. And from there...

Hm, this is actually pretty easy. I love how the hard part's behind us.

I shoot at another guard as he comes out, keeping my feet steady out in the vacuum of space. I turn to look rather quickly at the soundless explosion of the YMIR mech that is directly in front of us. Come on, Jenny...

I shoot at another guard, and then see the shuttle come out from the corner of my vision. I look over to what I... Yes, that's Jenny's shuttle! Yes, she's here!

I watch as the shuttle comes right up to us, the door opening rather quickly. There we go... Right as the door opens, Carhon jumps on, grabbing Kasumi and pulling her in after him. Kal'Reegar comes on next, and then... Shit, now it's my turn, isn't it?

I stand up, stowing my assault rifle away as I jump onto the shuttle. I look right into the cockpit, seeing Jenny looking right at us with a breather helmet on. I breathe in and out in relief as Shepard jumps onto the shuttle. The door closes right behind us, and then we take off almost immediately.

I shake my head, removing my breather helmet as I look to where Jenny is sitting. The pilot turns to us, and then gives us a thumbs up.

"Well, 'ere we are," she says. "Looks like we kicked some bum, right?"

Shepard removes her helmet as well. "It certainly looks like it," she says. "Well... there's the easy part. Now we need to go to Aratoht and hope we can evacuate the colony."

I frown. "You mean that was the easy part?" I ask.

Shepard nods. "You didn't check a timer there?" she asks.

I shake my head. "Our concern was getting you out of there," I comment.

The commander looks glum almost instantly. "There was a countdown to the Reapers' arrival on that asteroid," she says. "I..." She then opens her omni-tool. "I transferred that countdown to my omni-tool while I was going to see Object Rho. The prospects... They're not good."

We then see a countdown displayed on Shepard's omni...

...

Oh, you've gotta be _shitting _me!

"Two days?" I ask, looking up at the Commander. "That's _it_!?"

"I'm afraid so," Jocelyn replies. "This... I'm not going to lie, we might not get everyone out of there."

I hear Carhon groan. "Damn it," he says. "This is just _great_. Now we have to evacuate my home colony, and do it in less than _two days_."

"Well... this is going to be interesting," says Kal. "You think we should call the Council on this now?"

Shepard frowns, rubbing her chin in thought. "That might not be a bad idea, actually," she says. "And we also need to call the Normandy in to secure the Project." She nods. "Jenny, when we get out of range of the asteroid, call the Normandy and get them into this system. Also open a line to the Council: if we only have two days to evacuate this colony, we need to have our evacuation force ready as soon as possible."

The pilot nods. "Ya got it, mate," she says. "We're gonna be outa there in twenty seconds. Already preppin' it up."

I shake my head. "Still, though... we only have two days..." I shake my head. "I knew we were in a tight spot already, but two days?" I snort. "Shit, man, how are we going to do this?"

"We do our best," says the Commander as she looks out of Jenny's viewport. "That's all we can do right now." She looks to Carhon. "With Carhon here... that should make it easier."

Carhon shakes his head. "I wouldn't say that just yet, Commander," he says. "Even with me, you might find it a little harder."

Shepard looks back at Carhon. "Then we work with what we're given," she says. "There's no other option."

And with this, she leans against the shuttle. Kal adjusts Kasumi so she's laying against the sheets, and then I find myself walking into the cockpit. I exchange a glance with Jenny before looking out of the viewport, and out into the rest of the Bahak system.


	29. Chapter 28

_A/N: Okay, and here comes the crazy part of this whole rigmarole._

_Now, I'm going to leave this off with very little prefacing, but first, a little note._

_If you go back to Chapters 10-12, you may notice that they look _very _different. This is because the Sur'Kesh arc has been rewritten. I was going to wait until I had my Tuchanka arc finished, but that would've entailed making you guys wait until after November since, you know, NaNoWriMo and all. So the Sur'Kesh chapters have been rewritten. As for why that continuity error is there with the Tuchanka chapters... unfortunately, that's something you'll have to wait on while I do NaNoWriMo and this._

_Why? Because I wanted to end the Arrival Arc before NaNo. Why? Well... actually, I had to split this chapter in two, so... see then ext chapter for why._

_Anyhow, there's the matter of the Sur'Kesh rewrite. So, check that out... and then there's this. Brace yourselves, ladies and gentlemen, 'cause things are about to get crazy._

* * *

><p>Chapter 28: Arrival Part 2: Prokofiev: Cinderella<p>

Kasumi is busy rubbing her head as she remains seated in the back of the shuttle. She shakes her head as Carhon helps her to a sitting position.

"Wow... Ow, that hurt..." she comments.

"You flew against a wall, ma'am," says Kal. "I'd be more surprised if you weren't complaining."

I nod as Shepard looks at the thief. "You all right, Kasumi?"

The thief nods. "I've got a killer head-ow..." She brings her hand away from her head. "But... give it some time. I'll be fine."

"Good," says Shepard. "You'll hopefully be feeling better when we touch down on Aratoht."

I nod, even as Kasumi looks up at us. "What're we waiting for?" she asks.

"We're not actually waiting right now," says Jocelyn. "We're going to be on Aratoht in a few minutes."

I look up. "I just hope Al's almost got the asteroid secure."

Jocelyn crosses his arms. "He'll secure that asteroid," she says. "If he and Garrus kept the Normandy from being taken by Cerberus, then he'll be able to retake the asteroid."

"And then the hard part really begins," says Carhon. "I'm beginning to think that bringing me wasn't such a mistake."

"We'll see when we get down there," says Shepard. She looks to the cockpit, and I see Jenny peer into where we are before turning her attention back to piloting the shuttle.

* * *

><p><strong>*Albert Shepard POV*<strong>

Another security guard is sent flying into the wall. Come on...

I immediately uncloak, shooting at an unsuspecting guard who was distracted by the biotic display. I quickly turn my submachine gun on someone else once he goes down, but then he seems to catch on fire without any real prompting. That guard is then biotically shoved into a pyro that was unfortunate enough to be standing right behind him, and then... Yes!

I store my submachine gun almost immediately, and rush right to where the exposed cooling rod is. I run over to it even as a few last bullets fly over my head. I run up to the cooling rod, quickly getting my hands on it. As I hear a final groan, I push down on the cooling rod, giving it a little twist once I have pushed it all the way into its slot. It clicks into place, and then I hear the hiss of hydraulics all around me.

"_Reactor meltdown averted. Core temperature dropping._"

"Well, that was a fuckin' close one."

Jack looks to me as she crosses her arms. She gives me a rather amused look, as does Liselle from just behind her. Mordin checks his pistol one last time, and nods in my direction.

"Definitely was," says Mordin. "Would have seen meltdown. Could not let that happen. Project too valuable."

I nod. "Yes, I guess we couldn't have come here at a better time," I comment. "Good thing Joker was already waiting at the relay, am I right?"

"Yeah," says Liselle again. "Let's hope that bitch doesn't do anything else."

"_You have done nothing, weakling!_" says Dr. Kenson's voice over the PA system. "_I can still override power to the engines!_"

I roll my eyes at this, even as Jack pumps her shotgun a second time. "We'll see about that, bitch!" says Jack.

I nod. "Come on! To the engine's controls!"

I reload my submachine gun almost as soon as I say this, and I lead the way out of there. Jack, Liselle, and Mordin follow very close behind me as we leave, and I look right up in the next room to see Dr. Kenson standing at the engine controls. She turns to us, looking wild and deranged.

"I should have known she was planning something!" shouts Dr. Kenson. "I should've known from the moment she started asking questions on that shuttle."

"Can it, bitch," says Liselle as she moves closer to Dr. Kenson. "We didn't come here to listen to you ramble."

Dr. Kenson immediately lifts something in her hand... Damn, that looks like a detonator. "I wouldn't come any closer if I were you, asari."

Liselle frowns immediately upon seeing the detonator, but before I can say anything she begins walking back. I hear her scowl, and notice that there's a grin on Dr. Kenson's face. I shake my head, pointing my submachine gun at Dr. Kenson.

"Drop the detonator," I say.

"You can't stop me from pressing it," says Dr. Kenson. "You come here, decimate the security team and the scientists, and expect to get out of here alive?"

"That, and we hope to get as many batarian colonists as we can save get out of this system," Al says. "But to do that, we need to activate the Project."

"The Project cannot be stopped!" shouts Dr. Kenson. "We cannot stop the Arrival of the Reapers! It is inevi-"

I hear a gunshot go off, with Dr. Kenson's eyes going wide very suddenly. She starts bleeding from a hole in her head, and then slumps down on the ground. The detonator rolls across the room and lands at Liselle's feet.

...

I turn to look at Mordin, who is standing there with his gun raised. The salarian simply puts his pistol away, and walks up to the detonator.

"Spoke too much," says Mordin. "Ample time to fire. Shoot first. No doubt. Dr. Kenson indoctrinated." He sniffs. "Confirmed by Shepard."

I nod, putting away my own submachine gun. "At least you got her before she could activate the detonator," I say. "I say this asteroid is as good as ours."

"Yep," says Jack as she crosses her arms. "Now we sit here and fuckin' wait."

"In the meantime, we should probably find a communications terminal," I reply. "We need to tell Jocelyn that we've got the Project secured. And if not her, then we need to at least tell EDI."

"Yeah," says Liselle. "Now we just sit here and fuck around." She then frowns as Mordin walks to stand by her. "Shouldn't there also be a shiny artifact we need to stay away from?"

"I wouldn't say it's shiny, but we'll know where it is when we see it," I reply. "Jack, you're with me. Mordin, Liselle... do whatever."

"Sure." The asari leans against the wall, with Mordin looking directly at the controls Dr. Kenson was just standing in front of.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

"All right, we're in this 'ere atmosphere, mu'um."

Jenny says this pretty quickly, and I look out the window to see that indeed, we're re-entering Aratoht's atmosphere.

"Well, here we are," says Jocelyn. "Let's hope for the best."

Carhon snorts. "I'm still hoping the worst doesn't come to pass," he says. "Which is a pretty dim hope, when you know how this place is."

I shrug. "You'll still be going home," I comment. "Maybe you can even see your family get off this colony."

The batarian shrugs. "Maybe," he says. He mutters something else, but I decide not to press the issue. That's the Commander's job, anyhow.

I suddenly hear the comm unit on Jenny's navigation board come to life. "_Unknown vessel,_" says a gruff voice on the other end of the line. "_You are trespassing on batarian territory. Identify yourself._"

Jenny nods. "Well, blather on, mu'um," she says. "You're up."

Jocelyn nods, leaning forward. "I am Commander Shepard," she says. "And I-"

"_Commander Shepard?_" I hear dead silence on the other end, even from where I'm sitting. "_The Demon of Elysium?_" I suddenly hear someone shout commands. "_We are turning our orbital canons to you! If you don't turn back, we will fire!_"

I blink, looking at Kal and Carhon almost immediately. "Well... I can't say I didn't see that coming," Kasumi points out.

"Wait!" says Shepard. "We have a batarian on board. You wouldn't fire on one of your own people, would you?"

The people on the other line pause. "_You have a batarian on board_," says the person on the other line in a rather unconvinced manner. "_And I'll also bet you have a vorcha on board. I don't believe you for a second, Demon_."

I glance to Carhon, gesturing to him. The batarian gives me a confused look, but before he can reply Shepard says something.

"Perhaps I can change your mind," she says. With this, she turns to the cockpit, and then grabs Carhon by the arm. She hauls him up, and pulls him into the cockpit. Shepard gives him a look.

"Go on," says Shepard.

Carhon swallows. He then looks directly at the panel. Shepard guides him forward, and I see from the way he moves that Carhon looks like he's giving in to fate. The batarian stands there, and then sighs.

"Stand down," says the batarian as Jenny activates the comm line. "It's all right. I'm unharmed, and I came here of my own free will. Actually, I did a lot of things here of my own free will. Don't fire on this ship."

The other line is silent for quite some time. I look over to Kal and Kasumi, feeling my fists unconsciously clench in fear of what might happen next. I breathe in... Come on... Let that work...

"_C... Carhon?_" asks the man on the other line. "_You... You're alive?_"

W... What the hell?

I jolt in place, looking at the cockpit immediately. "I... yes," Carhon replies. I notice from the way his body is bent that he doesn't sound happy at this. "Stand down, Shash."

"_How the fuck did you get into the Demon's shuttle?_" asks the traffic controller.

"It's... It's a very long story," says Carhon. "One that I don't have time to tell. It's all right. They don't mean any harm, I can tell you that now."

"_I... Men, hold your fire! Let them land!_"

The batarian nods. "Thank you, Shash," he says. "I hope everyone in your family is doing well."

"_Let's not talk about that,_" says Shash. "_You've come back. I think there will be a _lot _of people happy about that. You'll know where to land._"

I frown, looking at Carhon. "W-what?" I ask.

"I..." He glances back to the rest of us. "I do. I'll be down soon..."

"_I'll be waiting down there._"

And with this, the comm line cuts out.

Carhon sighs, but the Commander looks at him with a curious look in her eyes. "You knew him?" asks Shepard.

"And at least a third of the colony," says Carhon. He turns to look at all of us. "I was hoping I could delay mentioning my past on Aratoht ever again. I knew it was inevitable once you told me to come onto this shuttle, but it seems..." Carhon opens his omni-tool, forwarding something to Jenny's omni-tool. "Take us to those coordinates on the planet. There's a landing bay there, and it's the only one close to where... _they _live."

I frown as Kal stands up. "Is there something you want to say to us, Carhon?" he asks.

The batarian nods. "I... Aratoht is my home," he says. "But it's not only my home. I..." He sighs. "I was... I was the oldest son of the ruling family of Aratoht."

I... Wait, what? That... No way... That's just...

Hold the phone! This guy is like...?

_Whaaaaaat?_

"So... So you're some kind of prince or something," I comment.

"I wouldn't say that," says Carhon. "I was not born into the highest caste, but I was still born into a pretty high caste. My family is still an important part of Khar'Shan's politics regardless."

"Well, _that's _certainly interesting," says Kasumi. The thief nods. "I have to admit, I wasn't expecting that."

Carhon nods. "It's something I don't like to bring up," he says. "I had a good relationship with most of my family, but my father..." He sighs. "I sent out feelers within the resistance to tell me who was ruling Aratoht. They couldn't tell me anything, except that my family is still in power." He shakes his head. "And if my father is still alive and still ruling Aratoht, then this just became much more difficult."

Shepard frowns, crossing her arms. "You could have mentioned this to me earlier," she replies.

"Yeah," Jenny adds from the cockpit. "And that's a whole bunch o' malarkey, you bein' all suspicious at Art for keepin' secrets earlier!"

I give Jenny a reproachful look. "Jenny, please," I comment. I then turn my attention to Carhon. "Why didn't you tell us?" I ask.

"We certainly could have used this information to our advantage, Carhon," says Shepard as she looks at the batarian. "We could have convinced your family to release Dr. Kenson into our custody under the premise of investigating what she was doing and worked something out like that."

Carhon shakes his head. "You don't know my father," he says. "If he is still there, I'll be shocked if I'm not executed on the spot.. He wouldn't listen to you, and I don't think he would listen to me either. My family... after what I did, I don't think they'd be so keen to listen either. And they _especially _wouldn't have listened since it's true that Dr. Kenson was in fact planning on crashing an asteroid into the mass relay here. They never trusted humans, and they're likely still angry at me for leaving in the manner that I did. No matter what we did, we would've had to rescue Dr. Kenson on our own."_  
><em>

Shepard nods. "And who knows how much time we would have wasted trying to reason with them then," she says. "And now... Damn, this is going to be harder than I hoped."

"Maybe not, mu'um," says Jenny from the cockpit. "Ya got that 'ole thing about the Reapers, right?"

"True..." says Shepard. "We didn't have time to download anything from the Project, though."

"But if we can get Carhon to tell them, then it'll work out, ma'am," Kal'Reegar points out. "Just give Carhon the data packet, and we'll be good."

Shepard nods. "Yes, I suppose that would work." She then stands up, opening her omni-tool and gesturing for Carhon to do the same. The batarian stands up, opening his omni-tool and accepting a download.

I nod. "This is gonna be rough either way," I comment.

Jenny looks out to us. "We're almost there, mu'um," she says. "Though I gotta say, this place looks like an ugly ol' tip."

I stand up, looking outside to see... Wow, it is ugly. I can see various buildings throughout the colony, but all of them look so... _square_. They look oppressive, they don't look like pleasant places to live in at all, and they just feel like they could crush a person or something. I don't know. Maybe it's because the windows are too small, or maybe it's because the balconies are all tiny, or maybe it's the fact that every damn face of every damn building looks exactly the same, or hell, maybe it's the fact that the colors of these buildings are drab and... well... grey.

Either way, though... Jeez, and I thought North Korean apartment buildings looked oppressive.

I shake my head, looking at Carhon. "This is your colony," I comment.

"Yes," says Carhon.

I shake my head, biting my lower lip lightly. "I don't know how you could stand it," I comment. "This place just looks so... _unfriendly_..."

Carhon snorts. "I won't disagree with you," he says. "Having seen the galaxy now..." He shakes his head. He then looks ahead to a little patch of concrete where I can see hundreds of people already gathering.

"There it is," Carhon says, pointing at that concrete patch. "There's the landing zone. And as I expected, they're waiting for us."

I nod, looking to Shepard. She nods, cracking her knuckles as she, Carhon, and... wait, when'd I step into the cockpit? Anyway, the three of us get out of there, and look to each other as Kal and Kasumi both stand up behind Shepard.

"Well, here we are," says Shepard. "Whatever happens, let Carhon and I handle this."

I nod. "Gotcha, Commander," I say.

"All right," says Jenny. "We're landin'... now."

And indeed, I feel the shuttle rock as soon as it touches the ground. I find myself standing right behind Shepard. Carhon pauses, and then goes to the head of the group. I see his hands clench into a fist, and he looks out to the shuttle door as Jenny finishes doing the things to park the shuttle. I hear the shudder, and then the shuttle door opens.

We're greeted by the sight of something along the lines of ten batarian soldiers standing there with weapons already aimed at us. This causes me to freeze up, even as I see that there are quite a few people behind them. I glance at Shepard and Carhon before the batarian steps out of the shuttle. He gestures to his fellow batarians, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Drop your weapons," says Carhon. "As part of the Erash family, that is an order."

"Yeah, and you came here with friendly humans?" asks one of the soldiers. "Fat chance of that happening."

Kal'Reegar comes out from behind Shepard, but even then I don't see the batarians flinch. Carhon looks to the other batarians. "This is not what you think it is," says Carhon. "There's a lot we need to talk about, and we can't do it with your weapons pointed at us."

"You're not the boss of us," says another batarian. "And especially not when you have _humans _with you."

... Oh, I _really _don't like these assholes. Come on! We're trying to...

No, no, Art, simmer down. These guys have hated humans all their lives, they probably don't trust us very easily. Let's just let them get past this stage first.

I look over to Jenny as she comes up next to me, with some of the batarians pointing their weapons at her. I glance at the pilot to see that she actually looks pretty terrified. I look over to her, my hand unconsciously coming to rest on her shoulders. She glances at me, and I feel her relax under my touch.

I glance outside again, suddenly noticing a commotion in the back as Carhon continues trading discussion with the batarians. There, I see another group of batarians that look better dressed than the soldiers immediately in front of us. These new batarians come in, with the crowd dispersing until he gets directly to the people with the guns pointed directly at us.

As soon as he gets close, I notice that these batarian soldiers aren't just better dressed, oh no. I wouldn't think that a batarian could be dressed with so many medals. I don't know, he looks like some kind of general there. And when he shouts at the soldiers to part, the soldiers do as he commands. And then he comes to stop right in front of Carhon.

And that's when I notice the other two batarian men standing close behind. They are wearing similar-ish military wear, and... Jesus, why am I getting the uncomfortable feeling that Shepard and the rest of us are just going to get arrested or something?

I immediately notice the expression of the man directly in front of Carhon soften, however. Before I can gather my bearings and take stock of what that expression could mean, the man comes forward and hugs the resistance member tenderly. The more regally dressed of the two batarians seems to be in tears, and Carhon can only pull his arms around... Hm... What is their relation, anyhow?

The two men part, the more regally-dressed batarian stepping back and looking at Carhon. "Carhon, you... You've come back..." He swallows. "After five years, you've finally returned."

I... Damn it, what is Carhon looking like there? "I... Am, M'shk," Carhon replies. "I... never thought I'd return."

"And yet, here we are," says the other batarian. M'shk, I think? "It has been ages, Carhon. I thought... I didn't think you would ever come home."

Carhon looks behind M'shk. "I didn't think I would either," he says. I can just tell that he's looking at the two people behind M'shk. "I take it Skresh and Vag'rash are both doing well."

M'shk looks behind him and nods. "They are," he says. He shakes his head right when he looks back at Carhon. "If only father could've been here to see this."

Carhon seems to jolt slightly. "He's dead?" the resistance fighter asks.

"Has been for a year and a half," M'shk replies. He then sizes up his brother, frowning. "And what happened to you, Carhon? You... You look like you've been through a lot."

"Omega has a way of changing people, M'shk," says Carhon.

The younger batarian looks at Carhon in shock. "You... You went to _that _rock?" asks M'shk.

"And got spit out alive," says Carhon. "This isn't the place to be talking about stuff like this. We need to be more private about this."

"So we do," says M'shk. He then looks behind Carhon, and steps around his brother. He then looks directly at Commander Shepard, who looks like she's presenting a cold facade for M'shk. "And you are the Demon of Elysium."

"Demon," says Shepard. "It's certainly a far cry from 'Lion of Elysium', that's for sure."

"Is that what they call you?" M'shk asks. "I see. They'll go to any lengths to cover up what they did."

I roll my eyes at this. Come on, really? "I was there at Elysium," says Shepard. "I was there when your people slaughtered thousands of innocent colonists in the initial assault. I was there when hundreds were taken as slaves. And I was there to see the people that were lucky enough to avoid both but bit the dust later." She takes a step forward. "So don't you dare tell me that the Alliance covered anything up."

M'shk simply chuckles. "Fiery," he comments. "I would watch my tongue, _human_. You're not in human-controlled space any longer. And last I checked, you had been arrested. I'm guessing you broke out." Before Shepard can get a word in edge-wise, however, he raises his hand. "I can wager the Council will be very happy to see you returning to their hands. Maybe they'll finally see humanity for the evil that it is."

Carhon steps forward. "M'shk, that isn't what happened at all," he says.

"Does it matter?" asks M'shk. "They still trespassed into batarian space. Four humans and a suit rat is not a common sight, especially when a batarian willingly brings them here. And for one of them to be the Demon of Elysium!" The man turns to Carhon. "You're lucky you are my brother by blood, Carhon: in any other circumstance, I would've had you executed in front of the whole colony." M'shk shakes his head, crossing his arms in dismay. "But as it is, this is something we need to deal with."

He then gestures to Shepard and the rest of us. "Guards, arrest them! And take them straight to the prison! I will decide their fate later."

But right before the guards can do anything, the two brothers that were standing behind M'shk suddenly come forward. "Hold a second, brother," says the older-looking of the two.

"And why not?" asks M'shk as the guards instantly stop in their tracks. "These people may be here to cause havoc!"

"But you don't know that, M'shk," says the younger-looking of the two siblings. Um... Who's who among these guys? "These guys were in the same shuttle as Carhon, and yet they didn't kill him."

"And what's your point, Vag'rask?" M'shk asks.

At this point, the younger-looking of the two of them looks to Carhon. "Don't you think it's odd that Carhon was with the Demon of Elysium, and yet he's still standing here?" he asks.

M'shk doesn't look convinced. "Yes, but this is the Demon of Elysium we're talking about," he replies.

"I'm still intrigued as to why Carhon is returning with four humans and a suit rat myself," says the only person... Hm... That must be Skresh. "And I don't think a human would risk doing something like this for _any _reason, especially not the Lion of Elysium."

"Does that matter?" asks M'shk.

Carhon then steps forward, lightly grabbing his brother's arm. "It does, M'shk," he replies. "I didn't just return home for no reason. There's..." Carhon pauses. "It's very complicated, and it's something we have to attend to right away. Trust me, M'shk."

"And why?" asks M'shk. "You left for five years while giving us no reason why."

Carhon frowns. "M'shk, I know I've made mistakes in the past," says the older batarian. "But you have to trust me. If you've never truly trusted me in your life, I need you to trust me now. Please. I come here in the middle of a dire situation, and these people may be able to help us."

"Humans? Help us?" asks M'shk. "I don't believe you."

"You'll have to soon enough," says Carhon. "M'shk, the entire colony is at risk here. All three hundred thousand people on this colony are at risk. And it's not just the colony, either. These people have put themselves here knowing just how risky it is to be here. This is important, M'shk. Trust me. Please."

By this point, Carhon looks like he might just go to his knees to beg some more. As it is, though, I see Carhon's limbs tense a rather large amount. M'shk looks up at us, and then back at Carhon. I notice a frown settling on his face as he looks around the area at everybody there. He looks to Skresh and Vag'rask before growling in displeasure.

"Fine," says M'shk. "You win, brother. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now. And I'll even humor you. I'll put them close to the house. That satisfy you?"

I frown, looking at Carhon. Well, someone's bitter, isn't he? I see Carhon falter, but eventually he lets go. "Yes," says Carhon. "Where are you going to take them?"

"The abandoned compound," says M'shk.

I see Skresh frown. "The one for the slaves?" he asks. "I see..."

"Only place to put them that's close enough," says M'shk. He then turns to Carhon. "I am putting a big risk in this, brother. It better be worth it, because if it's not, I'm executing all of them on the spot."

Carhon frowns. "That may not be the best idea, M'shk," he replies.

"I'll be the judge of that," M'shk says. "Guards! Arrest them, and relieve them of their weapons!"

With this, I see the batarians come right up to all of us in the shuttle. I suddenly turn to Jenny, and watch as she gets pulled right to the side by an imposing-looking batarian. She is handcuffed, and then I feel two batarians force me to my knees. As one of them relieves me of my weapons, I feel the other go and cuff me. I clench my fists to keep myself from struggling against the batarians, and after a few minutes I'm hauled up to my feet. I'm then roughly shoved out of the shuttle, my feet tripping such that I fall face-first on the uninviting steel beneath me.

Ow... I swear, I got a black eye from that...

I hear the batarians laugh at my expense, and then I get hauled up to my feet again. I'm then pulled forward. I briefly catch a glimpse of Kal'Reegar as he walks forward. I then turn to Carhon as the whole procession moves forward. He flashes us with an apologetic look before we're all escorted off of this god-forsaken little landing pad.

* * *

><p><strong>*Madison Paige POV*<strong>

I slowly sit up in the bed, the bedsheets falling to about my waist. The room is a little warmer than I remember it, but... Perhaps that's the way of things. I glance over to the clock on the bedside.

...

Damn it, it's four in the morning again. I guess my insomnia never goes away.

I shake my head, sighing as I hold my legs close to me. I look outside the window to the Presidium, noting how the artificial night cycle is displaying itself proudly. It's... It's the first time in years I've ever seen a night sky, I guess.

First time in years I've seen a night sky. There's something I never thought I'd think. I slowly stand up, being careful not to disturb the other occupant of the bed as I walk up to the window. I glance above, looking at the artificial stars above. I... They look so beautiful tonight. I almost forgot how beautiful a night like this could be. I mean, they're artificial stars, but... Still. It feels strange knowing there will be an artificial sun that will be rising soon enough.

I sigh, placing my hand against the glass. I wonder what is happening with Ethan and Shawn now. Hopefully, they're still all right back home. They don't have to deal with this kind of thing, I don't think. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, as they say.

I stand at the window, looking at the artificial stars above. I stand there, finding myself subconsciously counting the stars when I feel a three-fingered hand come to rest on my shoulder.

"Can't sleep?"

I nod, leaning back onto Garrus' chest. "Yeah," I comment. "I didn't mean to wake you up, Garrus."

"It's fine," the turian replies. His arms come around me, and then I find myself held in a tender hug. Garrus' head rests just on top of mine. "You know that the sky's artificial, right?"

I nod. "I know that," I reply. "But I can't help but look at it anyway. There's something... strange about seeing a night sky again." I bring one of my hands to rest on Garrus' arm. "Did the artificial sky always look like this?"

The turian shrugs. "Well, Sovereign's attack knocked a few stars out of the sky," he comments. "I didn't think Saren was actually capable of killing stars, but there you have it."

I roll my eyes at this. "I'll bet," I comment. I lean back against him, feeling his chest brush up lightly against my bare back. I sigh, realizing that I've started stroking Garrus' arm. "Garrus, do you think Shepard and Art and the others are all right out in the galaxy? And especially with them being in batarian space right now?"

"It's Shepard," says Garrus. "She'll pull through. She always does."

"Even when she's behind bars," I comment.

Garrus chuckles. "Well," he replies. "You know." He pauses. "But they'll pull through. And hopefully, they'll be back when Sparatus has been tried." He shakes his head. "That trial is going to be a joke."

"When even the Council agrees with that assertion, you know it's a joke," I add.

"Yeah, that's true," says Garrus. "It's actually kind of... strange. Here I figured the Council had their heads stuck pretty far up their asses. And yet now, when we really need them, they're actually being pretty helpful. I don't know if I should be happy about that, or afraid that this means the world is definitely going to end."

"I'd be with you either way," I comment. "Hell, if you decided to be afraid, I'd probably build the bomb shelter myself." I turn around, looking at Garrus as he looks down to me. I find my forehead bump against his, but I hold the position, not exactly caring all that much about where our foreheads are. "I just worry sometimes. How do you defeat an enemy that is billions of years old that will kill everyone?"

"I guess that's something we'll have to find out," says Garrus. He closes his eyes.

I nod. "That we will," I say.

We remain silent for a few seconds before Garrus parts. "Come on," he says. "You've got a shift guarding Sparatus along with Tidoses tomorrow."

"I do, don't I?" I ask as he leads me back to bed.

"Yes," says Garrus. "You should get some sleep before then."

I nod as he climbs back into bed. I follow suit, pulling the covers over both of us as I lay my head down on his chest. I swear, he still feels like a furnace even when I'm used to it. But nevertheless, I crawl up to Garrus, and find myself draping one of my arms over his chest before I comfortably attempt to fall asleep again.

* * *

><p><strong>*Carhon Erash POV*<strong>

I watch as the guards escort the humans and the quarian away towards the abandoned compound that they were mentioning. M'shk stands off to the side, and looks to be instructing a few of the guards. I look to Skresh and Vag'rask behind me, and then I turn my attention back to M'shk as he comes back to us. I watch the guards walk off.

"They're under orders to watch your _human _friends," says M'shk. "If they ever try to escape, I'm having the lot of them get executed. And then I'm shipping Commander Shepard's corpse to the Alliance. A present, since even they don't like her now."

I frown. "M'shk, that ch-"

Before I can finish, however, my younger brother pulls me in a very tight hug. "But either way... No matter what's happened, I'm glad you're back, Carhon," he says. "We missed you. And now... Now, we can be a family again." He steps back, and then I feel Skresh and Vag'rash place their hands on their shoulders. The two twins nod in my direction, giving me a smile.

I frown, looking at my younger brother. "We have much to catch up on," M'shk says. "I... I should get mother and M'yask. I'll be right back."

And with this, M'shk retreats into the house behind me. I turn to look at my younger brother leave, but before I can say anything he is through the door.

...

I shake my head. "Damn it, _he's _the one in charge now?" I ask.

"It couldn't be helped, Carhon," Skresh replies. I look over to my younger twin. "When you left, he was the one who was next in line to take over the colony. Second oldest brother and all."

"It's complicated," says Vag'rash. "I'm half-tempted to slap the shit out of you for leaving." He then steps forward, and I watch a frown come onto his face. "What the hell was that, leaving over what you left over?"

I frown. "I didn't tell you what I left over," I comment. "So don't assume things."

"We're not assuming," Skresh adds. "We already know."

Vag'rash steps forward. "What the hell were you thinking, trying to get back at your father like this?" he asks. "What would possess you to be so... so _selfish_?"

I look at the two of them. "You don't know that that's why I left," I comment.

"Really?" asks Vag'rash. "We talked to M'yask after you left. She said she knew everything about you and B'rashk. She told us that you were in love with B'rashk. And then she showed us your message history with B'rashk. That's when we put the pieces together."

I find myself chewing on my lower lip. "I did tell M'yask about that," I say. "She was the only one I trusted with that secret. But that doesn't have anything to do with why I left."

"Actually, I think it's got _everything _to do with that, Carhon, given what happened with B'rashk and his family," says Skresh. "You left because of what father did to them!"

"My father had them _executed_, damn it!" I shout, shaking my fist at my two younger siblings in anger. "They didn't deserve to get executed in the center of the colony, and they didn't deserve to be publicly executed for the reasons father ordered their execution!" I shake my head, turning around and looking back to where the abandoned slave compound is. "My father had them gunned down in public. The father... The mother... Even his sister. And all that, because B'rashk happened to be in the way of father's plans for marrying me off to some bitch I couldn't freaking _stand_," I add in a softer voice.

"And you didn't tell him about that?" asks Skresh.

"I did," I reply. "I told him when I first heard that B'rashk and his family was arrested. I told him after their execution." I shake my head, feeling my eyes sting with tears. "And every time, he refused to listen to me."

"So you left right after that," says Vag'rash.

I shake my head. "If my father couldn't accept that I was in love with a man, he didn't deserve me as a man married to a woman," I reply. "And you know that my father would've repressed me for being gay."

Skresh nods. "That's true, Carhon," he says. "But it still doesn't excuse that you ran away. Hell, you just admitted that you ran away to spite your father."

He still believes...? "I did not admit that," I say.

"You said 'he didn't deserve me as a man married to a woman'," Skresh replies. "That's about as close to an admission as we're going to get from you."

"You could've told us," says Vag'rash. "You could've told M'shk. Hell, you could've told mother. We would've found a way to get your father to stop trying to... well. You know. But you ran away."

I shake my head. "He wouldn't have changed," I say. "You know that."

"Maybe, maybe not," says Skresh. "Either way, it's useless to try to do anything about it now. You've returned home, and that's what matters."

"And we might want an apology out of you for leaving the way you did," says Vag'rash. "That was just..." He sighs. "It was bad, not knowing where you were for all this time."

I shake my head. "I wasn't going to get repressed by my own father," I reply. "And besides, this is about none of that right now."

"Well, you came back, right?" asks Skresh. "You've got to feel some guilt over leaving."

I frown. "Not exactly," I reply. "And besides, I didn't return to Aratoht because of some stupid sentimental crap. I'm here for a different reason entirely." Before Vag'rash can chime in, however, I raise my hand. "This whole colony is in danger. We need to evacuate _everyone_ here. And we only have two days to do it."

The twins both look at me in shock. "W-what?" asks Vag'rash. "That's..."

"That's _crazy,_ Carhon," says Skresh. "You can't just expect us to evacuate everyone in two days."

"And why are we even trying to evacuate this colony?" asks Vag'rash. "Carhon, what's going on? Is the Alliance going to attack?"

"No, that's not it," I reply. "It's actually worse than that. See, there's-"

"Carhon?"

I turn back to the door to see...

...

Wow, a lot _has _changed since I left.

I look at M'yask and my mother as they both stand there. M'shk stands slightly behind mother, and a young boy I don't realize is standing right next to mother. M'yask looks _very _different from how I remember her. She looks more... _regal _now. I can't really pin my finger on why she looks that way, though it may be because of her attire or something. I look to Mother, who looks shocked beyond belief that I am standing there. The young boy looks confused, but my mother slowly steps forward, raising her hands up at my face.

"You... You're alive... After all these years..."

My mother rushes at me almost immediately, pulling me into a fierce hug. I find that the only thing I can do is reciprocate it, looking to M'yask.

My younger sister looks at me in disbelief. "I'll be damned," she says. "You actually returned."

"See, sister? It's as I said," says M'shk from behind M'yask. "I think this calls for a fine dinner. Come. The chefs are already hard at work."

I frown. "Now?" I ask. "But you haven't even-"

"There will be time for such talk later," says M'shk. "For now, we have much catching up to do."

"Uh... Mommy, who's the strange man?" asks the little boy standing right next to mother.

I sigh... Damn it, I should've realized there would be a little brother I don't know anything about to contend with. I look down at him, but before I can say anything, M'yask goes right up to him, kneeling by his side.

"That is your long-lost brother, Jy'ak," M'yask says. "That's your brother Carhon."

The child eyes me suspiciously, but before he can say anything, mother comes and picks the child up. "We will have time to introduce you later, Jy'ak," mother says. "For now... It's doing what M'shk says."

I glance over at Skresh and Vag'rash in a displeased manner. However, their stern nods tell me that this conversation is not over yet. Well, at least they'll listen to me later. That's better than nothing, really.

With this, I walk up to M'yask. My younger sister looks up to me, giving a slight nod as Skresh and Vag'rash follow mother and M'shk into the house. "Carhon," she says. "I thought you told me you'd never return."

"The galaxy has different plans, apparently," I reply. "I didn't exactly come here by choice."

"You didn't?" asks M'yask. "Why?"

I sigh. "It's a _very _long story," I comment. "Just get Skresh and Vag'rash to come to my room tonight, and I'll explain further."

M'yask nods. "Just so you know, nobody ever touched your room after you left," she says. "Everything's just as you left it."

I nod, walking into the house and marvelling slightly at how the hallway to my left still has that damnable mosaic of my great-grandfather attached to it.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

I sit on the floor of the small room, looking over to Kal as he sits right by the door. Jenny is shivering on the floor next to the quarian, and Kal's practically hugging her trying to keep her warm. I notice that his face mask is off to the side, and Kal is simply looking at Jenny with as tender a look as he can muster under these circumstances. I glance to the other end of the room, where Kasumi and Shepard are both sitting by the window on a bench-like thing that looks like it's been eaten by more than a few worms since the last time it was used. It's gotten dark now, actually... The day cycle on Aratoht looks like it just ended. Which is kind of a silly observation to make, given where we are now.

And oh yeah, it's also pretty chilly. It's _very _chilly, as a matter of fact. And for people like Shepard and I who had to get stripped down to their body suits...

I shake my head, pulling my knees in closer for warmth as Kal pulls Jenny closer. "So..." he says. "Uh..."

I sigh. "Well, it's cold in here," I comment. "Very, _very _cold."

"And there's an asteroid that'll be crashing into the mass relay in two days," Kasumi adds. "That too."

"A-and i-if we're n-n-not on off th-this b-b-b-b-b-blasted tip by th-th-then..." says Jenny, her teeth clattering from the cold.

Shepard looks at Jenny. "We're not going to think like that yet," she says. "We're doing pretty badly right now, but you're forgetting that Carhon is still walking free. I'm pretty sure that by now, he's realized that he's the only person who can do anything about our current predicament at the moment."

"We could send a message for Alliance reinforcements, ma'am," Kal comments.

"And that would just make it seem like the Alliance is trying to wage war on the Hegemony," says Shepard.

"And that's not something you want when you're trying to help them," I point out, leaning back against the wall. "Well... I never thought I'd be sitting in a shack being held prisoner by a dictator in a place with a caste system, but there you have it."

"Who would?" asks Shepard. "I hope Carhon is all right in there."

"I know I'm not," says Jenny. "I'm f-f-f-freezin' m' bum off 'ere!"

"At least the prison seemed warm," Shepard comments.

I look up. "And this is where they used to put slaves," I add. "They treat their prisoners better than their slaves."

"That's what it looks like," Kal comments. "So what now?"

"We do the only thing we can do," says Shepard. "We sit here, and wait. And then we hope that Carhon pulls through for us. For everyone's sake."

I nod, looking back up to the ceiling. Or, what passes for a ceiling, anyway. "I hope it doesn't rain tonight," I add, pointing out the holes. "Otherwise, we're screwed."

"I can think of worse things to happen to us," says Kasumi. "Do you want the long version or the short version?"

I shake my head. "No thanks," I comment. I then look back up at the ceiling, seeing the rain clouds pass above us ominously.

* * *

><p><strong>*Carhon Erash POV*<strong>

"And this... This is why I'm here."

I finish this explanation, looking up at my siblings. M'yask, Vag'rash, and Skresh are all sitting around the room looking at me in shock as I finish relating this story. Dinner went about as well as could be expected when I returned after five years, but for some reason M'shk didn't even let me get a word in edgewise. He says we can get to it tomorrow, but the way he left when he told me this...

M'yask looks at me in shock. "C... Carhon..." she says.

Vag'rash immediately stands up. "That's crazy!" he says. "Machines that harvest all life? Where do people come up with things like that?"

I nod, opening my omni-tool. "When they have evidence to prove it," I comment, opening all the files I have on the Reapers and showing it to them. "Shepard's known about this for a while, and now they'll be arriving through our system."

"And if we don't stop them, then the entire galaxy is at risk..." Skresh shakes his head. "I... I don't want to believe this, and I _especially _don't want to believe anything about how the mass relay here has to explode. We have to evacuate the entire colony before the two days are up?"

I nod. "Which is why we came here," I reply. "We came to stop the Reapers' arrival, and to help the people in this colony."

M'yask looks at me, giving me an odd expression. "Well, this is an... _interesting _way to curry favor with the Hegemony," she says. "Save one of their colonies, make the Alliance look good..."

I shake my head. "You don't understand, M'yask," I say. "The Reapers are a threat to _every _species, not just humanity. The Reapers are the reason the Protheans went extinct. Three years ago, they also nearly invaded us."

"The incident with Saren?" asks Vag'rash.

"The Reapers were behind it," I reply. "You have to trust me on this."

"Yes, trust you after having left us nearly five years ago," says Skresh.

"That's such a _brilliant _idea," Vag'rash says. "What's next, brother? Do we have to grovel up and kiss your ass now?"

"Vag'rash, please!" M'yask turns to the twins. "He came back, and now he's here trying to save our lives. What else do you want?"

"You heard him!" says Skresh. "He didn't even tell the Demon of Elysium about the fact that he was technically supposed to be next in line to rule Aratoht!" Skresh shakes his head. "He didn't want the commander to know his past!"

"And?" asks M'yask. "He still came, didn't he? He protested that, and yet he's still here, isn't he?"

Skresh and Vag'rash are both silent at this. They both look back to me, still with frowns on their faces. They then look at M'yask. "It's not that simple, sister," says Skresh. "He... He left us for five years. And with how father was after that... How do we know that he..?"

I stand up. "Skresh, are you just looking for an apology?" I ask. "Because personal feelings on why I left aren't important in this situation. What is important, is that we have an opportunity to save hundreds of thousands of lives here. And..." I shake my head. "I don't think I can do it alone."

"You'll need our help?" asks Vag'rash. "I see..."

M'yask nods. "I can see why you'd ask for it," she says. "M'shk doesn't seem apt to talk to you all that much." She pauses, before looking at me. "Look, maybe there's something I can say to him. I don't know if it'll work, but if I say something to him maybe he'll be more open to listening to you."

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan," says Skresh. "Especially since I get the feeling M'shk will keep pushing you away."

"You really think he'll do that?" I ask.

Skresh nods. "M'shk became a little bitter after you left," he replies. "Especially after the responsibility of ruling Aratoht shifted to him after you left and father died. You know he never wanted to rule Aratoht."

I sigh. "He seemed so friendly to me outside, though."

"Probably because he isn't the man father was," says M'yask. "He may be bitter, but M'shk is not unreasonable."

I nod. "Then... If you think it'll work, talk to him," I reply. "I know this is a lot to ask of the three of you, but we can't think about that now..."

"The entire colony is at risk," says M'yask. "And if this is a threat in which everyone is in danger like you say, then this isn't something we can take lightly."

"She's right, I guess," says Vag'rash. "I'm still angry at you for leaving, but... I guess I can put that aside. For now."

I nod. "Thank you," I say. "You don't know how much this means for everyone in this galaxy."

"We'll find out in due time, Carhon," says Vag'rash. "For now... It's getting a bit late, so we can't really do much about it now. M'shk might already be getting some sleep."

I shake my head, rolling my eyes. "He _still _goes to bed early?" I ask.

"Oh yes," says M'yask. "Well, unless he has an important meeting with the Hegemony, but still. Some things never change, you know?" She then comes to sit on the bed. "You... We sort of caught up at dinner tonight, Carhon, but... I think there's more to the story you left out."

I nod. "There was," I comment. "Mostly pertaining to some of the details."

M'yask nods. "I thought so," she says. "Now... I'm guessing there were a few details, but... I guess the one I'm most interested in after what happened with B'rashk..."

She looks at me, and I recognize that look from when I used to tell her all the details of my love life. "Was there anyone else?"

I sigh. "Not exactly," I comment. "I had... _encounters_, yes, but nothing like what I had with B'rashk. The closest I came to that was strictly 'friends with benefits'."

"Really?" asks Vag'rash. "You, in a 'friends with benefits' relationship. I don't see that."

"What was he like?" asks M'yask curiously.

"He was a quarian," I reply, breathing in deeply. "He was on his Pilgrimage when we met. He was odd. He was a biotic, he was gay, and he came from a human colony rather than the Fleet. He was a good kid, though. Nice person, always listened to me if I had to bitch about something... He was beautiful."

I then go on to tell them the story of what happened with him, and of my time on Omega.

* * *

><p><strong>*Madison Paige POV*<strong>

I lean against the cell, looking directly at Councillor Sparatus. The turian Councillor simply looks down at the ground, grovelling there. Even though he's behind an energy field, he's still handcuffed. Can't be too careful, I guess. I cast another glance to the C-SEC officers surrounding the cell, shrugging as I turn my attention back to Sparatus. For a brief second, I see him glare in my general direction, but just as quickly he directs his gaze down at the ground.

Hm... Well, I guess this is where things get interesting, somehow. I think. It's been like this for the past few hours. The C-SEC officers look like they're still grumbling to themselves, and one of them even glares at me every half hour or so. They don't say anything, but I can read it in how their eyes move on me that they don't really want me here. I can't blame them, but then, Sparatus is too dangerous to leave like this. If he's indoctrinated by the Reapers...

I find myself glancing at Jacob for the fourth time in this shift. He sits there, looking rather vigilant. He simply has his arms crossed and has his eyes resting right on Sparatus. Jacob simply shifts his weight, and I find myself sighing out of boredom. I know why we're here, but sometimes it can take a while. At least the others usually find themselves with something to do. Here... We simply stare at a Councillor.

He hasn't tried anything yet. But somehow, I can't shake the feeling that he's just biding his time.

I then hear a little beep, and look to a turian C-SEC officer who was just transfered here today. He looks at his omni-tool, opening it while glancing directly at me.

"Sorry," he says. "This wont' take long."

I look at the C-SEC officer, raising my eyebrow. "Receiving a message at this time?" I ask.

"Probably from my girlfriend," he replies. "This might be important."

I then look at the turian as he opens the omni-tool's message. After a second or two, I return to looking at Sparatus. I notice his gaze has shifted from the floor to the side, but he otherwise seems disinterested. I find myself glancing at the C-SEC officer, too, watching as he looks over the message. He eventually closes it after a few seconds, shaking his head.

"Sorry," he says apologetically. "It was just some spam message. I swear, we get too many of them as it is."

I nod, rolling my eyes and smirking. "Don't we always?" I ask rhetorically.

The turian grunts in reply, and then the area falls silent again.

Thankfully, we don't have to wait too long, for then I begin hearing footsteps down the hall. When I look past Jacob, I notice that Tidoses and Wrex are both walking down the hall. Wrex looks like he absolutely doesn't want to be there, and Tidoses just leers in the direction of the cell.

Hm...

"I guess this means we're out of here, huh?" asks Jacob as he uncrosses his arms.

"Yep," says Wrex. "Now I get to spend time trying to think of eight different ways to annoy turians."

I raise my eyebrows at the krogan. "I figured you'd be in the labs with Jarel and Anahit," I reply.

"Not today," says Wrex. "It'll be fun, he said."

"Yeah, the phrase 'blatant lies' could never have a better application than it does here," says Tidoses. "Well, we're here, so..."

I nod. "You watch him well," I say. "We'll let the next shift come in when they will."

"Sure," says Wrex.

With this, Jacob and I both leave the area around the cell. I shrug, looking at the former Corsair as we walk away.

"Well, I can see why Garrus doesn't like doing this for too long," I comment. "He'd be itching to do anything after that."

"I'll bet," says Jacob. "Still, someone's gotta watch over him. If we don't, then what happens when he tries something?"

I nod. "That's true," I reply. "Come on. I'll bet Garrus and the others are just itching for us to go find them."

With this, Jacob and I walk down the hallway on our way out of this prison.

* * *

><p><strong>*Albert Shepard POV*<strong>

"It's been a few hours since Shepard landed on Aratoht, hasn't it, Jack?"

Jack turns to look at me, leaning against the wall in what I'm guessing is our quarters for the time being. She shrugs, and I find myself shifting my position on the make-shift cot I've set up in this room. It's more like a science lab than anything, but it was the furthest thing from Object Rho that we could find.

"Yeah," says Jack. "But then, she did go to a batarian colony. I can't think of a faster way to get yourself killed."

I frown. "Don't say that, Jack," I reply. "Jocelyn'll get through this. She'll have to."

"Oh, I wasn't exactly saying she'd get herself killed," Jack replies. "Trust me, she'll pull it off. She'll pull it off, even if she has to get that pussy-ass batarian to sweet-talk her way out of it."

I roll my eyes. "You're insufferable with the swearing sometimes," I comment.

"You love it," Jack retorts.

I stare up at the ceiling before looking back to Jack. "I've gotta admit, it's grown on me," I reply. "And I am into 'bad' girls."

Jack smirks. "Thought so," she says.

I nod, finding myself smiling and looking back up at the ceiling. "You know..." I comment. "The Alliance would be glad to have someone like you with us."

"Really?" asks Jack.

I shrug. "Well, they've gotta have _someone _to help out at the Grissom Academy," I comment. I cross my arms. "And on more than just biotics, for that matter."

"Oh, God, are you giving me the couch treatment?" Jack asks.

I shake my head. "No," I comment. "I think... I don't know why, but I think you'd be good around younger people. And who knows? Maybe _you'd_ give a pretty good couch treatment yourself."

I can _feel _the moment when Jack rolls her eyes. "Yeah, you keep telling yourself that," she says.

Oh, Jack... I sit up on the cot, looking directly at the biotic. I smile at her. "It's true, though," I say. "You don't believe me now, but I think it's true. You're trustworthy, you're _brutally _honest, and most of all you don't take shit from anyone. I think that people levitate to that, especially when they're younger than you are." I find my cheeks flush slightly. "Believe me, it's true. And you'd make a great mentor."

Jack's eyebrows raise ever so slightly. "You really think so, huh," says Jack. "I still don't think you're right."

I nod. "Give it time, Jack," I comment. "Give it time." With this, I go back to laying down on the cot.

And after this, we settle into a comfortable silence. It's strange that we're hitting a comfortable silence with less than two days to evacuate an entire batarian colony, but somehow it just feels right. Especially with Jack here...

I glance at her again, and our eyes meet. I don't really say much of anything as I look at her, but suddenly she's blushing intensely, and then turns her head as far to the right as she can.

* * *

><p><strong>*Carhon Erash POV*<strong>

I wake up pretty quickly the next morning. Even then, however, I find that I am still late to breakfast, and barely manage to catch M'shk as he steps out of the dining hall.

"Ah, brother," says M'shk. "Still late to breakfast as usual."

I blink. "You remember all that?" I ask.

"Of course I do," M'shk replies. "I remember how you'd always sleep so late and wake up so late that you'd miss breakfast." He shakes his head. "And I still remember how you'd only wake up early if they were serving that fried vegetable you always loved so much." He sighs sadly. "I miss those days."

I cross my arms. "I think we all do," I comment.

M'shk nods. "It's so much easier on me, too," he says as he looks up at me. "I always kind of suspected you were gay, honestly. The way you were around B'rashk... It was too close to be just 'best friends'."

I blink. "So you know," I comment.

"Everyone kind of figured it out after you ran away," says M'shk. "For what it's worth, I think father was wrong to execute B'rashk." M'shk shakes his head. "You know that it was a power grab."

"In hindsight, M'shk, _e__verything _he did was a power grab," I comment bitterly.

"Perhaps," says M'shk. "I tend to think that myself I don't think it excuses you running away." M'shk's expression becomes serious as he checks the time on his omni-tool. "Now, if you'll excuse me, brother, I have some very important business to take care of."

I frown. "M'shk, we have to talk about something now," I say. "The things I have to tell you can't wait."

"You forget that in this household, _I _am the one in charge," he replies. "And I don't think your issues are significant enough for me to address. I'm glad you're back, I really am, but there are other things that take priority."

I frown. "So the fact that what I need to tell you pertains to the safety of the whole colony doesn't matter?" I ask.

M'shk frowns, looking at me. "It's about the safety of the colony?" he asks. "Really?"

"Yes," I say. "And before you go assuming things, no, we did _not _come here to warn you about an Alliance invasion. Trust me, that's not what's happening here."

M'shk gives me an odd look. "I think you'll forgive me if I find that hard to believe after dragging an ex-Alliance person here, and especially a jail-bird." He crosses his arms and gives me a glare. "Maybe the Alliance will go after the Demon of Elysium. I wouldn't put it past the Council to order them to do something like that to get one of their prisoners. Frankly, this is a minor issue. We just turn her back in to the Council, and everything will be fine. I'm also fairly certain that the Hegemony would order me to do it anyway. I know my place, _brother_, and I know that the Demon of Elysium is a threat to us while she is still on the run from the Council. Now, if you'll excuse me."

He begins walking off, but before he can move far, my hand clamps down on his shoulder. "Shepard was acquitted by the Council!"

I feel M'shk jolt under my touch, and then he is suddenly turning to look right at me. "They... What?" he asks, the shock clearly visible on his top two eyes.

"Shepard was acquitted, M'shk," I tell him. "She's not a wanted criminal. The Council released her, and she's now working with the Alliance again."

M'shk blinks, frowning and looking at the ground. "They... The Hegemony hasn't said anything," he says. "How do you know this isn't Alliance propaganda?"

"Because I was _there _in the courtroom with the crew of the Normandy, M'shk," I reply. "I was there during the final hearing. And I was there when the Council told Shepard they wanted to drop charges against her. And there were a lot of other things that happened too. Sparatus was accused of treason, M'shk. And then he was locked up."

"Nobody has said anything about this in the Hegemony," says M'shk. "You... This has to be a desparate attempt to gain my sympathy!"

"It's not," I say. "I swear I'm telling you the truth, M'shk. I wouldn't be standing here today if I wasn't telling you the truth."

"And you expect me to believe it immediately?" he asks.

"Yes," I say. "We're not here to hide from the Council. If we were, we wouldn't have tried to touch down in a densely populated area. You know that, M'shk: I know you're not an idiot. I'm asking you to believe me, because she's trying to help you, M'shk."

"Why?" he asks.

"There are..." I pause. I then frown, opening my omni-tool quickly and showing him the countdown to the Reapers' arrival. "The entire colony is at a great risk, M'shk. And I don't think we can afford to wait for the Hegemony to do something before we need to start getting people out of here."

"What's this countdown?" asks M'shk.

"It's a countdown to a catastrophe that could affect the entire colony," I say. "It's not an Alliance invasion, M'shk. It's much worse than that."

M'shk pauses, frowning while looking down at the ground and contemplating what I've said. He continues looking down at the ground, and I can imagine he's thinking about what I've just told him.

After a while, he looks back up to me. "What you've just told me is... It's very difficult to believe. But if that's all true..." He pauses, shaking his head. "This is strange, brother. I can suddenly find no explanation for why the Demon of Ely-"

"Shepard," I reply.

M'shk glares at me briefly. "I can find no explanation for why the _Demon of Elysium _is here," he continues. He then pauses, crossing his arms. "I have important business to attend to with the Hegemony. They are asking for a status update, and I can't miss it. But... I'll try to mention what you just brought up with me, and I'll press for the truth. I'll probably be ordered executed, but if there's truth in what you say..." He frowns, turning away. "I shall send for you later. You will come to my office when you do. You'll know where it is."

With this, M'shk turns away and walks down the hall. He vanishes behind a corner, and while I feel a small amount of fury at how he's brushed me off so casually, I feel a small measure of relief that he at least listened.

I sigh, looking at the corner M'shk disappeared behind. I hear some more footsteps, and then turn my head to find Skresh standing there.

"If it means anything, I did try to bring up what you mentioned last night," says Skresh. "He didn't pay attention."

I nod. "Well, this is a start," I comment. I open my omni-tool again, looking at the countdown and sighing. "Though... Our window of opportunity is quickly vanishing here."

"Thirty-six hours until the Reapers invade," Skresh comments as he looks at the counter that is displayed on my omni-tool. "Let's hope that meeting of his doesn't last long."

I nod. "Yes, let's hope," I say.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

Kal has put his face mask back on by now, but it doesn't seem to mask his expression any. Even as the day has begun heating up, Jenny stays close to Kal while practically hugging the marine. Kasumi and I are still sitting by the wall, but now the Commander is busy looking at that which has been shoved into our cells.

I refuse to call it food. Seriously, that shit they're trying to feed us is fucking _nasty_... What, are they feeding us shit or something? 'Cause that's what it looks like. Either way, none of us are actually eating it, least of all Shepard.

Finally, she just shakes her head. "And to think this is what Dr. Kenson had to deal with," she says.

"I don't know," says Kasumi. "Say what you will about our experience as prisoners so far, at least _that _facility looked kinda nice."

"The roof wasn't filled with holes, for one thing," I add.

Jenny shrugs. "I dunno, mate," she says. "I could get used ta this."

I glance right at Kasumi, who seems to gesture sarcastically. "I think we all know why you're saying _that_," Kasumi retorts.

"Yeah really," I comment. "I mean, it's-"

I'm suddenly interrupted by the sound of very heavy footsteps walking towards us. Almost immediately, I spring to my feet, standing up and looking outside the cell doors. Oh dear...

"Do you think...?" asks Kal as he looks up to Jocelyn.

"Maybe," says Shepard. "We'll have to see what they want."

With this, Kasumi and Shepard also stand, with Kal slowly helping Jenny up. We all look outside the door, looking at the barred window that's there.

After a few seconds, a batarian comes into view. Somehow, though, this batarian's eyes are different, less... bulgy. Huh... I swear that's a little odd. This batarian also looks much more slender than you might think a batarian would look. It's almost like...

I blink. No way... "You're not... a female batarian, are you?" I ask. I then hold my hand over my mouth. "God, I hope that didn't offend you or anything. It's just..."

The batarian in front of me sighs. "I take it you have never seen a female batarian before."

...

Oh, boy, she's _definitely _a lady.

"Most of us haven't even been in batarian space before, ma'am," Kal'Reegar replies.

The woman sighs. "If it means anything, I apologize for the state you are in now," she says. "I wish... M'shk has never been the same since Carhon left."

Shepard steps forward. "I take it you're related to Carhon, then," she says.

"I am," says the lady. "Please, call me M'yask." She frowns. "I have to admit, I never thought I'd speak with a group of _humans _who look reasonable."

I cross my arms, biting my lower lip. Thankfully for me, it's Kasumi who speaks next. "Eh, we can be pretty nice," says the thief. "You just have to know what we like."

"Sure," says M'yask as she looks at Shepard. "Carhon... He spoke to me and two of my older siblings about why you're here last night."

I lean forward, as does Shepard. "He did?" she asks. "He told you everything?"

"Yes," says M'yask. "I just... I had to see you for myself first." M'yask then steps forward. "Why?"

I blink, looking at her. "Why risk our necks for something like this?" I ask.

"Yes," says M'yask. "I... It's tough to believe that a group of _humans _are trying to save a bunch of batarians. I thought all humans hated us."

Shepard steps forward. "Some do," she says. "But there are bad humans out there, just like there are bad batarians. This isn't about old hatreds, M'yask. This is about many other things."

"But you're the Demon of Elysium," says M'yask. "You slaughtered several thousands of batarians..."

"I did it to protect civilians on Elysium," Shepard says. "The batarians there were killing civilians and taking them captive. I didn't have a choice, and I did what I did to save them." M'yask moves to ask something, but then Shepard raises her hand. "And before you say anything, no, not all of these civilians were human. One of my greatest allies on Elysium was actually a turian. And there were a couple of asari that I was trying to defend as well."

"You defended non-humans?" asks M'yask. "But... You don't like aliens. That's what the Hegemony says."

I roll my eyes, even as Shepard falters slightly. However, she immediately looks back at M'yask. "The Hegemony said that?" she asks. "I wouldn't believe them if I were you. All life is important in this galaxy, M'yask. I'm here to help your people in whatever capacity I can."

"But you hate batarians!" says M'yask. "That's what everyone in batarian space says!"

Shepard shakes her head. "It doesn't matter what anybody else says," says Shepard. "What people say about my beliefs are isn't relevant. The greatest threat to our existence is crawling down on us, and soon enough we'll have to put prejudices aside to help make sure we can all come out alive. Because if we don't, then all of us will pay, not just our respective species." She shakes her head, walking up to the cell door. "But even with that, there's another issue, and in my opinion it's the more important reason. You're a batarian. Frankly, M'yask, I couldn't care less. Elysium or no Elysium, you're still people. And when there is a threat that threatens to exterminate people, I can't stand there and do nothing about it. I have to act. And the fact that you have two extra eyes doesn't change that. I came here to save people. At the end of the day, all we really are is people, regardless of what species we are."

...

Wow, Shepard... Hoo...

I missed your epic speeches, Shepard.

M'yask seems to feel a little weak in the knees as she looks away. "I... I have never heard someone speak like that before," she says. "You would make a wonderful propaganda master for the Hegemony."

I roll my eyes. "She would, but that's not likely," I say. "You satisfied?"

"More than I ever thought I would be," says M'yask. She pauses, then looks right at Shepard. "I... You're doing a great thing, De-... Shepard." She pauses, looking down at the ground. "It feels so strange, saying "Shepard". All anyone ever talks about is how evil you are. And yet..." She pauses. "I'm sorry. This is a lot to digest."

"It's all right," says Shepard. "I understand. I've seen more than my fair share of people who have had to adjust their thinking."

M'yask nods. "I... I kind of came up here to see if my faith in Carhon was well-placed." She looks directly at Shepard. "I'm glad to see my doubts were wrong." She leans closer. "There isn't much I can do to help convince M'shk to do something about it. Carhon will have to do that himself. But for what it's worth... I know a few merchants on this colony that have some ships that are large enough to fit small groups of people. I can warn them about this. It's not an official evacuation, but... I can begin helping with that"

Shepard nods. "It can still save lives," she says. "And time isn't on our side, so we can't be picky."

"That's true," says M'yask. "Though... I don't think we'll be able to evacuate all three hundred thousand people in time. And it'll be meaningless if the Hegemony stops the evacuation efforts before they even begin."

Shepard nods. "I have it covered," she says.

"You have it covered?" asks M'yask. "How?"

"I have my ways," says Shepard. "Mainly, involving Council ships that are currently on standby until I give the word."

M'yask looks to Shepard. "And they will help us," she says.

"I have Spectre authority," says Shepard. "And I patched into the Council on my way to this colony. They've agreed to help evacuate people here." She then nods, looking at M'yask. "Go tell those merchants. The sooner you can help people, the better."

M'yask nods. "I'll get right on it."

And with this, M'yask leaves. I watch her walk quickly down the hall, and then I notice that the two batarian guards that were guarding our door are suddenly nowhere to be found. I frown, putting my hands on the bars and looking around as...

"Hey, where'd the guards go?" I ask.

"Oh, you didn't notice?" asks Kasumi.

"Yeah, they went off right as soon as she came in," says Jenny. "Looks like they were caterin' to 'er or somethin'."

"That's what it looks like," I comment. I then turn to Shepard. "Well, it's a start. That's better than nothing, really."

"It is," Shepard agrees. She sighs. "It's been a while since I talked about Elysium."

I blink, looking at her. "So there was really a turian on Elysium?"

Shepard nods. "He was on leave, just like I was," she says. "He... He didn't live to see the Blitz end." She sighs, looking wistfully up at the ceiling. For a second, I can almost see a flash of fond nostalgia cross her face, her resolve temporarily breaking. "It's funny how the first person I've ever really told about him was a batarian. I don't talk about him all that much, though, but all I'll say? He was a good man..."

I look at Shepard. "Story for another day?" I ask.

"Story for another day," she replies. "For now, we have to hope that Carhon can convince his brother to help evacuate the colony. Because once that happens, that's when we can really begin helping."

I nod. "Yeah," I say. "Let's just hope..."

* * *

><p><strong>*Carhon Erash POV*<strong>

I end up walking with Skresh and Vag'rash to my father's old office. I walk rather quickly, as the slave who was sent to fetch me told me that my brother was very upset and needed to speak with me right away. M'yask is nowhere to be found, but we couldn't concentrate on that. For now... there's only this.

Before I even know it, I've walked into my father's old office. And it still looks exactly the same, with the framed paintings of old people in the Erash family hanging on the walls. I never got used to how regal they all looked in those military uniforms with all the medals sort of sitting there over their hearts, but they're still there. The room is spacious, but my attention is directed to M'shk, who is sitting there looking greatly displeased. He looks at the front of the desk with a frown before looking up at Skresh, Vag'rash, and myself.

As soon as he stands, his attention turns to the twins. "So they know," he says.

"Yes," says Vag'rash.

M'shk nods. "The Hegemony knew about Shepard as well," he says. "They denied the information, but..." He looks up at me. "You're right, Carhon. I'm not an idiot. I could see it in the way they moved that I know something I shouldn't know."

"So why do you look so upset?" I ask.

"The Hegemony explicitly told me to do nothing about Shepard," he says. "They never even suggested 'turn her back in to the Council'. They cited a strain on resources as the reason why I should stay there, but I know they're just covering their asses. They'll be sending an assassin here in a week, I'm guessing. I've become a liability." He then turns to look at me. "By association, you've put the entire Erash family in danger with this, Carhon. I don't want to regret letting you back into this house."

I nod. "I promise you won't," I say, opening my omni-tool and again showing this countdown. "I said this was a countdown to a catastrophe. It's..." I close it, opening Madison's file on the Reapers and the file Shepard gave me with the Council's research into the Reapers. "Have you ever heard of the Reapers, M'shk."

"The Reapers?" asks M'shk. "I can't say I really have."

I nod, opening Madison's file and showing all the information. "Most people didn't think they existed until recently, even in Council space," I comment. "And I can't blame them: the concept is so horrifying that I don't think most people _want _to believe that it's something that's real." M'shk walks up to me and looks at this data. "The Reapers are a race of sentient starships that, according to Shepard, are bent on the harvesting of all organic life. It sounds crazy, I know, but there's proof that they exist, trust me." I gesture to my omni-tool. "The data's all here."

M'shk leans forward, and begins reading my data. I glance to Vag'rash and Skresh to see them both looking at me. I notice one of Vag'rash's lips graze over his bottom teeth nervously, an action I find myself mirroring subconsciously. I myself am holding my breath... I hope my brother accepts this.

After a few minutes, M'shk nods. "This is extensive, brother," he concedes. "But are we sure this is a threat?"

I nod. "You remember Saren, right?"

"Of course," says M'shk. "The Hegemony made plenty of propaganda about it. Said the Demon of Elysium was trying to curry favor with the rest of the galaxy."

I nod. "That ship that Saren was piloting wasn't geth technology," I say. "It was a Reaper."

M'shk nods. "I see..." he says, rubbing his chin. "And how does that relate to why you returned to Aratoht?"

I close Madison's files, opening the countdown again. "The mass relay in the Bahak system is a special kind of relay that grants the Reapers access to the entire rest of the galaxy," I reply. "If we don't destroy that relay before this countdown reaches zero, then the Reapers will invade the entire galaxy. And it won't just be the Council's problem: it will be the Hegemony's problem as well. In fact, it will be everybody's problem."

"And how do you know that?" asks M'shk.

"Shepard had conversations with one of them," I reply. "The Reapers... They don't sound like good news. The Alliance knows that they're extremely dangerous, and that this threat will destroy everything if we don't deal with it now."

M'shk frowns, glancing at the counter before looking at Skresh and Vag'rash. "And that's why Amanda Kenson wanted to crash that asteroid into the relay," he says. He shakes his head. "So you're going to finish what she started."

"We don't have a choice, M'shk," I comment. "It's destroy the relay or allow the Reapers to invade when we're not ready." I pause. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

I see M'shk look at me curiously. "Interesting quote," says M'shk. "Where did you get it?"

"This old human movie, believe it or not. It's a long story, M'shk, and I don't think it would be a good idea to ask about that now of all times." I step towards M'shk. "But we've taken a third option. Shepard and I are here because we want to make sure that we can evacuate as much of the colony as possible before we have to destroy this relay," I say.

"The Demon of Elysium? Helping batarians?" asks M'shk. "That's..." I shake my head. "I don't know..."

"Believe me, she wants to help," I reply.

M'shk sighs. "If the Hegemony had not confirmed what you said by how they acted, then I would've called you crazy," he says. "Either way, this is a hell of a thing to ask me for only having been home for less than a day."

I glance at the counter. "Shepard came here with only two days to attempt to evacuate a colony," I comment. "She figured she might have been arrested. But she came here anyway, because she wants to help evacuate these people."

M'shk frowns. "And that's why she risked that much," he says... He breathes in through his nose. "I... I'm sorry, this is a lot to process. This information, and then all this information about the Reapers..."

"The Council did their own independent research based on data Shepard found," I reply. "They came to the conclusion that the Reapers exist."

"I see..." says M'shk. "I... This is..."

"I know it's difficult to believe, and I know it's disturbing," I reply. "And I know you're probably angry at me, but-"

"I didn't say it was difficult to believe, Carhon," says M'shk. "I don't have to say such things, but with all this evidence you've showed me of the Reapers' existence..." He shakes his head and raises his hand. "This is actually worse for me than you might think. It could end my political career."

...

Of all the...?

"We're talking about the lives of fifty thousand colonists here, and all you're concerned about is your fucking political career?" I shout suddenly.

"Seriously, M'shk?" Skresh asks. "You're doing _that_?"

"Relax." M'shk holds his hand up. "Politically, I'm likely in a bad place anyway for mentioning what I did about the De... _Shepard_." He pauses walking to his desk. "But there's another, more problematic piece of information that could end my career, not to mention stop all efforts to help this colony before they even start. And I think it would be of interest to the Commander." He then opens one of the drawers in the desk, and pulls out a datapad. "I guess Shepard hopes that the Hegemony can help fight these Reapers, right?"

"Well... yes," I reply. "Why... Why are you bringing it up? And why the hell does it concern your political career?"

He nods, coming up to me with the datapad. "Brother..." M'shk shakes his head. "The Hegemony is running experiments on the Leviathan of Dis. They asked me for volunteers to the project, and I sent them a few of our colonists. I haven't heard back from the colonists, but the Hegemony did give me statistics on the Leviathan and what has happened with it."

He then holds the datapad to me. "Seeing what you just showed me, I don't think the Hegemony will want to help Shepard."

"And why not?" I ask.

He looks to me, and I notice a desperate edge in the way he looks at me. "If your information is correct, and if some information the Hegemony gave me recently to update me on the status of the experiments on the Leviathan is any indication..." He shakes his head, closing his eyes.

"It looks like the Leviathan of Dis is probably a Reaper."

...

"_What?_"

I practically rip the datapad out of his hands, and I only notice that he willingly let go because of the fact that he doesn't act at all surprised. I look at the datapad... I... No way... That's a picture of Sovereign... But there are batarians around there... And these resource counts... So similar. And the way... No...

Oh, no...

I look up to M'shk. "Holy shit," I say. "It _does _look like a Reaper."

"I thought that might be your reaction," he says. "I'm not an idiot, Carhon. You're right that I shouldn't be stressing out about my political career with this. But since I'm already likely in hot water with the Hegemony..." He smirks, looking at me. "Remember when we used to prank father as little kids, brother?"

I give him an odd look. "This is an... _odd _time to bring this up," I comment. "But yes. Why?"

M'shk nods. "I think we're about to do something like that again," he says. "I know the Hegemony would never agree to this evacuation of the colony, especially not if they knew that it involved ships that were similar in design to the Leviathan of Dis." He then looks to me. "But we have no other way of getting my people out of here."

I blink, looking at M'shk. "So you'll help get these people out of here?"

My younger brother looks at me. "I'm still angry that you left the way you did," he says. "But this isn't about that." He then picks up a picture of father. "I'm not completely like father. I do actually feel a responsibility to the people of Aratoht. These are people I grew up with. And... I would be just like my father if I were to abandon them now."

I blink. "Well, uh..." I say. "Shepard probably has a solution, if you'll let her out so we can talk about it."

M'shk nods. "Then let's get going," he says. "If we only have thirty-two hours to stop a Reaper invasion while still saving this colony... We should get moving." He then nods to Vag'rash and Skresh. "Come on."

With this, he walks to the door of his office. I look at Vag'rash and Skresh in surprise. I...

Vag'rash shakes his head. "I have to say, I was not expecting it to go that well," he comments.

"Neither was I," I say. "Come on. We can't let this go to waste."

And with this, I walk toward the door, following M'shk rather quickly.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

We've barely sat down from having heard M'yask's bit when we hear more footsteps again. I stand up, and look outside of the door. I glance back to Shepard, looking at her as we hear the footsteps get closer. I see everyone else stand up, and before I know it I see the guards. I then notice that Carhon, M'shk, and two of the other batarians that were present when we got off the shuttle are standing in front of us.

I lean forward, looking at them. "Oh, boy," I comment. "Looks like we've finally got something here."

"You see that right, Art," says Carhon. "I... I can't believe this either."

"Believe what?" asks Kasumi.

M'shk comes up to the doors. "You did not come here to destroy us," he says.

Shepard shakes her head. "Not at all," she says. "I actually spoke with your sister about that. I told her that I don't care about species: people are still people. And your people are going to be in grave danger."

M'shk nods. "Then I think I have seen all I need to," he says. "Guards, release them."

I barely have time to register what the head of this place says before suddenly, the door is open.

...

Holy shit...

"Wait, so here's the part where we just waltz right out?" asks Jenny. "You aren't foosterin' for an execution or somethin'?"

All of the batarians in front of us turn to each other. "Foosterin'?" asks one of the guards.

"Uh, I think that's Irish slang, sir," Kal'Reegar comments.

Shepard nods. "I see," she says, walking up to the batarians. She then stands directly in front of them, and when they do nothing, I notice...

Holy shit, these guys are for real! Then that means...

Yes! Carhon did what he needed to!

I pump my fist, stepping out after Shepard. Kasumi follows my lead almost immediately, and then Jenny and Kal are both following suit. Shepard nods, looking at M'shk with a thoroughly pleased expression on her face.

"Well, I'm glad you could see reason," Shepard says.

"Some people in the Hegemony have labelled me as something of a rebel," M'shk replies. "I think that's about to be quite solidified here."

"That's what it seems like," says Shepard. "So I take it you know about what is happening to the relay."

"Yes," says M'shk. "Carhon also said you had a solution."

Shepard nods. "Then I need to contact the Council," she says. "I hope you've got the facilities to place that call, M'shk, because it will be quite heavy-duty."

"I do," says M'shk. "Follow me, please." He walks a few paces. "And by the way, Shepard, you were hoping to gain allies out of my superiors?"

Shepard frowns. "It was only a side objective, but yes," she says. "Why?"

M'shk nods grimly. "There's a complication with that," he says. "I'll explain when we're in my house, but if what Carhon has showed me is any indication, I don't think you should expect to get any help from the Hegemony."

I look to Shepard, before glancing right back at M'shk. "What, did the Hegemony find a Reaper or something?" I ask.

Carhon and M'shk look directly at me, their eyes widening in... Wait, why do they look so...

...

"He guessed it immediately, didn't he?" asks Shepard.

"He... he did," says Carhon.

Shepard leans forward. "They haven't been experimenting on it, have they?" she asks.

"Yes, they have," says M'shk. "I was even asked to send them some volunteers to help. Carhon said this was bad..."

"It's even worse than you think," says Shepard as she shakes her head. "The Reapers have the ability to... _indoctrinate _people. You don't even realize that you're carrying out their will until it's too late. If the Hegemony has been experimenting on the Leviathan..." She shakes her head. "Damn it, this is worse than I thought."

I open my mouth, but... Wait, shit, bringing up Carhon's resistance now is a _very _bad move, isn't it? Yeah... Yeah, I won't talk about that. But yeah, the resistance was apparently right to worry about all this. They were right to worry anyway, but now they're more right than they were before.

"Then we'll have to do this without them," says M'shk. "Come. We don't have any time to waste."

* * *

><p><strong>*Madison Paige POV*<strong>

"So _that's _why you nearly showed up late to that shift one time!"

"Yeah. Turns out, my father can't even leave the house. He's been... Well, you know."

"I see... I'm sorry to hear that, Tidoses."

"If you ask me... Well. You know. I managed to see all that footage of him at Shepard's trial, and you know... That was just _bad_, even for him. Honestly, I feel sorry for him."

I nod, looking in Tidoses with an understanding nod.

I'm sitting with Garrus and Tidoses on our time off from a shift. I glance over to the other end of our table at Apollo's Cafe to see Will Moskas and Nadeire both sitting there listening avidly to this. They both look rather happy, and rather well-off thanks to Shepard's trial. I can't believe I didn't meet with these two before, actually.

"Still, it kind of makes you feel bad for him," Will comments. "At least he has you, though."

"Yeah, there's that," Tidoses replies. She then shifts where she is sitting. "And as for you... You look like you're doing really well for yourself."

Nadeire smirks. "I believe Hannah Shepard may have something to do with that."

"Yeah," Will replies. "She gave me _quite _the paycheck for getting the Council to drop charges against her. Honestly, I didn't think you could _pay _a lawyer that much money."

"Trust me, I was also shocked," Nadeire adds. "Honestly, six million credits is nothing to balk at."

I find myself jumping back in my seat. "Six million credits?" I ask incredulously. "Wow, that _is _a lot..."

"It is indeed," says Nadeire.

"We're actually not sure what to do with it," Will comments. "But I'm sure that-"

Garrus' omni-tool suddenly pings rather loudly. The turian jumps up almost immediately, and then he looks at his omni-tool in surprise. "Well, I wasn't expecting this," he says.

"What is it?" I ask.

"It's a call from the Council."

I frown, looking to Tidoses before turning my attention back to Garrus. "Do you think...?" Tidoses asks.

"Probably," he says as he stands up. "I need to find some place more private. I'll be back ASAP."

With this, Garrus walks away from the table, and I watch him as he walks to a more isolated corner and begins speaking with the Council. I turn my attention back to Will and Nadeire right as they look at us in confusion.

"The Council is calling him right now?" asks Nadeire. "Why?"

"Long story," I reply. "And some of it is confidential."

"At least, until Garrus ends that conversation," says Tidoses. "Well, if that conversation is about what we think it is, anyway."

Will and Nadeire lean forward, with Will brushing some of his black hair out of his face. "I see..." says Will. "And it's important, which means..."

"It kind of refers to the Reapers," says Tidoses. "Not in the way you might think, but it refers to the Reapers."

"Ah." Nadeire sits back, crossing his arms. "I take it we will find out about what it entails soon."

"If Garrus doesn't tell us, then the Council's media outlets might," I reply.

"Why?" asks Will.

"Let's just say that this will involve moving ships in the Council Fleets to a certain position," says Tidoses. "That's all I'll say until-"

"-I get back." Garrus sits down at the table, looking at the rest of us. "The call was for what I thought it would be. A portion of the Council's fleet will be going to the Bahak system."

I blink. "So Shepard actually did it," I comment. "I'll be damned..."

"You've probably got Carhon to thank for that," Tidoses adds. "Now, we just wait and see what happens."

Will leans forward. "I'm sorry, but... the Bahak system?" he asks. "Isn't that in batarian space?"

"It is," I comment, leaning forward. "Trust me, they're going there for a good reason."

Nadeire shifts his position in his seat. "Care to enlighten us?" he asks.

"Yeah," says Tidoses. "But you better not tell anyone else. This shit is confidential."

And with this, Tidoses, Garrus, and I begin telling Will and Nadeire about what is happening in the Bahak System.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

"I gotta say, Carhon, the Erash house is actually kinda nice."

Kasumi makes this comment as we all sit in some kind of... dining room, it looks like. I glance up at the white walls, feeling more than a bit unsettled about the fact that there are large portraits of the Erash family sitting there. I know this is supposed to be regal, but I'll be damned if those things don't give me the creeps. Jeez, I almost expect to see an image of Mao Zedong up there.

"You're only saying that 'cause of the pictures up there," Jenny replies.

"Eh, they're not my type of painting," says Kasumi.

I glance at where M'yask, Skresh, and Vag'rash are sitting before I sigh. "None of this is really my type of place, I have to be honest," I comment. "I don't know how you people manage to live in such a cold place like this."

"Cold?" asks Skresh. "This isn't cold."

"To you, it isn't," I comment. "But trust me when I tell you that where I come from, this is..." I shake my head. "I shouldn't be talking about this. Not while we're waiting for M'shk to finish the announcement."

"Yeah," says M'yask. "I asked my merchant friends to help. It took a little convincing, but if they aren't helping get people out now they should be out helping people soon." She looks up. "The Hegemony will not be happy with this."

"I still can't believe that the Leviathan of Dis is a Reaper," Shepard comments. "This is worse than I thought it was."

I nod. "Well... it's all we can do now," I say. "How many ships did you say the Council would send?"

"About... fifty or so," she says. "It's a nice chunk of the Fleet that orbits the Citadel, actually, though they couldn't spare the Destiny Ascension."

"That doesn't surprise me one bit," Jenny replies. "I'm guessin' it's all smaller ships, too."

"It's mostly frigates and maybe two or three cruisers," says Shepard. "Still, it'll hopefully be enough to evacuate the whole colony." She pauses. "And then we take them to Khar'shan after that."

"Khar'shan?" asks Vag'rash. "The Hegemony would never let you in. This would go against everything they have fed to the people, it really does. And before you know it..."

"Nobody else would take so many colonists," she says. "The Hegemony may not want us to bring them there, but unless you can name another batarian colony world we can take them to..."

M'yask, Vag'rash, and Skresh all nod. "I can think of a few places," says M'yask. "But even then, the Hegemony would get involved. We know the Hegemony's politics, Shepard. We know they would never accept something like this whether it's on Khar'shan or a colony world."

"Well, I don't think the Council would take them in," says Kasumi.

"They're providing ships for the evacuation," Skresh points out. "Maybe they'd be willing to take the colony in for now."

"Not for long, though," says Carhon. "The Hegemony's spin doctors will likely come up with some crazy conspiracy theory."

I sigh. "God damn it," I comment.

"This is a right ol' pile o shite," Jenny adds. "We came in not knowin' what we'd do with these poor blokes. Any way we go about it, that Hegemony's gonna be a squealer."

Shepard shakes her head. "We're taking them to Khar'shan," she says. "I know the Hegemony might not be the best place to take them, but on this we'll have to bite the bullet."

"I guess we will," says Carhon as he sighs. He then looks up. "I just hope this doesn't get out of hand, Shepard."

I see the Commander wink at Carhon. "I think you and I both know that this will turn out for the better regardless of the situation."

I raise my eyebrows at her. Before I can comment on this, however, I hear footsteps from the door. I look up there, and then all of us in the room stand up upon seeing M'shk enter. He nods.

"The speech has been made," he says. "Hopefully, it'll be enough."

"It should be," says Shepard. "Now we wait for the Council's ships to arrive."

"They said the ETA was four hours, yes?" asks M'shk.

"Yes," Shepard replies. "Now... we wait."

I sit back down, looking to where Jenny is sitting. Kal'Reegar is of course sitting next to her, looking around the table. I look over to Carhon, and see that he looks visibly nervous.

I nod in his direction, feeling my own heart beat ever faster with each passing second. I hope they're right and that we can evacuate every colonist before we're forced to leave. I just hope they're right about that, at least...

* * *

><p><strong>*Madison Paige POV*<strong>

I sit on the bench next to Garrus. I find myself looking at him as we wait the remaining half hour for our next shift guarding Sparatus to begin. The Presidium is unnaturally busy at this hour, though not as busy as it has been given the departure of some of the Citadel fleets...

I sigh. "I can't believe they did it," I comment.

"I told you they'd do it," says Garrus.

"You did," I comment. "I still can't believe they pulled it off, though. And now, it's... what, a few minutes before the Citadel's fleet will touch down there? I wonder how the Hegemony will react to that."

"I guess we'll see what happens with that soon enough," says Garrus as I lean on his shoulder. "And then Art..."

I nod. "And then he'll be all right," I comment. "And we won't have to worry about three hundred thousand people dying. We did what we could, and that's the important part."

"That sounds about right," he says.

He then looks up at the artificial sky of the Presidium above us. I simply pull myself closer to him, and he makes no objection to this whatsoever. We sit there in this comfortable silence, simply waiting for our shift guarding Councillor Sparatus to begin. I very nearly close my eyes when his chest suddenly moves ever so slightly.

"You know, Madison..." he says. "One of these days, I'd like to go to the top of the Presidium."

I open my eyes, looking up at Garrus. "Really?" I ask.

"Yeah," says Garrus. "I've never been allowed there because of all these C-Sec regulations, and yet... I've always wanted to go there, shoot some bottles."

I chuckle. "Garrus, you know I'm no expert with a sniper rifle," I say.

"I never said anything about _only _sniper rifles," Garrus comments.

"You also didn't say anything about going together," I add, tracing a finger down his chest.

"Really?" asks Garrus. "Don't tell me I have to actually say those things now."

I shake my head. "Oh, trust me, that won't be necessary," I reply. "I got that all on my own." I glance up at the Presidium. "You sure that's safe?"

"Well, there wouldn't be fifteen C-Sec regulations in place if it was," Garrus comments. "But at this point, I don't care. And besides..." He looks to me. "I could probably enjoy the view with-"

"Ah, there you are!"

I promptly jolt, whatever mood we were in rapidly vanishing. I sit up, separating from Garrus slightly as we look up at Bailey. He is standing there, looking at us with a look of surprise. I stand up, as does Garrus.

"Bailey," says Garrus. "I didn't realize we were late."

"You're not," says Bailey. "But something else has happened that requires your attention."

I frown. "What?" I ask. "What would require our attention?"

Bailey shakes his head. "You're not gonna believe this, trust me," he says. "But the Council received word that a dreadnaught was allowed to dock at a docking bay on the Presidium without their knowledge."

I frown. "A dreadnaught?" I ask. "What's so unusual about that?"

Bailey shakes his head. "That's the strange part," he says. "By all accounts, it shouldn't be too odd. It's a turian dreadnaught, it came in for scheduled repairs... But there's are two really odd things." He clears his throat. "The first, is that the ship docked in a special docking bay that you need Council clearance to dock at. C-Sec is currently scrambling trying to figure out how that ship docked without getting the Council's okay first."

"And the second thing?" I ask.

"The second thing... You're not going to believe this," Bailey says.

"Well, if being on the Normandy has taught us anything, it's that anything's possible," Garrus replies. "What's the second thing?"

"Garrus..." Bailey shakes his head, leaning closer to us while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"The second thing... this ship is the _Aurigos_."


	30. Chapter 29

_A/N: Well, guys, it's come down to the previous chapters. And yes, this was originally going to be part of the last chapter too. I ended up breaking it up first, though, because it ended up being that both chapters had a _lot_ happen. So to help pacing out a bit, I figured "yeah, let's split this chapter in two parts". So now, this part of the Arrival arc is in two pieces._

_So I mentioned last time that there was a reason I wanted the Arrival Arc finished before NaNo. Why? Well, the end of this chapter contains one of the wildest twists in all of Mass Vexations. I will warn you that it will be a dark twist, but it won't be the end of the series by any stretch of the imagination. So stay tuned, and see where this goes._

_And one other thing, 'cause I can: y'all people need to see Cloud Atlas. Like, right the fuck now. I swear, I have never seen a crazier movie ever. And I know that there are people out there who probably won't like it, but all the same you need to see that movie. Seriously, if I can I'm definitely going to try seeing that movie again, 'cause it's just so damn good it's almost beautiful._

_So yeah. Here's a crazy set of plot twists. Here we go, ladies and gentlemen:_

* * *

><p>Chapter 29: Arrival Part 3: Berg: Three Orchestra Pieces<p>

***Art POV***

The Normandy is the first ship of ours to touch down. The frigate stands majestically on the ground in front of where we landed, where there are God knows how many batarians gathered. I see that there are a few batarians that are standing there skeptically, with many more looking like they're just plain confused. Either way, though, this does _not _look like the whole colony.

I look to Jenny, Kal, and Kasumi as they take stock of the colonists. "Nobody seems to believe it," I comment.

"They'll come out eventually," Kal comments. "Hate to put it like this, but they know where they are. Their superiors gave an order, they'll follow it."

"I don't think 'e invoked those bad eggs at the Hegemony, though," Jenny comments. "But maybe we'll get somethin', y'know?"

I nod. "I'm just glad the ship has enough room to take a few refugees," I comment. "Hopefully Sturge and Gardner won't get too busy."

"They've 'ad worse days," says Jenny. "And if I know 'em both, they'll be right up to speed there. For ol' men, they sure like ta go ninty to the dozen when it comes to what they do."

I nod. "Yeah, Sturge is still pretty spry for an old man," I comment.

Kasumi gives me a look. "I thought you kept on telling him not to say he was old."

I shrug. "In this day and age, he's not," I comment. "But to me, he'll always be the old man."

"He does go on about that a lot, mate," Jenny adds.

"Really?" asks Kasumi. "I've never seen him do that."

"He does it sometimes when you're not around," I comment. "Either way, though, I think he'll be interested to see what happens with all these batarians on board."

"I'm sure the rest of the crew'll appreciate it too," says Kasumi. She then looks at the ship. "Come on. We should be getting back onto the ship. Shepard and Carhon can take it from here."

I nod, and Kasumi, Jenny, Kal, and I all walk towards the ship. As we walk, Kal looks directly at me.

"Wait," he says. "If you're from a different dimension... then does that mean...?"

Ah... I see... "Sturge is also in my predicament," I comment. "We can tell you all about it, trust me."

Kal nods. "I'd be interested to hear that, sir," he says. "I didn't think you'd be close friends with someone like that when he's from a different dimension."

"Yeah, we go a long way back," I comment. "Come on, we'll tell you all about it."

With this, we continue walking towards the Normandy. I glance up, and then see the first of the Council's ships break the line of clouds above the colony. It's... It's actually a very overcast day somehow. And when the Council ship breaks through the atmosphere, it's somehow more menacing than it really has any right to be.

I shiver, but... Well, we're here. Nothing bad could happen now. We'll get these batarians here, stop the arrival... all that jazz.

With this, I continue walking forward, noticing that Kal has started matching Jenny's pace.

* * *

><p><strong>*Madison Paige POV*<strong>

Garrus and I are seated in Bailey's squad car, and the two of us look at the C-SEC captain in disbelief. I sit there, looking at him as he maneuvers his way through the Presidium.

"How the hell did the Aurigos get past an entire fleet of Citadel ships?" I ask. "That just... that doesn't make any sense."

"I wish I knew," Bailey replies. "We've got four teams of C-Sec officers gathering at the docking bay now, and the Council has personally requested to treat this as a high priority situation. In the meantime, they are being moved to a location outside of the Presidium. We're assuming the Council is going to board the Destiny Ascension in the event that they need to be evacuated."

"So they're just running away," says Garrus.

"It's safer," I point out. "Did anyone else go with them?"

"They permitted that batarian, those quarian admirals, and that krogan princess from Sur'Kesh to come with them, I think," says Bailey. "And maybe a few others. I don't know."

I shrug. "It's probably a good move," I comment. "Besides, we don't really know what's on the Aurigos, and if the servants of the Reapers are there, you can't be too careful. Assuming the Reapers don't come, the Destiny Ascension is probably the safest place they can be."

"I don't know," says Garrus. "It just sounds like they're running away."

I shake my head as Bailey pulls the cruiser in. "We don't know that," says Bailey. "All that matters now is that the ship is here." The doors of the cruiser open. "Come on."

Garrus and I step off the shuttle immediately, with Bailey trailing behind. As soon as we get there, I look around at the C-Sec teams all around the dock. They all seem to be preparing various things. Some of them are putting breather helmets on, some are doing last-minute checks on their scopesAnd when I look up...

"Holy shit, it is the _Aurigos_," I point out.

The ship stands there majestically, thought it looks like it has gone through quite a bit. There are multiple holes in the hull, and part of the ship's name looks like it was erased. But as I feel Garrus' talon take my hand, I recognize that this is the _Aurigos _indeed. I look at the many holes, frowning.

"Wait," I comment. "You're sending teams in to take care of this, and they're ignoring the holes in the hull?"

Bailey looks up. "This ship only arrived recently," he says. "We were only able to get the teams here when the Council made looking into this ship a priority."

"Yeah," says Garrus. "Whatever is in there is probably already trying to break out. That's not going to be fun."

"That's what I said when I finally got the order," says Bailey. "With that many holes in the hull, I don't think we're going to be talking with any turians about any misunderstandings when they come out."

I cross my arms. "But what's in there?" I ask. "There aren't turian soldiers, but what would be in there then...?"

I hear a loud clang come from the ship almost as soon as I ask this. Everyone in the area turns to look at the ship, and before I know it, multiple C-Sec strike teams raise their rifles. I turn, looking at Bailey and Garrus before turning my attention back to the ship.

"What the hell was that?" I ask.

"What the hell was that?" I ask.

"It definitely didn't sound like a turian," says Bailey. He then turns to me, looking at my back. "Good thing you're both armed."

I nod, pulling out my pistol almost immediately. "I guess it is," I say.

I hear another loud clang, and then I watch as C-Sec officers take positions all around the _Aurigos_. Garrus and I follow, taking positions right where we can see the highest hole in the dreadnaught. The clangs sound out two more times as the C-Sec officers surround the ship. After a particularly loud clang, I suddenly see blue glowing cybernetics appear. These seem to float in the air, as a series of smaller clangs ring out from there. I hear the C-Sec officers around me shift uncertainly, and I myself glance at Garrus. I just hope...

I then turn my attention back to the cybernetic orbs that levitate.

And not a moment too soon, for what I see... What...? I see what looks like a turian husk. It holds an assault rifle, and it has quite a few cybernetic eyes. It stands tall over everyone, and...

"Holy shit..." I whisper breathlessly. "What...?"

As soon as I see this thing, I suddenly see several more sets of eyes appear all over the _Aurigos_. Slowly, these things begin appearing in all the holes, and they all step out. They look at the rest of the C-Sec officers, and for a split second there's a moment where all is completely silent.

And then, one of the C-Sec officers fires his weapon at one of these... _things_.

And from there, all hell breaks loose. I don't exactly know what happens where, but suddenly everyone is exchanging fire. I myself manage to fire a few shots at one of those turian husks, but then the sheer amount of fire overcomes me and I'm forced back into cover. I quickly look at Garrus, who himself hides behind cover. I hear many yells of C-Sec officers falling, and before long I see that there are fallen officers everywhere. I then watch as several of those turian husks leap over us, and then spread out beyond our area. I shoot at one of these husks, but before I can do too much damage I see them running away.

I panic, immediately standing up. I then feel Garrus grab a hold of my arm and pull me back into cover. The turian fires his assault rifle at the ship, and when I turn back I realize that there are still these husks pouring out of the ship.

Wha...?

"There are still husks in there?" I ask loudly.

"Looks like it," shouts Garrus above the din of the gunfire.

"Holy shit..." I mutter, looking back at all these turian-looking husks. "This is..."

I shake my head, turning towards the _Aurigos_. Damn it, girl, this isn't the time to be distracted!

I faintly see some of the husks drag a few C-Sec officers back into the _Aurigos_, but I concentrate elsewhere as I raise my pistol and begin firing. Another of these turian husks lays some suppressing fire, forcing me back into cover. I simply look at Garrus, only now noticing that Bailey is reloading his assault rifle next to the turian. He looks at me, shaking his head before turning and firing into the turian husks again.

I immediately turn around, firing another few pistol shots into the incoming crowd of turian husks. God damn it, how many of these things are there?

I hear a click from my pistol, and curse loudly as I lean against the guard rail and reload my pistol. It takes a few more seconds, and that's when I look around and see that these turian husks have made short work of most of these C-Sec agents. Only a few scattered agents are left, and it gives most of these turian husks license to begin pushing their advantage.

I thus end up standing up and running as soon as I can. I fire a shot or two into the crowd as Garrus and Bailey both follow. Some of the remaining C-Sec agents follow, and then I see the turian husks begin to pull out what looks like spiked contraptions.

"Damn, they have Dragon's Teeth," says Garrus.

I frown. "The things they used to make those husks?" I ask. "Then that means the Reapers sent the _Aurigos _back!"

"How does that make _any _damn sense?" asks Bailey.

"I have no idea!" I suddenly see a turian husk get uncomfortably close to us. It manages to fire a few shots, but it rebounds off of our shields. I shoot it with my pistol, and...

What the hell?

I then hear an explosion of sparks, and then look at Garrus as he has his omni-tool arm extended. I frown, looking at the husk. I only hesitate for a split second before bringing my pistol up to bear. With a single shot, the husk falls over, dropping its assault rifle and falling to the ground.

"When the hell did they even learn how to use assault rifles?" I ask. "That's just..."

"_Commander Bailey!_"

Wait... Comms are going wild... That means...

Garrus and I immediately look at Bailey, instantly crouching down and taking cover behind the sky car he is kneeling behind. The C-Sec commander quickly picks up. "I'm here!" he says. "What the hell is going on?"

I look to Garrus, and then I find myself placing my hand on my ear. Garrus does something similar, and then we're both leaning close to Bailey.

"_I don't know what it is, sir, but... there are ships everywhere_!"

I frown, looking at Garrus. "Ships everywhere?" I ask. "You don't think...?"

"The Fourth Fleet?" asks Garrus. "I have to admit, that doesn't sound plausible."

"You're preaching to the choir here," says Bailey. "Why hasn't the Council ordered their fleets to fire on these ships?"

"_I think they only _just _found out about these turian... _things_, sir,_" says the C-Sec officer on the other line.

I frown. "We should've expected that!" I comment. "I mean... what the hell were those turian... things?"

"They must've been the turians on the _Aurigos_," says Bailey. "We can't worry about that now."

"He's right," says Garrus. "If I know the Reapers, they sent the Aurigos here for a reason. And if I know them, they probably also engineered it so..."

"Yeah," I say. I look up, breathing in. "But how did they engineer this?" I look at Garrus. "I mean... there's no way Sparatus could've indoctrinated..."

...

Sparatus...

...

_Holy shit!_

I grab Garrus by the shoulders. "Garrus, who's on shift guarding Councillor Sparatus?" I ask.

The turian frowns, looking at me. "Madison?" he asks.

"Garrus, think," I say. "Sparatus was indoctrinated, but once Shepard was out of the way..."

"...What would he have done next...?" Garrus finishes. His eyes widen in momentary shock before he nods. "It was Tidoses and Jacob right now..."

I nod. "Contact them!" I shout. I myself open my omni-tool... Come on, where's the comm channel we agreed on...? Where... there it is!

I open the channel and bring my hand to my ear. "Tidoses!" I shout. "It's Madison!"

"_Madison, there you are!_" Oh, thank goodness, she's all right. "_There are reports of all these turian... _things _appearing everywhere!_"

I frown. "Wait, how'd you find out about that?" I ask.

"_You were late for your shift, so I went to go seek you out,_" she says. "_But then, on my way out, I caught a snippet of that on the news. Where the hell are you?_"

I glance behind us. "We were actually just at the _Aurigos_," I reply. "How bad is it?"

"_You were...? How the hell did the...?_" I can almost imagine Tidoses shaking her head. "_No, never mind. I just didn't think... That's not important. The important part is that... There are multiple turian ships forcing themselves into various docks on the Citadel. From what the news stations have told us, the Council's fleets have started reflexively opening fire on some of these turian ships coming in, but it's not enough. These things are already all over the place._"

I nod. "Right," I say. "Tidoses, get back to Sparatus. I think these things may be after him."

Tidoses pauses briefly. "_Yeah,_" she says. "_Yeah, that looks like it makes sense. If Sparatus is a servant of the Reapers now..._" I hear footsteps. "_I'm heading back to my post!_"

I nod. "You do that," I say. I look to Bailey, and then point at the sky-car. "We're heading over there now. Do _not _let these things get anywhere _near _Sparatus until we get there."

"_I would just execute him,_" says Tidoses.

I glance over at Bailey. On the one hand, it would go against the Council's orders. And that would not be pleasant, since that would mean the Hierarchy would get very annoyed. But on the other... On the off chance that these things do get close to Sparatus...

I nod. "Yeah, that may be a better idea," I comment. "Yeah. You go there... and do what has to be done."

"_Of course,_" says Tidoses. "_Spirits help us all._"

With this, I close the connection, looking to Garrus. "And now you're giving orders," he says.

"You would've said the same thing," I comment.

The turian nods, looking to Bailey. "True," Garrus replies. "Bailey?"

"I've got C-Sec strike teams coming up all over the place," Bailey says. His eyes look around. "I don't know if it'll be enough, though. If you think they may be after Sparatus..."

Garrus nods. "We need to stop them from getting to him," he says.

"What would he do, anyway?" asks Bailey.

Garrus shakes his head. "The same thing Saren nearly did three years ago," he says. "We need to get back there, now. We might even need to kill him, if that's what it'll take to keep these turian husks from..."

I shake my head. "We're wasting time here," I point out. "We need to get moving, now!"

"The squad car is only a few spaces away," says Bailey as he pulls out his keys. "Come on!"

With this, I rise up out of cover, seeing a turian husk appear. I watch as Garrus unleashes an overload on this strange turian husk, and then I fire a couple of bullets into the husk's corpse. We then make a break for Bailey's squad car, my footsteps feeling especially light on the ground.

* * *

><p><strong>*Albert Shepard POV*<strong>

I sit in the laboratory space, looking ahead. I glance over to where Liselle and Mordin are sitting around. Jack is outside the room, and I think she went to go check on the hangar bay. Right now, we're far enough from the artifact that we can see it through the view finder. I look up, checking the counter on my omni-tool again. It's still ticking in at around... twenty-seven hours until the arrival of the Reapers. I look back up, watching as the Object lets out another pulse.

"Those pulses are coming in faster," says Liselle.

"Dr. Kenson did tell Shepard that the pulses get faster as we approach the arrival of the Reapers," I comment. "Still, I didn't think they'd come in this fast."

"Odd anomaly," says Mordin. "Not important. Shepard evacuating colonists."

I look up at the video feed. "I wonder how far they've gotten in that," I comment. "They can't have gotten too far."

"I dunno," says Liselle. "I'll bet you they did this without the Hegemony there."

"Well, we can't exactly wait for the Hegemony to say anything," I comment.

"Hegemony shown to be unreasonable," adds Mordin. "Would take too long. Reapers arrive. Colonists dead. Bad leadership."

"I wasn't saying they should've," says Liselle. "'Sides, the Hegemony can be real crooked sons of bitches. You can ask my mother about that one of these days. One time, she-"

We're suddenly interrupted by the door opening. We all look at the door, watching as Jack stands there with a confused expression on her face. I raise my eyebrows at her as she walks in.

I don't realize that her eyes seem wide in uncharacteristic fear until she literally grabs my wrist and hauls me to my feet.

I frown. "Jack?" I ask.

"Something fucked up is going on," she says. "And I don't know what the fuck is happening with that."

"What's going on?" asks Liselle.

Jack pulls me to the door. "I don't know, but the counter is moving faster than it should be."

...

"W-what?" I ask.

"Yeah!" says Jack. She then pulls me out the door. "You need to see this!"

I look to Liselle and Mordin, before holding my hands up as I turn to Jack. "Hold on there," I say. "You sure the counter is moving fast?"

Jack frowns, and then turns around to look at the nearby console. She then walks up to it, and then manipulates the controls. I glance up at the video screen right when the image of Object Rho fades from view, and then I watch as a different image comes up.

... That's the counter all right, but... Why's the seconds counter moving so fast? And for that matter... Wait... Didn't we have twenty-seven hours? Why do we suddenly have twenty-four hours?

I frown, opening up my omni-tool. Yes, that's the counter, but...

...

"Something's wrong," I say, pointing out how the counter on my omni-tool is still set at twenty-seven hours until the arrival. "This shouldn't be happening." I look right at Mordin. "Mordin, run a systems diagnostic. Maybe there's a malfunction with the equipment somewhere."

Mordin nods, and then walks up to a different terminal. Liselle looks at the salarian before looking at Jack. "Really?" Liselle asks. "You're putting up a storm over a counter being all wonky?"

"It's just fuckin' weird," says Jack.

"And besides, this is an important counter," I comment. "If it's malfunctioning in any way, it needs to be fixed. Sure, we have it on our omni-tools, but... well, it would be nice to reference it to the actual thing."

"Yeah," says Jack as she looks at me. "I just wonder why the fuck it would do something like that." She looks outside. "How the fuck does it work, anyway?"

"Measures intervals of time between pulses," Mordin supplies. "Object gives off pulses. As Dr. Kenson said, more frequent with Reapers' approach." He looks at the console. "Diagnostic almost..." The console pings. "Finished. Hm..." We then turn to Dr. Solus as he leans over the console. He examines the results, and looks at the console strangely.

"Odd," he says. "No anomaly detected."

I frown. "What?" I ask. "There has to be some mistake. Run the diagnostic again!"

Mordin nods, and then we sit there and wait for another minute or so for the diagnostic to finish again. When the console pings a second time, Mordin leans further towards the console, looking with an expression of confusion.

"Same result," says Mordin.

"What?" asks Liselle. "How the fuck does that happen?"

"Yeah, I'm with the crime boss on this one," says Jack. "What the fuck is going on here?"

"I... I don't know," I say, looking at the video of the counter above the hangar bay again. "This doesn't make any sense! Why would the counter suddenly speed up like-?"

"_Human. You have changed_ nothing."

We suddenly freeze at the deep voice that unexpectedly booms within the room. I look to my left to the communications console that sits there, and we all look at it with gazes of shock.

"W... What the fuck was that?" asks Liselle.

"_Asari_," the voice booms again. "_You are incapable of understanding. It is irrelevant._"

I see the form of a strange-looking ship suddenly appear on the comm unit's display. It looks almost squid-like, and it projects a yellow projection above the comm unit.

...

Wait...

"That ship design," says Mordin. "Reaper? Yes, only possible explanation."

"_This countdown is not incorrect,_" says the Reaper. "_You cannot stop the arrival._"_  
><em>

I lean forward. "That's where you're wrong," I say. "We've taken this asteroid, and we're going to ram it into the relay."_  
><em>

"And there's not a single fuckin' thing you can do about it!" Jack adds.

"_Insolence, borne of misunderstanding,_" says the Reaper. "_The alpha relay is only one piece, a piece that will be skipped. And you would sacrifice a star system to stop us. There are other ways. Our arrival is inevitable._"

"Maybe not today," says Liselle.

"_You are ignorant,_" says the Reaper. "_Your actions are insignificant._"

I lean forward. "Maybe you're right, and we can't win this war," I reply. "But we'll fight it anyway. Just like we did with Sovereign. Just like we did with the Collectors. And just like we're doing now." I change the weight on my feet. "However 'insignificant' we might be, we will fight. We _will _find a way. That's what sentient life does. And you will never understand that."

"_Foolish words,_" says the Reaper deliberately. "_Know this as you die in vain: you and your species are doomed, like the galaxy you seek to destroy. Your time will come. It is inevitable._"

And with this, I watch as the image of the reaper disappears. I look at the comm units for a few more seconds, before shaking my head.

"That was... creepy," I comment. "How did it do that?"

"Maybe the artifact," says Liselle. "That's not important though." She then looks at the video of the timer. "The point is..." She frowns, leaning forward. "Wait, the timer... It says we now only have twenty hours to stop the arrival!"

I jolt, looking at the counter and...

"Holy shit, you're right!" I say.

"Wait," says Jack. "If that timer's acting all fucked up, and we just saw that freaky-ass Reaper talk to us..." She then looks up to the rest of us. "You don't think..."

I shake my head. "Holy _fuck_," I comment.

I then rush right over to the comms console, opening it. Come on, come on... yes!

I open a comm line to the Normandy.

"Joker! EDI!" I shout. "Tell me you're there."

"_Oh, relax,_" says Joker on the other end of the line. "_We're just chillin' here, waiting for batarian refugees._"

I shake my head. "Where's Shepard?" I ask. "Something happened up here, and it needs her immediate attention."

"_What, did Dr. Kenson come back from the dead or something?_" Joker asks non-chalantly.

I shake my head. "It's worse than that, Joker" I reply. "It's far, _far _worse than that."

* * *

><p><strong>*Tidoses Mirani POV*<strong>

I step quickly into the facility. Right... it was take a left there, and then a right down the hall, and then you just take the stairs down to solitary. Or something like that. I quickly run through the prison. The guards I do run into yell at me, but I pay them no heed.

Damn it, I always knew Councillor Sparatus needed to die. Well... I guess the phrase 'better late than never' applies here. I would've slit his throat myself a while ago, Hierarchy be damned.

Well, I can't think about that now. Now, it's just do time.

I quickly turn to the staircase that would take me down to solitary. It's not the only staircase down there, but it's the one closest to the door. I quickly run down the stairs, pulling out my assault rifle as I make my way down there. I lift it up, quickly checking the sights and my ammo count as I move down the stairs. If this motherfucker doesn't die now...

I get down to the bottom of the stairs. All right, it was cell D14 in solitary. Okay. This is going to-

Right as I move my right foot forward, I hear the sound of a gunshot going off.

...

W... what the...?

Spirits! That came from the direction of Sparatus' cell block!

I find myself sprinting towards the source as seven or eight more gunshots sound. No! That's... Damn it, I should've expected Sparatus would have an ace up his sleeve! I knew we should've just killed him on the spot!

Damn it!

I quickly run over, flattening myself against the wall. I peek over quickly, seeing... spirits...

I see the bodies of three C-Sec guards there. One of them is a salarian who is slowly crawling away, grunting and pulling himself in my direction. Behind him, I see the bodies of two turians laying there, both with bullet holes riddling their torsos. They're bleeding out on the floor, and... Oh, Spirits...

That's when I see Jacob laying face-down in a pool of his own blood and a gaping hole in the back of his head.

Jesus... But what...?

I look up immediately to see that there are two turian officers who have unlocked the cell. They nod to Sparatus, who stands there with a smile on his face. I watch from behind cover, glancing at the salarian who has just noticed my presence there.

...

Those bastards! I _knew _something was up! And one of them was the turian who was always receiving messages! Damn it, I should've known...

"Well, here we are, Councillor," says one of the turian guards who let him out. "You know what must be done."

"I do," he says. "I need to go to the Council Chambers."

"Can do," says one of the guards.

Said guard then raises his pistol, aiming it at the back of the salarian's head.

And before the guard can pull the trigger, I come out from behind cover. I fire my assault rifle at the guard who raised his pistol at the salarian. The rounds begin by pinging off of his shields, but then I get him in the face. I immediately turn my attention to Sparatus, but by the time I have done so he is already sprinting down the hall. He is also being shoved slightly by the guard, who is standing directly in my line of fire.

Like that makes a difference. I shoot at the guard who is blocking my sight on Sparatus, coming out of cover and seeing the guard's own rounds ping off my shields. I don't pay it any mind, though, because I'm faster with an assault rifle. I take his shields down, and then subsequently shoot him in the face.

I turn to aim at Sparatus when he darts down the corner. And I don't mean just darts the corner. He _literally _leaps into the corner like... a bullfrog? That human animal? Yeah, a bullfrog.

"Shit!" I run down the hallway, turning the corner as soon as I get there.

But right as I do, I notice that Sparatus has seemingly vanished into thin air. I... what? What the hell...?

I then hear the sounds of complete chaos in the floors above me. I look up there, eyeing a nearby pair of stairs and looking for it.

Before I can comment on this, though, a klaxon sounds nearby, and suddenly all the cells surrounding me are opened. I suddenly start turning around, looking at all of the prisoners that are suddenly eyeing me with... with...

Oh, you gotta be fucking _kidding _me!

I look to my left at a particularly intimidating-looking krogan, but I don't give him any quarter before I turn my rifle towards him and fire at least six rounds into his chest. I hear another solitary confinement prisoner unleash a scream at me, but I duck under him and pump him full of mass accelerator rounds too. I find myself laying on the floor, seeing all of these other prisoners stepping out...

Damn it! Sparatus had this all planned!

I quickly turn, scrambling to my feet. Damn it, I have to get out of here, but first... there's that salarian. I turn down the corner, seeing that by some miracle the salarian is still laying there. By some miracle, he's able to turn to me while still conscious. Sensing that I won't have much time to help out, I store my assault rifle and open my omni-tool. All right, there we go...

I eventually kneel right next to the salarian, and immediately apply the dose of medi-gel to the salarian. He sighs in relief, and that's when I notice that he only got hit in the stomach.

I nod, quickly pulling him to his feet and sparing a glance behind me. I see a pair of rather menacing-looking krogan snarling at me, with a rather displeased-looking turian staring directly at me. I quickly turn around, running away with the salarian's arm draped around my shoulder.

Damn it... Damn it, Sparatus has escaped. He's escaped, and right now I need to get out of here. But first...

I look to the salarian. "Are you all right?" I ask.

"I... I think so," he says. "It just... it happened so suddenly. One moment, Jacob and I were actually having a conversation. And then the next, Kalrax just walks up to him, puts a pistol to the back of his head, and kills him... I... Holy _fuck_..."

I nod as I get to the stairs. I grab my own pistol mounting the stairs. "Well, we can't worry about that now," I say. "Sparatus is on the loose, and... I don't think he's got good things in mind for us." I open my omni-tool immediately, pushing the salarian slightly ahead of me up the stairs. Okay... Yes, that's Madison's contact information...

I quickly open the line, and not a moment too soon: I see a human prisoner trying to get to me. With a single pistol shot to the head, he gets taken down. I hear a weapon get primed behind me, and then I see that the salarian is also pointing a pistol down the stairs. He himself shoots a human prisoner down, right before I put my finger to my head.

"Madison, come in!" I shout.

"_Tidoses?_" asks Madison. "_What's going on?_"

"Sparatus has escaped, that's what's going on!" I shout.

"_W-what?_" I hear Garrus shout in the background.

I look at a salarian prisoner as he and a krogan try to ascend the staircase. I take the salarian down with a headshot before turning my aim to the krogan. My own salarian friend helps me out rather splendidly with this, and we're able to slow his progress.

"Yeah!" I comment. "He had two guards who were directly under his control! I don't know if they were indoctrinated or what, but they were under his control! I tried to shoot him, but the guards were able to shield Sparatus before I could actually get a shot off! And now he's started a prison riot to keep me off his trail!"

"_Do you know where he was going?_" asks Madison.

I turn my attention to the krogan, shooting him down. His body falls down the stairs, and then I quickly turn to the salarian C-Sec officer. He gets the message, and immediately starts running up the stairs.

"He mentioned something about going to the Council Chambers," I reply.

"_Council Chambers..._" I hear Garrus say. "_This isn't good. We need to get there immediately_."

I nod. "You do that," I shout. "I'll see if I can fight my way out of this prison! I'll call you when I get out!"

I immediately cut the connection, and turn to my salarian compatriot. "Come on!" I shout. "Move!"

And with this, the two of us ascend the stairs, breaking out into the main floor where there is an all-out brawl between prisoners, guards, and whoever else is unlucky enough to be caught in the middle. I subconsciously find myself grabbing the salarian officer's wrist, yanking him in a particular direction.

"This way!"

I shout this as I begin shoving through the hordes of people that are currently too busy fighting each other to notice that the Citadel is under attack outside of these prison walls.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

"_What?_ You have to be..."

"_I'm not kidding, Jocelyn. We_ literally _just talked with a Reaper! And then there's the fact that the counter sped up! At the rate it's going... I don't know if I'll be able to tell you when the Reapers arrive! But with the speed it's going at... Mordin estimates we have less than an hour now._"

I look at Shepard in shock where she stands in the Normandy's comm room. M'shk and Carhon are also both standing there, with M'shk somehow having gone pale. I didn't think a batarian could look pale, but... there it is.

I look at the new counter that Albert is showing us, and see that it is in fact moving faster. I mean, Christ... what the hell is up with the seconds part of the counter? It's moving so fast! And the hours hand is sitting there at sixteen hours until the Arrival...

"Damn it," I whisper. "We were supposed to have more time than this!"

Shepard shakes her head. "How the hell did this happen?" she asks. "The Reapers shouldn't be this fast..."

"That isn't important," says M'shk. "What is important..." I see him shudder. "We... We'll have to leave people behind..."

I feel my blood run cold as soon as he says this. "That... That can't be right," I comment. "We're making good progress on it!"

"_Our calculations show that many of the Council's ships have filled with colonists,_" says EDI. "_Even then... not all of the Council's ships have filled. Our current tally of colonists shows that the Council ships have accepted enough colonists that 50,000 colonists are guaranteed to survive._"

"And how many colonists can we save now?" asks Shepard.

"_I cannot provide an accurate estimate of how many we will be able to save with this new information_," says EDI. "_Unless we know exactly when the Reapers will arrive, it will be impossible to estimate how many colonists we can save._"

I look at Shepard. "But we can't save everyone?" I ask.

"_It is statistically unlikely with this new information._"

...

Oh my God... Oh my _fucking _god... We did all this... we did all this to save the colony...

And in the end, it didn't even fucking matter anyway...

My breath becomes rather ragged, even as I find myself leaning against the wall. I look to Shepard with a horrified expression on my face.

And apparently, she's thinking the same thing. "Damn it..." she says. She shakes her head.

"You saved some," says M'shk. "At least a sixth of the colony will survive. I personally would not want to stand here and find out what happens if the Reapers come."

"It should have been more," she says. "Al... I know that you're not down here, but..."

"_I don't know if we can wait, Joc,_" Al comment. "_The hours hand is winding down fast. And at the end of it... We can't risk it._" I hear Al take a ragged breath on the other side of the line. "_You don't know how badly I want to help them, Joc, but we can't wait here and find out..._"_  
><em>

I feel a tear run down my face as Al says this. "Shit..." I mutter under my breath.

We all look to Shepard almost immediately. Her expression is now morose, and she looks like she really doesn't want to do what has to be done. And who can blame her? This is just... damn it...

I turn to Shepard, with M'shk and Carhon both looking uncertain behind her. Especially M'shk. This has gotta be...

M'shk nods. "If these Reapers truly need to be stopped..." he says.

"Then I have to do what needs to be done," says Shepard, her voice breaking just a little bit. She nods, and then looks up at the room. "EDI... Tell the Council ships to get as many refugees into the ships as we can. We're getting out of here in one minute."

I feel the urge to sniff. "_Of course, Commander,_" says EDI.

"All right," says Shepard. "Al, prepare to activate the Project."

"_Can do, Joc,_" says Al._  
><em>

With this, the lights come back on in the room, and the comm line cuts. I look over to M'shk and Carhon, both of who are looking at each other in dismay.

"Is the rest of the family here?" asks M'shk.

"They're hanging out around the crew deck," I reply. "We've also got a few other colonists on this ship as well."

Shepard nods, turning to M'shk. "I'm sorry," she says. "I'm so sorry..."

M'shk nods. "We did what we could," he says. "Some people surviving is far better than nobody at all."

"Doesn't make it suck any less," I comment morosely. "This is..." I sniff. "Damn it!"

Shepard nods. "I'll be in my cabin," she says. "Don't let anyone disturb me, EDI."

With this, Shepard leaves the comm room. I look to the door, briefly seeing that Kaidan is standing there. He looks at Shepard as she passes by without even saying a word to him before looking to the rest of us in the comm room.

"Something happened," says Kaidan.

"Yes," says M'shk. "Something unexpected, and something..." He pauses. "Something that's not entirely all that pleasant."

* * *

><p><strong>*Madison Paige POV*<strong>

Bailey drives the squad car really fast. This is thankfully made easier by the fact that skycar traffic over the Presidium has basically vanished since these turian husks came in. We weave around in the non-stuffed waves, seeing the occasional firefight down below where some turian husks deal with some civilians. I simply look away... Damn it... There's so much going on down there...

I then look to the driver of the car, glancing briefly at Garrus from where he sits next to Bailey.

"How much further until the nearest elevator to the Council Chamber?" I ask Bailey.

"We're nearly there," he says. "We're going to the Embassies."

"There'll be an elevator there that can take us to the Council Chambers," Garrus adds. "It's a pretty slow elevator, but it's our best bet to get to the Council Chambers."

I nod. "Are you still sure we should do this alone?" I ask.

"We can't waste any time," says Garrus. "If he's heading to the Council Chambers, he may activate the Citadel as a relay. If that happens, we're all screwed. We can't wait to gather everyone else!"

I nod. "I just hope things don't get too out of-"

Our vehicle suddenly jolts to the right, as if something hit us. I let out a loud yelp as the squad car is violently pushed to the side by some outside force. I grip the seat in front of me with a very harsh grip, looking as Bailey scrambles to get the squad car under his control again. I look immediately to my left to find a squad car that just pulled away from us, and it looks like...

"Crap, Bailey, get this car down!"

Bailey manages to retake control of the car, and the car dips down sharply. It's not enough, however, for then the car shakes from the force of the opposing shuttle driving right over us. I then look to my right, watching as the car swerves and hits us again.

"Why the hell is that car trying to take us down?" I ask.

I then watch as the door opens. A figure jumps up, and then lands on the car on top of us. I glance at the driver briefly to see that he's a blonde man... no, _teenager _would be more like it... a blonde teenager with a smile that is a little too broad before I turn my attention back to Garrus as he opens the door.

"Garrus, what the hell are you-?"

"We've got a hostile on the roof!" shouts Garrus. "Madison, I'll need a-"

I then see some rounds ping off of his shields almost immediately.

"Dammit!" He retreats back into the car, but by the time he does I'm already climbing carefully to the front.

"Let me handle this!" I shout, drawing my pistol. "Hold me in place!"

Garrus nods, and then helps me to the front of the car. I then poke my torso out of the car, with Garrus grabbing a hold of my waist as I position myself so I can fire. I lean my free arm against the hood of the car, and take one look at the door to make sure I'm not too close to it in the event that it closes unexpectedly... All right... yes, this'll do just fine. Okay.

I first look to the car to my right, raising my gun and firing a few shots at the driver. He ducks down, swearing at me from where he is as the car pulls away so it can be out of range of my shots. I continue firing anyway, forcing him as far away as I can. When I see him swerve to dodge an incoming piece of the Presidium, that is when I turn my attention away. I grab a heat sink and slap a new one in there before-

...

What the fuck? That's... There's the eyes which look _very _uncomfortably different... But then there's also... No, his hair is familiar. And so's the cloak, even. And that sword...

"Oh, you've gotta be-!"

I look to the familiar Asian man as he stabs his sword into the propulsion systems of the car. He then leaps off as we suddenly lose altitude. I am yanked back into the squad car by Garrus, who manages to get the door closed as the other car speeds off. I glance back at Bailey, who is busy frantically trying to control the vehicle but failing. I turn to Garrus for a split second before looking right outside. I watch as the ground comes ever closer, and look back to Bailey a final time.

The impact of the vehicle against the ground rocks us all, and it all gets very shaky for a few seconds. We slide a few feet, and then come to a stop when my side of the vehicle collides with a well-placed wall. The vehicle rebounds a bit, and the glass all around us shatters and falls into a million pieces. I hear Bailey swear at the top of his lungs before we finally come to a stop.

...

Holy shit, we actually got out of that live.

"Well, shit, this just got complicated," says Bailey. I glance over to Bailey to see that he looks all right. He turns towards his door, opening it. He then steps out, shaking his head and looking up. "Who were our friends?"

"Cerberus," I reply without missing a beat. "He's a Cerberus operative." I get off of Garrus and slowly crawl out of the car. I get to my feet, feeling a little imbalanced as I stand up. I end up gripping the car door to steady myself, and that's when I see Garrus crawl from the wreckage as well. "His name is Kai Leng. He was on Kahje."

"Well, I should've expected _that__,_" says Garrus.

"You don't understand!" I reply. "I thought we _killed_ that guy!"

"Really?" asks Bailey. "He didn't look dead to me."

"That's exactly it!" I reply. "I watched that man die! I mean... Isaac used his stasis on this operative and we filled him with bullets!" I shake my head. "First these turian husks, and now Cerberus? This was planned. There was no way this just randomly happened!"

"That's not important right now," says Garrus as he looks at me. "We need to get our asses up to the Council Chambers. Sitting here trying to figure out why Cerberus is here isn't going to get us up there any faster!"

I nod. "Yes, you're right," I comment. "Come on. We need to get there."

"The nearest elevator is in this direction," says Bailey as he draws his assault rifle. "Come on!"

And with this, the C-Sec officer runs in a certain direction. We follow, and I briefly notice that the area around us is deserted.

Well... if the Reapers are smart, it won't be deserted like this for long...

And indeed not, for then I see more of those turian husks. By now, however, I also notice that there are a few human husks there as well. I look at Garrus as we run over to cover behind a nearby bench.

"Looks like they broke out the dragon's teeth," says Garrus.

Bailey frowns. "I thought those husks were geth tech," he says.

"Nope," I say. "We need to move fast."

With this, I come out of cover and shoot the nearest husk in the face. This gets the attention of every one of these Reaper-imbued enemies, and before long I find myself moving to different cover as the turian husks open fire.

* * *

><p><strong>*Albert Shepard POV*<strong>

I place my helmet on my head, looking directly at Mordin, Jack, and Liselle as they get their breathing apparatuses on. With a hiss, the helmet seals, and I find myself looking to Jack. Mordin runs on over to the panel, and I glance one last time at the engines, and at where the detonator for Dr. Kenson's bomb has been left unattended.

I look to Jack as she crosses her arms. "Well, what the fuck are we waiting for?" she asks. "Shepard's already headed for the relay."

I sigh. "I still can't believe it," I say. "We're leaving more than two thirds of the colony behind. We did all this, and it _still _wasn't enough..."

"Saved some colonists," says Mordin. "Better than none at all. Did best we could. Could not have seen that Reapers would arrive so quickly." He then looks up. "Other plans in motion...?"

"It's certainly a disturbing thought," I comment. "What was that Reaper talking about?"

"I don't know, and frankly, I don't give a shit," says Liselle. "We're going in to kick their asses, right?"

"Something like that..." I say.

Liselle nods. "Then this should just give us incentive to kick their asses harder," she says. "You wanna make all these deaths mean something? We kick the Reapers' asses whenever they do show up. We give 'em our best display of 'this is our galaxy' you can give 'em, and we hold _nothing _back. Anything less than that is an _insult_ to these people."

I nod. "Yeah, you're right," I say. "We make them mean something." I nod, looking to Mordin. "Mordin, activate the Project."

The salarian manipulates the controls of the Project's thrusters, and then turns to us. "Project activated," he says. "Best to get out now."

"Yeah, let's move it," I say. We all move towards the door, right as I open a comm line. "Joker, we've activated the Project."

"_Good,_" says Joker. "_The Council's Fleets are just starting to leave the system. I'm sending Jenny in to pick you up now._"_  
><em>

"All right," I say. "Tell her to be quick."

With this, we move over to the nearest door, and start making our way out of the asteroid as it begins thundering towards the mass relay.

* * *

><p><strong>*Madison Paige POV*<strong>

I duck under some fire from these turian husks as I reload my pistol for what feels like the umpeenth time. Come on, girl, the elevator's still within sight!

I glance back to Garrus and Bailey. Garrus has been a beast with that assault rifle, and Bailey has also been rather good with helping us. I watch Bailey as he fires into the incoming crowd of turian husks, turning my attention back to the husks.

Well, there's no use stalling now. We've got about seven turian husks between us and the elevator. We're almost there...

I come out of cover, firing my pistol at the closest of the turian husks. I hear a quick explosion of sparks off to my right, glancing to the side and seeing one of the other turian husks stumble back. I redirect my fire at that one, shooting it three times in the chest. It stumbles back, but some final assault rifle rounds from behind me put the creature down. I turn my attention to the husk I was originally firing at, and resume my volley. I only get as far as taking its shields down before I'm forced back behind cover.

With this, I take the opportunity to reload my pistol, allowing my shields to recharge. I hear the gunfire fly over my head, and I flatten my back against cover. As is usual, I only have to wait a few seconds before my shields are recharged.

When they recharge, I step out of cover and fire at the husks in front of me. The one I was shooting at earlier has already fallen by now, and... Okay.

I raise my gun and fire into the husks again. I shoot at a husk somewhere towards the back, firing at it and watching as my rounds ping off of its shields. I see another overload get used on that husk, which saves me some time.

And right as I'm about to duck down to reload, the turian husks look up. Wait... All of them just looked up... Right over...

I glance up myself, and then-

Holy shit!

I'm barely able to let loose a shriek before a huge... _monster _has landed immediately to my left. Its landing knocks me off my feet, and then I'm left to look at... Holy hell, what is that thing? It's got the head of a turian, but that's about it. It towers over the rest of us even standing ten feet away, and it has these odd... _spikes _on its back. What... What the shit is that?

I look up at the creature as it starts looking around at Garrus, Bailey, and I. I sit there, looking up at it. I find that my feet are suddenly made of stone, and I find myself staring at this creature. Just... Holy shit...

Before I realize it, the thing's head has turned to me. It then turns, slamming one of its giant, deformed arms into the ground.

...

Holy shit!

I leap up almost immediately, jumping out of the way. By then, though, the creature is already charging, and it turns towards me as it charges. I run as fast as I can, but I'm not fast enough to outrun its giant hand swinging in my direction. I feel the arm impact with my chest, and then I'm sent flying about fifteen feet behind me. As soon as I land, I feel like... Oh, crap, I think I broke a rib. Or two...

Swearing in pain, I slowly help myself up. I hear Garrus scream my name, but that just directs that monster's attention to Garrus. Fuck... Ow... Christ... Shit...

I eventually pull myself up so I'm sitting while leaning against the wall. Crap... C'mon, where's that...

There it is! I open my omni-tool, and feel a rush of relief flood through me when the medigel kicks in. It's not enough to completely kill the pain, but it's something, I guess. It'll keep me alive and moving until I can get actual medical help for this, anyway.

Where... Oh, yes... I open my eyes, finding that the turian husks and the monster have all rushed towards Garrus. Damn it, he and Bailey are going to be...

I stand up as quickly as I can with a lingering pain in my ribs and fire at one of the turian husks in front of me. The turian husk's shields go down rather quickly, and before it's realized what has happened, I have shot it in the back of the head. I turn, and-

Wait, shit! The elevator's right there! I can just call it now!

I rush over to the elevator and hit the call button as quickly as I can. All right... that should do it! I then turn my attention to Garrus and Bailey, firing at a turian husk that they were just starting to take down. I watch as the monster rushes Bailey, but the C-Sec captain is able to vault over cover and sprint away from the monster before that thing can do any truly serious damage to him. I look at the monster as it eyes Bailey again.

Before that can happen, however, I get behind cover and shoot at another turian husk that was bothering Garrus. That husk goes down, and then I look out to Garrus and Bailey.

"I've already hit the call button!" I shout. "Get over here!"

I immediately get behind cover, noticing that my yelling has also grabbed the attention of the turian husks. This gives Bailey and Garrus the perfect moment to unleash a couple of unloads at the husks, and then I fire at one of the turian husks and bring it down as Bailey shoots the other husk.

Right as it comes down, I see that this... _thing _also seems to have...

Shit! It's gonna charge me again!

This time, I move immediately, quickly getting out of cover and running as far away as I can. This time, the monster passes me. I feel the air react quite suddenly to the monster's swipe, and I fall forward on my face. I quickly turn around, seeing the beast beat its chest... Oh, God, oh God... Get out of there!

I get to my hands and knees, but can barely get to my feet before the monster raises its club-like arm. I quickly dive to my right, narrowly dodging the beast's arm as it slams into where I was barely a split second ago. I look up again, seeing the monster growl loudly. I barely have time to crab-walk back before it swings again, and misses. Damn it, I could use some-!

I then see some rounds hit the monster. They don't penetrate, but they hit the monster, and it's enough to draw his attention from me. I look over there, to see Bailey shooting at it.

"Stay away from her!" shouts the C-Sec commander. "I can give you some right here, princess!"

The monster stares at Bailey for a few seconds before letting out an ear-splitting roar. I end up covering my ears, shutting my eyes. I feel the thump of the monster, and when I open my eyes I see it charging right at Bailey. I watch as the monster approaches, but Bailey is already well out of the way by the time the monster gets there.

I suddenly feel myself get pulled up, but before I can protest I notice that the arms carrying me are encased in blue armor. I look up to see Garrus helping me to my feet, and then I hear a ding from behind me.

The turian next to me nods, and then enters the elevator. I pause, however, looking back to Bailey.

"Bailey, the elevator's here!" I shout.

The older C-Sec commander looks at me, though I can't tell what his expression is saying from the distance we're at. "Go!" he shouts. "I'll hold this thing off!"

... W... what?

No!

"Bailey!" I shout. "Get over-"

I then get yanked into the elevator by Garrus. My ribs flare up, and I let out a groan of pain as Garrus looks out to Bailey.

"I'll be fine!" shouts Bailey. "The objective is important! Get up to the tower and stop Sparatus!"

He shouts this immediately as he rolls out of the way of another charge from that monster. I simply shake my head, going to the elevator door.

"But you can't survive against that!" I shout.

"We'll see about that in a few minutes," says Bailey. "Get up there and do what you have to!"

I pause, looking at Bailey as he runs further away from us. The monster follows, charging him and taking down a shop display that we passed on our way here. I feel my heart skip a beat as I watch this, but before I can comment any further, the elevator door closes. I feel the elevator pull us up, and then I watch as the Presidium begins to get smaller and smaller.

I look to Garrus apprehensively, feeling my breath come in short bursts. My ribs still ache, but it's a little duller now than it was before. I look to Garrus as he takes my hand.

"You all right there?" he asks.

I sigh. "My ribs hurt, but I think I'll live," I comment. I look outside the elevator to the area below us. "But Bailey..."

"He'll be fine," Garrus reassures me. "And besides, he's right. The mission comes first, and having Bailey with us wouldn't help if it meant that Sparatus could do what he did."

I nod. "It's still not fair, though," I comment. "He'll... He could get himself killed."

"We can't worry about that now," says Garrus. "Now... Now we have to worry about ending this. This will end here, one way or another." He looks to me. "You ready to kick some turian ass?"

I look up to Garrus, seeing his mandible twitch. I sigh, placing a hand against his chest. Damn it... I'm sorry, Bailey, but... survive. Please.

"I'm ready," I say.

Garrus places a hand on my shoulder, delicately squeezing it softly. He gives me the briefest of smiles before turning to the elevator doors with a serious expression on his face.

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

I watch the galaxy map as we approach the relay. I can't bear to look at the batarian refugees being comforted down below. It's just... I can't deal with that right now.

Instead, I watch the galaxy map intently. Kal and Jenny are standing just behind me. I glance into the crowd and see Tali standing elsewhere within the crowd, but... She just looks like she's observing. Everyone's observing, actually, except for Sturge and Dr. Chakwas. They're both too busy trying to attend to the needs of the batarian refugees down below to be up here.

Shepard stands right there in front of the galaxy map, looking on grimly. I bite my lower lip, glancing back to where Al and Jack are standing. They got back to the Normandy okay, with Liselle spouting some crap about how we need to take revenge on the Reapers for this. I don't know, Liselle, things like this... There's just no justifying it. There really isn't.

I stand back, my ears barely listening as Joker mentions something about how we've just hit the relay. I simply look up to the cockpit, vaguely seeing the way the galaxy completely turns blue during a relay jump. I watch that briefly, knowing that this means we've just left hundreds of thousands of colonists behind. No, forget the few thousand we did manage to save...

How? How could things like this happen? How could it be that the Reapers would show up so early? They weren't due for another day! How did...?

Joker makes the announcement that we're out of the Bahak System.

I barely have time to process this before something catches my attention on the galaxy map. Looking at this, I see a red shockwave radiate out near the bottom-right edge of the galaxy map. The shockwave spreads out, but doesn't go beyond a certain point. And it's right where...

I swallow, feeling my throat constrict as my heart beats faster than normal for a minute or two. I... I...

I drop to my knees, looking desperately at the galaxy map. I want to scream at the galaxy map. I want to kick and curse at it. But when I try to get to my feet and make that happen... I just can't... This is...

No...

Oh God... Oh my God...

* * *

><p><strong>*Madison Paige POV*<strong>

As soon as the elevator doors open, Garrus and I come rushing right out. We run up all the flights of stairs before us, and right as we reach the summit, we both draw our weapons.

And right when we go up the stairs, I see Sparatus standing there, his back to us. I see a holographic control panel directly in front of Sparatus, and his fingers move rather deftly across the holographic projection there. He only spares a look back at us before returning to what he was doing.

"I didn't think you'd make it in time," says Sparatus.

"Make it in time for what?" asks Garrus.

"The Reapers' arrival, of course," says Sparatus. "Don't bother shooting me. It won't change a thing. Soon, the Citadel relay will be activated."

I look at Garrus briefly before looking to Sparatus. "Not if we stop you," I reply.

"And that will not help," says Sparatus. "The Reapers will come. They will arrive. It has been-"

I hear the harsh report of Garrus' assault rifle going off. I then watch as Councillor Sparatus is riddled with bullet holes in his torso. The turian stumbles back in shock, looking at the indigo blood that is pouring out of the holes in his body. He stumbles back, and phases through the computer behind him before eventually falling into the area of garden below.

I then look to Garrus as he stores his assault rifle. "I have to admit, I didn't think I'd kill a councillor today," he says.

"Ex-Councillor," I comment. I holster my pistol and walk over to see his dead body sprawled on the ground below. "Don't forget the important part."

"I just hope he doesn't come back to life," Garrus comments. "That's what happened when we dealt with Saren."

I nod. "Well, I don't think he ever go implanted with cybernetics, so..." I walk up to the console. "If we just go here, we see we have to-"

The floor beneath my feet suddenly rumbles. The rumbling lasts for a few seconds, and then quite suddenly subsides. I look at Garrus in shock as he glances at me.

"What the hell was that?" I ask.

The rumbling happens again, and this time it is slightly stronger. It also lasts longer than the previous tremor did, and it leaves me gripping the platform Garrus and I are standing on for dear life. I look all around us, looking at the walls. Somehow, the whole room is still intact, and yet...

I look to Garrus, who then looks at the console. "That doesn't sound good," says Garrus.

"That doesn't _feel _good," I correct. "What's going on?"

Garrus looks at the console immediately, his eyes roaming across the display. I feel another tremor underneath us, this one being shorter than all the previous tremors combined. As soon as it subsides, I watch as Garrus' eyes widen almost imperceptibly.

In most instances, I would disregard this. But the way one of his mandibles widens...

I look at the turian. "Garrus?" I ask.

He turns to me. "Madison..." he says. "He had already activated the relay."

I frown. "What?" I ask. "When?"

"I don't know," says Garrus. "But from the way he spoke..." He manipulates a little something on the panel in front of us. "And according to this... This relay was activated before we even stepped off the elevator."

All of a sudden, the window in front of us fills with something black as the night. The blackness hovers over the tower quite suddenly, as if it had been willed into existence by some strange, unknowable power. And the blackness seems to glow with an ethereal blue light...

I jolt in shock, stepping back and beholding this black behemoth. That black thing... No...

"That's..." I say, stepping back in horror.

"Oh, shit," says Garrus. "This is not good. This is-"

And then, the control panel's display completely vanishes, replaced by a holographic projection of what looks like a Reaper. The Reaper's hologram looks menacingly at Garrus and I, and... Oh, God, the way it shines at us... I feel a chill in my spine just from _looking _at that thing!

"_Human. Turian. Nothing has_ _changed._" The Reaper says. I step back, barely able to catch my breath as the Reaper seems to bore holes into the two of us. "_The cycle has not been stopped. We have not been defeated. Embrace the inevitable._"

Garrus shakes his head. He then steps right up to the panel, cracking his knuckles. "I don't think so," he says as he stops in front of the Reaper's hologram. "We've still got a chance, don't we? I mean, there's this panel here!"

I look to Garrus. "Garrus?" I ask.

"There has to be some way to override the Reapers' control of this station!" says Garrus. "You know about Vigil, Madison. Vigil's data file did something like that the last time I was here! Maybe if we-"

"_It is useless,_" says the Reaper. "_What use is a console if you cannot access it?_"

"I spent time with the best hackers in the galaxy," says Garrus. "I learned a few things there."

"_Your feeble mind assumes much,_" says the Reaper. "_Ignorance, born of overconfidence. You will not stop the harvest. It is impossible to end the harvest._"_  
><em>

And then, amidst the mass of black outside of the massive window, a bright red light suddenly appears. It's a light so bright that it begins to glow like a sun. I jump back in shock, looking at the steadily brightening light as Garrus backs away. Wait... That's not...

That was what we saw on Rannoch... That was on Rannoch when that Reaper fired...

...

He means to _destroy _this panel! And if that beam was as absolute as I think it was...

"Shit!" I shout. "Garrus, _run_!"

I turn around, and despite the pain in my ribs I begin running away. Garrus follows my lead, and we get about even with how fast we run.

Barely two seconds after we begin running, the sound of a laser boring through glass is heard behind us. And from there, it becomes fuzzy. I think I hear an explosion behind me, but I can't look back to check. The next thing I know, the beam narrowly passes by my right, and looses some debris from above. The explosion itself knocks me off my feet, and I feel the sensation of flying about ten feet in the air.

I hit the ground hard, and the pain in my ribs flares up again.

I don't get another second to process it, for then I feel something collide with my head and I promptly black out.

* * *

><p><strong>*Miranda Lawson POV*<strong>

Kolyat, Oriana, and I all watch as these things begin appearing. I hold my arms out behind them, looking up from the storefront we've taken refuge in for now.

They are all black... There is so much black in the skies above us. And the sheer quantity of them that appear... they do manage to darken the sky of the Citadel obscenely. There was not much light anyway, but the sheer number of these things creates a black curtain above the Citadel. I begin hearing the sounds of what Reaper foot soldiers remain sound in the streets outside, and I see these Reapers begin to spread out.

So that's what an army of Reapers looks like. I don't...

Oriana turns to me in fear. "Miri?" she asks. "What's going to happen now?"

And for the first time, I feel myself gripping her hand subconsciously. Damn it... This is...

"I... I don't know, Ori," I say. "I don't know at all..."

* * *

><p><strong>*Art POV*<strong>

"_Commander, you're getting a transmission._"

I frown. What? We're getting a transmission? But we haven't even contacted the Council yet! This is...

I look over to Shepard, who is looking just as confused as I am. "We haven't contacted the Council, though."

"It could be the Hegemony," says M'shk. "They probably know that we destroyed the relay into the Bahak system by now."

"The relay hasn't even..." Shepard shakes her head. I glance into the crowd to see Kaidan looking on in concern, with the others sort of just looking at the Commander. "Never mind. I'll take the call in the-"

"_Too late, Commander,_" Joker says over the intercom. "_It's not a conversation._"

I then see the panel around where Shepard would get her e-mails light up. There, we see a holographic projection of-

I jump back to my feet upon seeing... Oh my... what?

"W... What the hell is _that _doing there?" I shout, pointing at the squid-like thing that has appeared.

Shepard walks forward. "This is-"

"_Human_." That's... That's the voice of Harbinger... "_You have failed. You have failed to stop the Arrival._"

I frown. "Wait, what?" asks Carhon. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"We blew up the alpha relay!" shouts Shepard. "That stopped your Arrival!"

"_The Alpha Relay was one of many possibilities._" Harbinger pauses, and I can just feel it bore into me. "_The Arrival has already happened._"

I frown. Wait... No...

"The Citadel..." I say.

"_Your Citadel has fallen,_" says the Reaper. The Reaper's hologram then goes away, and then we see an image of the Citadel with... Oh my God... How many Reapers is that? I just see... And the image is hazed over...

Shepard walks forward, her hands coming to rest on the console. She looks at the image in shock, and I can just feel the energy of the room completely break down into horror. We watch as the Reapers in the image begin to spread out, like a black plague that seeks to infect the galaxy.

The Reaper's hologram appears again. "_The harvest will begin,_" says the Reaper. "_And you will be powerless to end it._"

The Reaper's hologram almost immediately cuts out, and then a deathly silence takes over. I look to everyone all around us, and see from the looks on their faces that... Oh, God...

"_Commander, I'm detecting reports from the other ships that they cannot access the mass relays of the other systems._" EDI chimes out above us. "_It seems... as if we have been locked out of the network..._"

...

No...

Oh my God...

No, this isn't happening!

My breath quickens, and suddenly we're all staring at each other in shock. This is...

Shepard simply grips the console, not saying anything. Everyone else is literally speechless. This just... This can't be... This can't be happening.

As I sink to my knees, I hear Shepard bang her fist on the console. She lets out a loud stream of curses, and then I hear everyone mutter to myself. For me, though, I don't hear any of it, as the world seems to grind to a halt.

No...

No...

"_Nooooooooooo!_"

* * *

><p><strong>End of Part I<strong>


	31. Chapter 30

_A/N: Okay... Sorry about the incredibly long delay, folks. But... we're back with some more Mass Vexations here._

_Yeah, the delay was a bit crazy. First, there was NaNoWriMo that I was doing. Can you guys believe that I managed to get to 50,000 words on my first try? That was actually pretty fun to do, you know? And I also had great fun doing it, so yeah... Fun times were had for all._

_And then... well, there were some additional duties I was taking care of, that too. Chiefly, it was spent rewriting the Tuchanka arc. Yeah, I wasn't happy with that arc, but... I've since rewritten chapters 13-15. Actually, you might wanna give chapters 10-15 a new read-through as well, 'cause most of those chapters have completely changed. Trust me, you'll see what happened there._

_And now... now we can get on with Part II of MV3. Or, as I like to call it: the part where everything crazy happens._

* * *

><p><strong>Part II: Ragnarök<strong>

Chapter 30: Wagner: Götterdämmerung: Prologue

I stand quietly in Kasumi's quarters. It's actually looking pretty empty, though the lights are down and the rose that's on the table looks like its pedals are starting to fall off. I glance at the rose for a few seconds before I look out the window, watching the stars as they pass us by. My hand rests against the glass, and I start to pick out each individual ship around the Normandy as I look at each of them. I can't imagine... Some of them are turian ships, some are asari-looking, but they've all got batarian refugees.

All of them are refugees now. And we're stranded in the middle of a system with no homeworld and no colony. The only thing we've got is a few food supplies, and no way to get out of this system when the Reapers come in. I don't even think there's a habitable planet around here, it's that bad. But when the Reapers come, that won't matter anyway.

Yeah, when the Reapers come... we'll be outnumbered, outgunned, and helpless. There'll be nobody to save us this time. And before we know it...

I shake my head, my hand curling into a fist. I look back to Kasumi, Sturge, and Isaac, all of whom are just sort of sitting there. Even Kasumi is uncharacteristically somber, and really who can blame her?

The Reaper invasion began barely two hours ago. And we couldn't stop it.

I shake my head, stepping away from the window. God damn it all... I end up sitting down next to Isaac, and it suddenly becomes silent again. I look out the window of the observation deck, and then look back to Kasumi.

I sigh. "Well..." I begin, only then realizing how hoarse my voice really is. "If... If there's anything good to come of this, I guess... I guess we'll die in the company of friends."

"That's if they don't turn on us first," says Isaac. He then looks out the window. "I never thought I'd live to see the end of a galaxy..."

We pause, looking over. I open my mouth to say something, but then promptly close it as I don't know exactly what it is I want to say. I just... What can we say about the end of the world as we know it? This is just...

"And to think we've been locked out of the mass relay network," says Kasumi.

Sturge raises his hand. "Didn't we get that Reaper IFF installed on the Normandy?" he points out. "You don't think that would mean that we'd be recognized as a Reaper rather than a human ship?"

I shake my head. "And where the hell would that get us?" I ask. "Even if we could leave this system, the rest of this fleet can't. And I don't think the Normandy can stand up to more than one Reaper at once. We could leave, but we wouldn't get very far..."

"And what about that ship design to the rachni?" asks Isaac. "You did send it, right?"

"I did, trust me," I reply. "But at this point... it would take a miracle to see that built in time." I let out a sigh, cupping my hand in their face. "They built a ship capable of mass relay travel within two years, but building an entirely new technology within a matter of weeks?" I shake my head. "That's not very likely..."

Kasumi looks right at me. Another silence comes over the area again, and I find myself fidgeting where I'm sitting. I look outside of the thing again. Really, what can I say to this happening? This is just...

We failed to stop the Reapers. We did all we could to stop it. We managed to convince the Council that they existed. We managed to get them to start talking to the other races to come together. We managed to bring peace between the geth and the quarians. We managed to save as many people in the Bahak system as we could, which could've gotten us favor with the Hegemony. And in the end, none of that mattered.

The Reapers cut us all off before we could ever negotiate that all-species alliance. And now... now it's only a matter of time until the Reapers find us in this system and do with us as they wish. And knowing what happened with the Reaper larva back in the Collector base, that won't be anything pleasant...

I exhale rather sharply, and stand up. "I'm..." I pause. "I'm going to check on the other people on this ship." I sigh sadly, walking towards the door. "Don't mind me."

And with this, I leave, right as Sturge stands up. Before he can say anything, the door has closed behind me, and I'm on my way to somewhere... _else_.

* * *

><p>I end up walking to the other end of the hall, and suddenly find myself looking at two of the refugees. They sort of sit there in a rather dejected way... I think one of them is a woman, and the other is a man. They can't be older than... seventeen? I don't know, I wouldn't have known what teenage batarians look like until now. Either way, they look like they're finding comfort in each others' arms. And they don't look like they're going to let go anytime soon.<p>

Can't say I blame them for being so sad. I'd be the same way after watching my home go up with a mass relay. Just... Their home, completely gone, with no chance that they'll ever be able to return...

I sigh, closing my eyes. This is so fucked up it's not even funny. This is just... This is awful. And the worst part is that I know what they're feeling...

I shake my head, a mental image of Pupa coming to mind as I walk the rest of the way to the opposite side of the ship. Maybe James and Carhon can help me make sense of this whole thing.

I walk up to that door immediately, hitting the green panel. As soon as I do, I notice that James and Carhon are both sitting rather close together. As in... _uncomfortably _close together.

Wait... was Carhon's head on James' shoulder?

I look at James and Carhon as they both turn to face me. James just gives me a somber smile and nods. "Hey, _chiquitín_," he replies. "Didn't realize you were running around again."

"Yeah, I'm running around now," I comment. "Not that there's any use for it, though..."

Carhon nods. "All that work to take a third option, and the Reapers _still _came in and invaded us all," he comments sourly. "This is just..." He sighs, leaning forward. "At least M'yask and the twins are safe."

I frown. "Those two guys were twins?" I ask.

"One of them got in a rather bad accident when we were children," Carhon replies. "One looks older than the other, but they're twins." Carhon sighs. "Not that it matters now that the Reapers are here, though. Either way, we're all screwed."

I step further into the room. "Yeah, we are," I comment. "What system are we in, anyway?"

"The Kite's Nest, apparently," says Carhon. He chuckles darkly. "It's ironic how we're right at Khar'shan's doorstep right now. That'll just make it worse for us."_  
><em>

I nod. "Especially with the whole of Khar'shan likely being indoctrinated by now," I comment. "So we're basically going to be pincer-ed by the Reapers once they get through the relay. They could just overwhelm us with ships, but then there's the Leviathan of Dis."

"Well, they could have a resistance going there," James comments.

"Organized that quickly?" I ask.

"The resistance outposts on Khar'shan know about the Leviathan now," says Carhon. "I don't know if it's going to do any good, though. The comms systems have been jammed every time I've tried to contact any of the resistance people on Khar'shan. From here on out, I'm assuming that the Hegemony found them until I hear from them again."

Well, shit. "It's bad news all around," I comment.

"Yep," James says. "This is a whole bunch of _mierda_, if you ask me. We're in the middle of this war and we're outmatched?"

"An entire turian fleet was decimated by Sovereign," I comment. "And that was just _one _of these guys. We would've been able to deal with it if we had access to the mass relay network, but..."

I clench my hands into a fist. "This is just terrible," I finish.

"Yeah," says James. "I can't believe the whole galaxy's going to shit like this."

"I can't believe it either," I comment. I shake my head, crossing my arms. I sigh, looking out the window. "I need to go somewhere else. I need someone else to talk to."

"Good luck with that, _chiquití__n_," James replies. "We're all thinking the same thing about this, and I don't think you'll be able to escape it."

I sigh. "I guess not," I comment. "But still..." I turn around, heading towards the door. "I'll just be going then."

I walk up to the door, and touch the door panel. I look back to James and Carhon, who are both looking out the port window. I briefly catch a glimpse of fur walking towards the couch... Hm. I haven't seen that damn cat in ages. Must've been hiding every time I've come in. It's weird, how cats seem to instinctively hate me.

I watch as the cat runs over to where James and Carhon are. I hear it mewl slightly, right as I guess I see Carhon reach past James to pet the little bugger. I watch this for a few seconds, and... Hm... well, James is sorta just sitting there, looking like he's enjoying Carhon's company more than he probably has any right to from the looks of things.

Yeah, I better give these two their privacy. After all, if what I _think _is going on is really going on, they're gonna need it.

With this, I exit the observation deck, and then find myself standing there again...

I shake my head, stepping into the mess hall almost immediately. I look over to the kitchen, seeing M'yask standing there with Vag'rash and Skresh. Sturge is on the opposite side, of course, and I see them making some mildly awkward conversation. It looks like there are multiple pauses there, with the three batarians looking on listlessly. Who can blame them? I mean, they just lost their home, for Christ's sake! And they don't look all that happy. M'yask just looks devastated, with Vag'rash and Skresh both looking rather glum themselves.

I shake my head, sighing as I look at all the other batarian refugees. They all look just as dejected, if not a little more suspicious of all the humans around them. For their part, the human crew members are doing their best not to cause trouble, which is good. I glance off to the side to see Jenny, Gregor, and Kal all sitting at one of the tables in the mess hall. Instinctively, I walk over to the three of them, sitting down. I only get a brief acknowledgement from Kal, who I only then notice has his face mask sitting directly in front of him.

"Well, lookit 'o's here," Gregor comments. "Is everythin' alright, mate?"

I shake my head. "Not really," I comment. "I'm guessing you three aren't doing so well either."

"Nobody is, mate," Jenny comments. "I can't believe we're all gonna be sein' the end o' the galaxy like this."

"Neither can I," I comment. "I thought we'd be able to avoid this. But instead... well... here we are." I sigh, looking up at Jenny as she sips what has to be a cold mug of coffee. "Sitting here, waiting for the Reapers to come get us."

Jenny nods. "Well, I for one ain't gonna wait for _that _ta happen," she says. "We cannae go riverdancin', but there are lots o' things we can do. I'm thinkin' I might find Kal at 'is first full exposure, see what kind o' ride he is."

I frown. "Uh... that's what she said?" I ask.

Kal and Jenny both blush rather quickly, but I notice the way Jenny's lips tug at the edges that. "Well... if ya want it ta be like that," Jenny says.

Kal'Reegar's face immediately flushes. "Uh... ma-Jenny, I don't know if that would be... um... proper..." He says.

Jenny shakes her head, patting Kal's shoulder. "Stay easy, mate, I'm just kiddin'," Jenny replies. "Yeah, we're not gettin' inta _that_."

Kal nods, his blush dying away. "Good," he says. "It wouldn't be proper so soon, I guess." He looks up at the ceiling. "Though, with the world ending all around us, I wouldn't know. If you asked me, Jenny, I'd say I wouldn't mind having you around at the end."

"Really?" asks Jenny.

Kal nods. "Yes ma-Jenny," he replies, stopping himself slightly.

I raise an eyebrow. Hey, he's not saying things to the effect of 'I just shoot things'. Well, that's interesting. I wonder what brought this about? Or... well, that and then there's also the fact that..

"You've stopped referring to her as ma'am," I observe.

"I'm working on it, si-Art," says Kal'Reegar. "I'm also trying to work on everyone else..."

I smile. "I can tell, Kal," I say.

Gregor shrugs. "He's gettin' much better about that, mate," Gregor adds. "But 'e still does it from time to time." Gregor shrugs. "Makes it weird when I have to go tune 'is guns up." Gregor sighs. "Speakin' of which, actually... I'm just sittin' down 'ere. With the galaxy endin' 'n' all, I'm not sure what the bloody point is, mate."

I shake my head, my smile falling almost immediately. "I don't know either," I admit. "What's really the point when it just leads to this?"

"I don't know, but maybe there'll be some hope," says Kal.

"Kal, we spent all this time trying to stop the Reapers, and then they came and invaded anyway," I reply. "What's there to hope for?"

"Something," says the quarian. "I know it's probably useless to hope for something now, but I can't help but feel that something will come up that will help us all, Art."

The quarian marine has a rather resolute expression on his face, as if to say 'I know what I'm saying, and I stand by it'. I sigh. Well, Kal'Reegar sure does have a lot to say for being someone who only points and shoots at things.

"Maybe," I say. "But right now, that's not realistic talk, Kal." I stand up. "If you'll excuse me, I actually should be getting up to the tech lab. I think I need to go talk to Rael about something."

And with this, I walk away from the table. Kal thinks there's still hope? If only I still had that kind of optimism. But in a place like this, stranded behind a mass relay being hunted by things that want _everybody _to be ground up into genetic paste...

I simply duck back, walking up to the elevator and hitting the call button with a little more force than I intended.

* * *

><p>I ended up taking the elevator up to the tech lab. I see many more refugees around the ship, either sitting there dealing with whatever it is they're dealing with or talking to one of the human crew members. As I walk around the CIC, I see Kelly Chambers comforting a batarian with a hug. I shake my head looking at all the refugees, but soon enough I get to the tech lab.<p>

As soon as I enter the lab, I see that it's actually rather empty in comparison to the rest of the ship. Only Mordin and Rael are there, and they look rather dejected. I see that Rael is placing the last piece of his suit on the table, having pulled on some clothes that look like they were purchased at the Citadel just before we left. He adjusts some civilian clothing, looking to Mordin before nodding somberly.

I then step forward, and their attention goes to me. "Hey, guys," I comment. I look over to Rael. "Taking the whole suit off and leaving it here?"

"Today..." Rael pauses. "Today is the day that I no longer have to be burdened by a suit." He glances down sadly, looking out of the window briefly before turning his attention back to me. "I would have told you, but there is far less reason to celebrate it now, given what has happened."

I nod in agreement. "Yeah," I comment sadly. "I'm sorry. It must be rough to have this happen just a few hours after the Reapers invade."

"Much worse things have happened," says Mordin. "Still have each other, ship. Saved some colonists. Better than no colonists. Did best we could under circumstances." He sniffs. "Can't think about Citadel. Too many variables."

I shake my head. "Even after all the stuff that went down with Maelon, I have _no _idea how you manage to look at things like this objectively," I comment.

"Salarians not overly emotional, potential link to low sex drive," says Mordin. "Besides, best to look on bright side in darkest hour. 'Always look on the bright side of life'."

I roll my eyes, shaking my head as I lean against the table. "Only you would be able to quote Monty Python at a time like this," I comment.

"Indeed," says Rael. He shakes his head. "I don't think you'll be able to escape any mention of the Reapers here."

I sigh. "It was worth a shot," I comment. I look over to Mordin. "Do you think Shepard is going to risk leaving everyone here?"

"Not without another choice, no," says Mordin. "Leave fleet on Khar'shan, safest action. However, impossible to do without knowing state of Hegemony. No knowledge of state of Hegemony. No transmissions successful. Unable to contact. Work of Reapers, no doubt. Possibly Hegemony. Impossible to know for sure."

"Yeah, I guess," I say. "I don't know, I just... I want something _crazy _to happen."

Mordin nods, and then squats down behind the table. "May find this interesting, then," he says suddenly. He then pulls out a silver briefcase and opens it. I look down at the briefcase as he shoves it towards me. "Finished project. Procured necessary resources on Citadel while on leave. Dream-share finalized..."

I look at the briefcase... Wow... It looks exactly like it should. The four pumps there, the little tubes that connect into your arm... The whole thing looks exactly like I remember it from my dreams. And it looks rather techy, actually...

"It's too bad any research here won't be of any use to us," I say. "I mean, with the Reapers having taken over the galaxy by now, there's not much use for this damn thing, you know?"

"May as well study it anyway," Mordin comments. "Meaningless now, yes, but curiosity must be filled. Can't perform experiments on seashells now... this will have to do."

Wait... what? Okay, that's odd. He's never said anything about experimenting on seashells before... "Experimenting on seashells?" I ask.

"Preferred retirement option," says Mordin. "Would have gone to beach, performed experiments on seashells..."

"I see..." I comment. "That's one _very _strange retirement plan, I have to say." I sigh. "Not that we'll ever be able to fulfill it..."

"Perhaps in dreams," says Mordin. "Could always dream of a beach."

Hm... that is true, I guess. I could always dream of home, but... for me that doesn't happen, for some reason. Maybe I could share with Mordin, watch him collect seashells and experiment on them. Though... what sorts of experiments _would _you do on seashells, anyway? I better leave that to Mordin, I guess.

I look at Rael as soon as this thought finishes crossing my mind. Justifiably, he looks pretty damn confused right about now. "Uh... what?" he asks finally.

"Mordin and I were secretly working on something." I frown. Wait, hold on, that's not... "Well, Mordin did most of the work, really, but it was something we started brainstorming together." I glance at the suitcase, looking at Rael. "I'm pretty sure you've never shared a dream with someone."

"Shared a dream?" Rael asks. "I don't think that's even possible, unless you're talking in a metaphorical sense."

I nod, looking at the suitcase before closing it. "Well, this little thing Mordin built us is capable of literally sharing dreams," I reply. "So... yeah."

Rael raises his eyebrows. "Really?" he asks. "That's..." He shakes his head. "By now, I'm not surprised." He shakes his head, walking up to me. "Anything can happen on this ship." He looks up at the ceiling for a second or two, before looking outside of the window. "I wonder if the Reapers have found the Fleet yet..."

"Probably," I comment, placing my hands on the briefcase that contains the dreamshare stuff. "And if they have..." I shake my head. "I don't know, Rael. I'm not sure what I can tell you."

Rael nods. "I've been trying to contact the Fleet," he comments. "It hasn't worked. I can't get any transmissions beyond the relay. I can't even check on the state of my people, let alone assure them that I'm fine." He sighs. "I guess you and I have something in common now."

"A lot of us do," I comment. I pat the dream briefcase. "You know... You may not be able to assure them you're all right, but... I can probably show you how they are." I pull out one of the tubes, noticing that there's a blue one there... Hm, maybe blue is for dextro or something?

"What, in a dream?" Rael asks.

I shrug. "There's more to my dreams than you might think," I comment. I then look over to Mordin. "You in, doctor?"

"Of course," says Mordin. "Wish to see more of what happens in dreams."

I nod, holding the dextro tube out to Rael. "Then let's get with it, shall we?" I ask.

Rael hesitates, taking the tube in his hand and looking at it suspiciously. I shrug, attaching my own tube as Mordin reaches over and does the same thing. I nod to Rael. "Don't worry, it's safe," I reply. "Trust me."

Rael then nods, and slowly sticks the needle in. He winces just a bit as he inserts the needle, frowning once he's wrapped the velcro thing around his wrist. "I don't know how you manage to deal with needles," Rael comments.

"We managed," I comment. "Somehow. You live with it after a bit, you know?" I then wrap the velcro thing around my own wrist as Mordin clears the table. "You might want to lie down for this. Trust me."

Rael looks at me as I sit down on the lab table, laying down rather quickly. The older quarian follows suit almost immediately, and then Mordin presses the button that will take us down there.

* * *

><p>It takes a while, but before long I manage to get Rael and Mordin down to the Fade. As soon as we do, though, I turn back to see Mordin looking around.<p>

"Unusual place," says Mordin. His eyes dart around, and I imagine he's taking in the scenery rather quickly. He blinks rapidly, before looking back to me. "Place seems physically impossible. No consistent physics, no true surface, unnatural sky color, odd air..." He sniffs. "Possible spirit world? Soul-searching not in vain...?"

I nod. "I hope you did some soul-searching within the context of ancient prothean culture, doctor," I comment. "As far as I know, the protheans were the ones who had the right idea about what the afterlife looks like."

"Afterlife?" asks Mordin. "And dream place..." He shakes his head. "Complicated. Must understand more..."

"This is a..." I look over to Rael as he looks around in astonishment. "Does this place really exist?"

"It's... complicated," I reply. "It does, but... it's kind of like just another realm of reality, I guess. I don't know."

"It is not an easy thing to explain. Even I have no means to explain it, even after having spent many thousands of years in this place."

I look down the path to see Orange herself walking up to greet us. I step back in surprise. "Orange..." I comment. "I wasn't expecting to be greeted by you here."

"I sensed you would come to this place," says Orange.

"Yeah, I was probably going to talk to you eventually," I comment. I glance back to Rael and Mordin. "These two... I don't think they were expecting to meet you there."

"I should think not, keeper," says Orange. "You are very particular about who knows your darkest, deepest secrets, after all. It seems that you have changed this just slightly, as I could feel your friends in the dream layers above us. Thinking to introduce myself to your friends, I thought I would come myself." She then nods to Rael and Mordin. "It is a pleasure to meet the both of you. You may call me Orange."

Mordin looks at the oracle in surprise. "New sentient species?" he asks. "No, not possible in spirit world. Mention of thousands of years. Old species, perhaps? Yes, yes. What species then? Not krogan, not turian, not salarian..." Mordin promptly rubs his chin. "Unless... No... Not possible... Prothean?"

Orange chuckles bitterly. "I am afraid your guess is correct," she states. "I am a prothean. As for whether something is or is not impossible here in the Fade, I can say that there is little that surprises anyone who inhabits this place long enough."

"A prothean?" Rael looks at me briefly before turning his attention back to Orange. "I... This is strange. I never thought I'd ever meet a prothean."

"You and the entire galaxy," I comment.

"It is not the only strange thing you'll see here today, I am afraid," Orange replies to Rael's concerns. "There is much that you shall see that is difficult to believe: perhaps, it is more difficult to believe than the fact that I am a prothean who is spending her afterlife inhabiting the mind of a young human. The Fade is full of such mysteries, some of which cannot be adequately understood by the living." She then turns her attention to me. "I have news I must relay to you, keeper."

I sigh. "Did I fail because of the whole Aratoht business?" I ask.

"No, actually," says Orange. "Under the circumstances, you did what you could. You saved some people, and that is better than having to watch as nobody is saved." She looks up wistfully, and I can see her eyes water slightly. Before I can dwell on it too much, though, Orange looks back at me. "Actually, what I wish to speak to you of is only tangentially related to those events."

I frown. "Really?" I ask. "What's it about?"

"I went into the field of visions shortly after the Reapers invaded the galaxy," says Orange. "I saw a vision or two there of things that may yet come to pass..."

... Wait, really? "So now you go there to look at that," I comment. "What, do you want to show us something?"

"Yes," says Orange. "Unless these two wish not to go see visions...?"

"Actually, we came here to check on something else," I comment. "Rael here is an admiral with the Migrant Fleet."

"The quarian fleet, yes?" Orange asks as she turns her attention to Rael.

"Yes," says the older quarian. "Do you know what's become of it?"

"I have not seen any visions which pertain to your fleet yet, so I can neither confirm nor deny your fears," says Orange. "But once I have shown Art what I wish to show him, I will be glad to show you what it is you seek."

Rael nods. "That would be great," he says.

Orange nods. "Then let us go to the field of visions," she says. "I believe we have a vision to see."

And with this, the four of us set off to the field.

* * *

><p>As soon as we enter, I see Orange walk within the field. We follow her, only for her to stop at a few paces. I raise my eyebrows as she gestures at me to take her hand. I raise my eyebrows, looking directly at her, but walk forward nevertheless. I look to Rael and Mordin as I take Orange's hand, beckoning them to do the same.<p>

Mordin, of course, looks far to fascinated by the spheres around us. "Fascinating," he says. "Visions of past, present, future. Could be used to great scientific advance. New age of enlightenment, new dawn of sentient life, new possibilities." He sniffs. "And yet, possible downside. Power-mad men, evil deeds, insanity... Dangerous new place. So full of possibilities!"

Orange gives Mordin a sad look. "I believe that is the most accurate assessment of this place anyone has given," she states sadly. "The field was a place of good... but many horrible men also used it."

Wait, hold on. "They did?" I ask. "Why didn't you mention that?"

"Many reasons," says Orange. "There were... many criminals in the prothean empire who used the Fade to their own ends. Officially, using the Fade if you were not an Oracle was considered a crime, but in practice it proved difficult law to enforce. And so there were men who discovered the use of the Fade, and used it for evil." She shakes her head. "Great caution must be exercised in this place. The doctor speaks the truth."

I shrug, looking at Mordin and beckoning for him to take my hand again. Rael follows suit and takes Mordin's hand, with him looking right at us in confusion. "Why do we need to take hands?" asks Rael.

"You cannot enter the vision otherwise," says Orange as she turns her attention to the vision. "Now, remain calm."

And with this, Orange touches the vision. Almost immediately, the world of the vision forms around us, and I see myself in a dark place that is only lit by a strange kind of ethereal blue light. Wait... blue lighting like this... And there's a dank smell in the air, too. I look around, and then see a ton of little forms flitting about below us. Those forms...

There's no way we're _here_...

I look over to Rael and Mordin as they get their bearings. "What...?" he asks. "Is this... What is this place?"

"It's the Rachni's caves..." I comment. "I can recognize the little guys." I look to Orange. "What are we doing here?"

"Constructing," says Orange. "Come. I can show you what they are doing now."

Orange walks deeper into the cave. I follow her rather closely, staying close to her as Mordin and Rael follow. Before long, we pass the area in which I was first reunited with the rachni queen, and it's only then that I realize we're actually sort of exiting the cave. Once I realize this, I begin to follow Orange, looking around the cave at the various workers and soldiers as they flit about. I glance back to Mordin and Rael for a second, watching them as they suspiciously eye the activity below.

I look ahead back to Orange, to see that she's stopped.

I frown, looking at her. "Orange?" I ask.

The prothean nods in my direction, and then points at some point ahead of us. "Look, Keeper."

I look to where Orange is pointing, and...

...

Wait... That looks like...

I step forward, my hand gripping onto a stalagmite as I lean over the cave floor several stories below me. I look ahead, and see that the rachni workers and soldiers are all busy constructing a little vessel. It's a relatively small vessel, can't hold more than maybe ten people. It also looks just about the same size as the hammerhead, if not larger. It's still very much under construction, though. I mean... the top of the ship doesn't look finished, it looks like they've only just finished installing the thrusters or something... I can also briefly make out Daro'Xen standing there, holding a datapad and standing right next to Rilara. They both watch as the ship is assembled.

I look back to Orange. "That looks like the U.S.G. Kellion..." I comment.

"The what?" asks Rael.

"It was a ship from another time and another place," I comment. "It's a complicated story. I'll have to tell you some time in the near future."

"Referral to Isaac Clarke?" asks Mordin.

I open my mouth, before nodding and gesturing at Mordin. "Yeah, it's Isaac's doing, in a sense." I look over at Orange to notice that she's paying attention to the construction of this ship. "What vision is this of?"

"A vision of the present," Orange replies.

I jolt in place, nearly letting go of the stalagmite. What the-? "A vision of the present?" I ask. I turn to Orange in disbelief. "You're lying."

"I do not lie about such things, keeper," she replies. "I have seen much else in this vision. They may be able to do something soon."

I nod. "So... this thing can just bypass the relays," I comment. "Though... I don't know if it can evade being detected by the Reapers..."

"Probably not," says Rael. "You could probably dodge those lasers because of the fact that it's a small ship, but it would be dangerous to take into territory that is under control of the Reapers."

"No visible defense mechanism," Mordin adds. "Possible to take into Reaper territory, but possibility is inadvisable."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," I comment. I shake my head. "But... there's another place that we could take it to. One that might yield better results. But we'll see."

I look at Orange, nodding at her as I feel some tension leave my shoulders. "Thanks for showing this," I say. "I don't know if it'll actually affect anything, but... it's a start, I guess. One ship that can lie to the mass relay network, and another that can bypass it altogether." I look up, and sigh. I glance at Mordin and Rael before looking up. "I hope those coordinates Liara looked at for us yield something that'll change the tide."

"Coordinates?" asks Mordin.

I sigh. "It's a complicated story," I comment. "Orange, are we done here?"

"I believe we are," says Orange. With this, the vision suddenly vanishes around us, and before we know it we're standing back in the Fade proper. She then looks to Rael. "Now, you wished to ask me about the state of your Fleet."

Rael nods. "Yes," he says.

"Then we shall take care of that," she says. "Before we do, though..." She then looks to me. "Art. I shall need your assistance in some small matter."

I frown. "Really?" I ask.

"Yes," says Orange. "As you know, and as I am certain the doctor and the admiral know, you have more than myself in your space."

I nod. "Yeah," I comment. "What's that got to do with anything?"

Orange nods. "I will need your assistance with something relating to one of them."

I raise my eyebrows, looking to Rael and Mordin as they both look intently at the oracle. I nod, crossing my arms and looking back at Orange. "What do you need us to do?"

Orange simply smiles, looking quite pleased at this. "Much. You shall see what it is that I shall need help with soon." She then walks into the field. "For now, we have other business to attend to. I shall brief you on it once I have shown Rael his Fleet."

And with this, Orange walks deeper into the field. Rael, Mordin, and I all follow rather quickly, keeping close by Orange as we maneuver our way through the many balls of light.

* * *

><p>It takes a while before we finally wake up again, and when I do, I flutter my eyes open. I slowly sit up to find Mordin already walking about, putting everything back in the briefcase in its proper place. I then turn to Rael, watching him sit up as he rubs the place where the tube was injected into his arm.<p>

He shakes his head. "I think I will be feeling that pinch for a week," he mentions.

"Should not prove fatal," says Mordin as I disconnect the tube from my own wrist. "Barring use of wrong tube, of course." He looks to me. "Gave him the blue tube, I trust."

"Yep," I comment, sitting up on the table. "Blue for dextro, clear for levo."

Mordin nods. "Glad to see correct memorization," he comments. "Will leave briefcase with you."

I nod, closing the briefcase as Rael looks at it. "Gotcha, Mordin," I say. I look over to Rael. "I guess it's good that the Fleet is still in one piece..."

"Yes, it is," says Rael. "And yet... they are still in the line of fire against the Reapers. Hopefully, the geth presence over Rannoch will be enough to help my people."

"We'll have to hope," I comment. "And maybe the deal with the rachni's ship can help us out a lot more than we might think."

"We'll have to hope, yes," says Rael. He looks back to Mordin. "Well, I'm thinking of staying here myself, in case something went wrong with the briefcase. Will you still be here?"

"Of course," says Mordin. "Should not leave. Have much to think about. Possibilities, thoughts..."

"I think we all do," I reply, looking down at the ground. I push off of the table at long last, setting my feet firmly on the ground. "I guess we'll have to wait, see what comes up first..." I sigh, shaking my head and looking at the door of the tech lab. Hm...

I look over to EDI's terminal. "EDI?" I ask. "Do you know where Kaidan is?"

EDI's avatar pops up again. "_Kaidan is currently in the shuttle bay,_" she says. "_I would advise caution talking about your secret. There are numerous batarian refugees in the shuttle bay at the moment._"

"Thanks, EDI," I say as I make my way towards the door. Okay, I think I-

"_Are you certain Kaidan Alenko would want to speak to you?_" EDI asks. "_His previous conversation with you did not end so well._"

I sigh. "That's 'cause I have a lot to own up to in regards to him," I comment. "I... intend to take care of that now, actually."

"_Very well,_" says EDI. "_Be careful. And good luck._"

I nod somberly, feeling a sad smile come to my face as she says this. "Thanks, EDI," I reply.

With this, I leave the tech lab, no doubt leaving Mordin and Rael just a bit confused on what exactly I meant by all that.

* * *

><p>When I get down to the shuttle bay, I see that there are indeed quite a few batarian refugees. Most of them look to be trying to get some sleep, though very few of them look like they're actually being successful about it. Most are tossing and turning, and some are just sobbing away. Some of them are even leaning against the bulkhead, crying actual liquid tears. Occasionally, a choked sob is heard above the din of everyone else trying to go to sleep, and then there is also a sad whine sometimes.<p>

I look up at the ceiling to see that the rope ladder up to the shuttle has been employed. As I don't see Kaidan anywhere else, I'm imagining that that's where he'll be.

I carefully maneuver my way around the batarians trying to get some sleep, and I eventually get to the shuttle. I climb up the ladder quickly, and find that Kaidan is in fact inside of the shuttle. I pull myself up, looking at Kaidan as he looks at me. His gaze isn't as severe as I expect it to be, though, and he instead just continues sitting within the shuttle, his back leaning against the bottom of one of the seats.

I get into the shuttle, walking over to where Kaidan is. After a few seconds, I sit next to him, pulling my legs up close and sighing. I look at Kaidan, biting my lower lip. Okay... how...

"I... know you didn't want me to seek you out," I comment. "But I just felt that... I had to say something."

Kaidan nods. "At least be honest with me about this," he says. "Did you see any of what we saw on Aratoht coming?"

I sigh. "I knew we were going to have to crash the asteroid into the mass relay," I comment. "That's why we tried to save the batarians: we wanted to avoid casualties." I sigh. "As for the Reaper invasion... no. I didn't see that coming." I look up, propping my elbow up against my knee. "And really, that was the _one thing _I should've seen coming."

"I don't know," says Kaidan. "The Reapers did have a rather complicated plan constructed. I don't think any of us could have seen it, even with knowledge from another dimension." He sighs. "It's tough to see these batarian refugees on the Normandy. I actually managed to talk with one of the refugees earlier, and he couldn't talk for three minutes without bursting into tears." Kaidan sighs. "I can't imagine what it's like, knowing that you've been cut off from home."

I snort softly, shaking my head as I pull my knees closer to my body. "You kind of deny it at first," I comment. "When I first came here, I thought I was in the middle of some kind of fever dream, or something. I even had this whole delusion where I thought 'hey, maybe I could go back home if I get myself killed here'." I sigh. "It didn't really occur to me that I was stuck here in this galaxy until the whole thing at Virmire. Thinking back on it now, the whole delusion I had was kinda stupid, but back then..."

"You would grab on to any hope you had." The biotic nods his agreement. "And then there was the whole 'this place is a game in my world' deal."

"Yeah, there was that," I say. "I think the whole romanticism of 'oh hey, I'm fighting Saren on the Normandy and this is stuff I know' sort of overrode the fact that I was separated from everyone I've ever known and loved in a strange, unfriendly place." I look over to Kaidan. "And then, there was also the whole 'what you know would make everyone think you're insane' bit, but even that starts to lose its justifications with age and hindsight."

"That tends to happen," Kaidan agrees.

The two of us turn our attention back to the shuttle door, which remains open even now. We sit there quietly, with Kaidan shifting slightly. I just want to say something right now. Something... _anything_, really, but I'm not sure what to say to Kaidan. I mean... I kind of betrayed his trust in a really bad way. And now... well, I need to own up to it, but where do I start?

"I regret saying what I said to Shepard," Kaidan says.

I nod. "I hoped you would," I comment. "When you ranted at Shepard on Horizon, it was actually worse than how I originally remembered it back home."

"I was angry and hurt," says Kaidan. "I... I wasn't thinking with my head then. I thought she was dead for two years, and then she just appeared out of the blue, working for an enemy of ours. It's hard to think rationally in that situation."

"And then I punched you in the face," I comment. "Because I couldn't help but think 'how dare you spit in her face like that'. I just... I'm not sure why, but I felt like I owed a responsibility to Shepard. I mean... I kind of played matchmaker for her love life." I sigh. "And I did tell you to go see her before Ilos, so I guess part of it was just that I felt stupid. And then I lashed out at you."

Kaidan nods. "And here we are," he says.

I lick my lips, noticing that they were actually a bit dry before sighing. "And here we are," I repeat.

We sit there for a few more seconds, before I allow one of my legs to slide out, letting go of it as I look to Kaidan. "I... I wanted to apologize for how I treated you while we were dealing with the Collectors," I say. "I had no right to single you out like that, especially when I kind of knew you would be angry at Shepard. And I also wanted to apologize for keeping you out of the blue as to what I really was for so long. I was betraying your trust there, and... I shouldn't have toyed with you like that. I'm sorry."

I shift my posture. "And you know... I never properly thanked you for some things you did for me after Virmire," I comment. "I mean... defending me as being a trustworthy man when I didn't deserve it, checking on me to make sure I was all right after Virmire..." I pause, licking my lips. "Thank you for that, Kaidan. And... I'm sorry for not trusting you enough in return to keep my secret."

Kaidan shakes his head. "I don't think I would have taken hearing about your secret all that well even before all this," he comments.

"I still kind of played you though," I reply. "No matter what you did, I still fucked up myself. So... I'm sorry for that."

The biotic leans back. "I forgive you," Kaidan mentions.

I nod in reply to this, looking back out the door as I stretch both of my legs in front of me. "I... I want to start over," I reply. "Blank slate. I... you were a good friend, Kaidan. You were one of the first true friends I had here, and I completely spat in your face afterwards. And I'd just like to start over, so I can actually treat you like a friend this time."

Kaidan pauses. Before long, though, I hear him shift. When I turn to him, he has turned to face me. "Yeah..." says Kaidan. "I'd like that." He then holds his right hand out to me. "Friends?"

I nod, giving him a soft smile before taking his hand. "Friends," I say.

And with this, we shake hands.

* * *

><p>Kaidan and I sat there for a little while longer before we both left the shuttle at about the same time. I got off at engineering, while Kaidan stayed on the elevator. I assume he's taking it up to a higher floor, so... yeah. I'll let him do that.<p>

I end up walking down to the hidey-hole, wondering what's up with Jack and Al. It's been a while since I actually walked down there. I wonder what they're up to...

I step into the hidey-hole to see Al and Jack both sitting on the cot, sitting right next to each other. Al's in his civies, and Jack... well, she's just in whatever. They're there, holding a datapad that probably has Jack's next big poem or something. I dunno. Either way, they both sit there, leaning against each other and just looking at the datapad. And right as soon as I step in, Jack and Al both just look in my direction.

I glance at them both. "I... I hope I'm not interrupting anything," I comment.

"You're not," says Al. "At least, nothing really crazy."

"We're just sitting here," says Jack. "That's not really anything big. Now, if we had been _fucking_ when he came in..."

I immediately see Al blush rather hard. Jack simply smirks at this, and I suddenly notice that one of her arms is holding on to Al's torso. "Well... uh..." Al says.

I raise my eyebrows. "Yeah, that definitely would be awkward, wouldn't it?" I ask, looking at Jack. "I don't know what you'd be doing like that, but..."

Al chuckles nervously. "I'm pretty sure she would, too," he says. "I mean, do me for real."

At this, Jack's smirk gets almost evil. "I bet you like it rough," Jack says.

"Well, I wouldn't know," Al replies.

I frown. "Why the hell are we even talking about this?" I ask.

Al and Jack look right at me, with Al's hold on the datapad sort of loosening. I then turn my attention to the datapad. Hm...

"It's not something she _wrote_, is it?" I ask.

"Yep," Jack says, snatching the datapad out of Al's hands. "Catch."

With this, she throws the datapad at me. I barely manage to catch it, fumbling with it for a few seconds before holding it firmly in my hands. When I look past the datapad I can see Al's face becoming beet-red almost immediately. I then look down at the datapad to see... Yep, this is another of Jack's poetic musings. I wonder what...

...

_Morning comes  
><em>_in_ _dark anticipation  
>of empty feeling.<br>There is nothing there._

_Morning takes_  
><em>the fullness<em>  
><em>of the night before.<em>  
><em>There is nothing there.<em>

_Morning steals_  
><em>a last moan<em>  
><em>of feigned ecstasy.<em>  
><em>There is nothing there.<em>

_Morning gives_  
><em>an odd impression<em>  
><em>of many faces<em>  
><em>vanishing<em>  
><em>in the sunlight.<em>

_But this time, there is_  
><em>something there:<em>

_something to take,_  
><em>something that fills<em>  
><em>a small hole<em>  
><em>with great ecstasy,<em>

_A real feeling._

Oh... Oh my...

"Was this _meant _to be read as a huge double entendre?" I ask.

"It could be read that way," Jack comments. She then walks her fingers up Al's chest, looking up at him. "But in another way, it could be addressed to this stud over here... I dunno, call me an idiot, but... you know."

Al looks a little nervous. "I guess we do talk a lot about things that she wouldn't mention to anyone else," he comments. "But... you know how it is, I guess."

I blink. "Oh..." I... Well, I can't say I didn't see this coming, but it _is _kind of nice that Jack went in with this. "So you're both... um...?"

"I... think we are," says Al as he looks over at Jack. "Are we?"

"I think so," says Jack. "Fuck, this is crazy."

I nod. "It kind of is," I comment. "Well... I do have to say that you two look kind of _cute _together. And... I can't say I wasn't expecting it, even if the galaxy is kind of on the brink of ending now."

"Hey, ya gotta grab life by the horns," says Jack.

Al nods his agreement, though he is still blushing. "I guess that's true," he comments. Slowly, I see him bring his free hand up, which then grips Jack's hand rather gently.

I slowly move to one of the tables, placing the datapad there on the table. "I'm... gonna get going," I say. "I'll see you around."

I don't think I can possibly get out of the hidey-hole fast enough. I mean, c'mon, these guys need their privacy! I'm gonna get out of there now while the going is good, give 'em some time to... do the business.

After all, if the world is ending all around us, it's better to do stuff like that now rather than later.

...

Speaking of which, I think I need to talk to Tali right about now...

* * *

><p>When I get back to my quarters, I see Tali sitting on the edge of the bed. She looks out the window into the drive core, and she looks like she's rather... pensive about something. I don't know what, but it seems she's been thinking of what's happened. I don't know.<p>

I step into the room, sitting next to her on the bed. She doesn't seem to acknowledge my presence there at first, but eventually she leans against me slightly. We both end up looking out of the drive core, and I find myself placing my hand on her shoulder.

"Not stepping outside?" I ask.

"I... I can't," says Tali. "Not with all those batarians there. There are... so many of them."

"Is there an issue?" I ask.

"N... Yes..." Tali shake her head.

I shake my head. "Tali, they're refugees," I comment. "You'll be fine."

"That's not it," she says. "I just... I can't be out there. Not when there are so many people on this ship."

I frown. Wait, she got a little uppity on the Citadel... Has she...?

"Tali, are... are you afraid of crowds now?" I ask.

Tali shudders. "I... I don't know," she says. "But I feel all those eyes on me. What if... What if one of them...?"

I shake my head. "Trust me, Tali, none of them want to hurt you," I say. "They all just lost their home, is all. They don't have anywhere else to go. Trust me on that."

"I don't know if I can," says Tali. "I..." She sighs. "I just don't know what they're thinking."

I nod, patting her shoulder delicately. "Well, I doubt they want to hurt you," I say. "Trust me." I pull her close to me, and look down at her. "Look, Tali... is there something I should know?"

"No," Tali replies immediately. "I'll... I'll be fine. Really."

I look at the quarian. "Are you sure?" I ask.

"Yes," she says.

We then fall into a rather lengthy silence, my arm eventually dropping from where it is resting against Tali's shoulders. We both look outside in the drive core, and I look at the way the blue light seems to dance in front of us.

Finally, Tali places a hand on my shoulder. "Art...?" she asks. "I... Can I ask you something?"

I blink in surprise, looking over at Tali. "What's up?" I ask.

Tali nods. "Would you... would you ever leave me?" she asks.

I frown, looking at Tali. "What gave you _that _idea?" I ask.

"It's just... we haven't talked much since... you know," she says. "Would you ever leave me?"

I shake my head. "Of course not, _querida_," I reply, taking her hand gingerly. "I'd never do that."

Tali simply glances to the side, and for the first time I can see her eyes look directly at me. "Perhaps," she says simply. She sits there, and then nods as her fingers begin to work over my hands. "I just thought..."

"Thought what?" I ask.

Tali pauses. "Nothing," she says. "Forget I ever-"

Before Tali can finish, the door opens. I turn around immediately, and see that Isaac is standing there. He looks a little out of breath, but is otherwise looking a little frantic. He enters the room, sitting down on the bed immediately. I find myself letting go of Tali's hands almost too quickly as Isaac sits right by us, but by the way his expression looks, he looks... shocked? Surprised? Something.

"Art, _there _you are!" says Isaac. "It looks like EDI was right!"

I frown, standing up and looking at Isaac. "Isaac?" I ask. "Is something up?"

"Yes," says Isaac. "I don't know how or even why it happened, but... I just heard from a friend of mine!"

Oh my... "Wait, you heard from someone?" I ask.

"Yes!" says Isaac. "And it was someone on Khar'shan, too!" Isaac shakes his head. "But that's not even the craziest part!"

I frown. "Isaac?" I ask. "You're not telling me...?"

"I am," says Isaac. "I was just called by Ellie!"

* * *

><p>"What? Isaac, are you serious?"<p>

"I am, trust me. She wasn't able to tell me the whole story, but apparently the Leviathan started acting up, and now the whole Hegemony is starting to collapse because of all the indoctrination! Not only has your resistance managed to move in to fight the husks that have started showing up, but... It's pandemonium there, from what she told me!"

"So Khar'Shan can still be saved is what you're saying?"

"Yes! And my friend is still alive, too!"

I look over to Shepard and Carhon as they both process this. Shepard shakes her head, looking directly at Isaac. Carhon looks bewildered at this revelation, even with James standing right by his side. I'm the only other person here to process this, but even as I look at Isaac I can tell that Shepard is having a hard time processing this.

"So you're saying we can go help Khar'shan right now," says Jocelyn. "This is hard to believe, Isaac."

"I know what I heard, and I _definitely _know what I saw happening behind her," Isaac replies. "Trust me, Shepard, something is happening there. We can even help the batarians against the Leviathan of Dis!"

Carhon nods. "This is good, Commander," he says. "At least there is something happening down there." He looks back to Isaac. "Did this 'Ellie' lady tell you more?"

"No," Isaac replies. "She doesn't know how it came out that the Hegemony had been indoctrinated, and I don't even know how anyone there found out that something wasn't right. But she did say she would seek out the resistance members. It's what all the slaves on Khar'shan have been doing, according to her."

Shepard nods. "That's good, but all of their efforts will be useless unless the Leviathan can be destroyed," she says. "Lucky for us, we have an entire fleet of ships here. Perhaps we could destroy the Leviathan." She pauses, looking down. "Of course, it'll be useless if the Reapers will probably come back anyway."

"But that's a good thing," says Carhon. "We help liberate a homeworld, and then we use Khar'shan as a line of defense. Besides, I know from reports the resistance has sent me that the Hegemony has been hoarding supplies and resources for themselves. We may not have any dextro food on Khar'shan, and I don't like the thought of having to steal resources from the people of Khar'shan to help ourselves, but it's something."

"I'll be sure to leave as much for the people of Khar'shan as I can," Shepard replies. "And then you're suggesting using Khar'shan as a base of operations for now?"

"It's better than nothing," I comment.

Shepard glances at me before nodding. "That's true," she replies. "We may get overrun by the Reapers later, but for now we have something we can do to stop the Reapers." She then looks up to Carhon. "Now... does anyone know where the Leviathan is?"

"No," Isaac and Carhon say at about the same time.

I look over at Isaac and Carhon as they look at each other in surprise. Before I can comment further, though, Shepard nods. "Well, if we don't know now, we'll find out once we get to the planet," says Shepard. "For now, we at least have a starting point." She then looks at Isaac. "Where did Ellie say she was?"

"She said she was right at the seat of the Hegemony," says Isaac.

Carhon nods. "Then I know where she is," he replies. "And if I know the Hegemony's way of running things, then the Leviathan will probably be close by."

Shepard nods. "Then I think we know what we're going to do," she says. She looks over at Isaac. "Turns out there is still something we can do for this galaxy after all, however small and insignificant it ends up being."

"I guess there is," says Isaac.

Shepard nods. "EDI," she says. "Relay this information to the other ships around us. Gather up a ground team, too. I plan on getting on the ground first to find the Leviathan."

EDI's avatar appears. "_Should I tell the fleet to stay back while you search for the Leviathan?_" she asks.

"Yes," says Shepard. "Those ships have refugees on them, and I don't want to put their lives on the line until we know for sure where the Leviathan is. Once I find the Leviathan, I'll be sure to let you know where it is. Somehow."

"_Of course, Commander_," EDI comments. "_I will tell them to wait for your word._"_  
><em>

With this, EDI's avatar blinks out of existence, and then Shepard looks at Carhon. "Well, it looks like your resistance may see the end of the Hegemony after all."

"It certainly looks that way," Carhon comments. "I can't say we were expecting it to end like _this_, though. In some time, it won't really matter at all."

"Maybe not," says Shepard. "But in the short term, it's better than nothing."

"True," says Carhon.

And with this, I nod, holding my hands behind me. Well... it looks like we're off to go save Khar'shan after all. And hell, it may not mean anything in the long run, but for now it's _something_. And that is far better than nothing, if we can do just one little thing to help people after the Reapers have invaded.

I guess there is hope that things can improve for us, after all.

I look over to Shepard, but she has already turned to Carhon and James. They both nod, and then they exit. I look to Isaac, and then we both follow Shepard, Carhon, and James out of the briefing room.


	32. Chapter 31

_A/N: Okay. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I know I certainly did!_

_Well, anyway, for now we continue on with the story. This time, we go onto Khar'shan and watch as things unravel there. And believe me, there will be a few crazy things that will happen there, both in terms of Art and in terms of the overall story arc of MV3. It will also be a _long _chapter, so stay tuned, 'cause it will take a while to unfold._

_And as for all the people on the Citadel? Don't worry. We'll be getting back to _them _as soon as the Khar'shan arc is done, which will take a while, believe me. So let's get on with it, shall we?_

* * *

><p>Chapter 31: Khar'shan, Part 1: Ruggles: Sun-Treader<p>

The shuttle rocks just a bit as we get taken to Khar'shan. I look to Isaac from where he sits next to me, and he simply nods his head to let me know that he's all right. Kasumi is standing close by, a hand resting on Isaac's shoulder comfortingly. He says he's all right, but he looks all kinds of stressed. The helmet hasn't come on yet, but he is nervously tinkering with his plasma cutter, being careful to aim it towards the floor in case it goes off by accident.

Well, Isaac is feeling all kinds of nervous. Can't say I blame him, though: Ellie is on Khar'shan somewhere, having to deal with the Reapers. And by now, Khar'shan has probably turned into a war zone, which puts Ellie in even greater danger. Nobody tells him that if she's able to contact him, she'll be fine. But I don't think that would help, to be honest, because there's still the possibility of Ellie getting offed while we're trying to find her.

So we simply let Isaac sit there in silence. After a few seconds, Isaac finally attaches the plasma cutter to his leg, picking up some ammunition for his Javelin and looking it over yet again.

Across the shuttle from us, Carhon looks at Isaac, and I notice that Mordin is also looking at the engineer with a calm expression. James sits right next to Carhon, leaning back rather casually and watching Carhon's expression shift. Shepard simply watches us all from where she's leaning against the cockpit of the shuttle. She gives me a hard glance before turning her attention back to the cockpit. I look to the cockpit as well, and after a few seconds Shepard turns to look inside.

"Anything there, Jenny?" Shepard asks.

I see Jenny lean over, looking at Shepard. "Still nothin', mate," Jenny replies. "It's a right ol' Hames here, I'm tellin' ya. From what I'm gettin', the Reapers put a Santa hat on the 'ole planet an' called it Randall, it's so crazy."

"Yeah, but does that tell us anything?" I ask.

"No, mate," she says. "I can't latch onta any one signal. Latch onta one, the Reapers jam it. An' then there's all the other shit cloggin' up the channels."

"Then how did Ellie's call get to Isaac?" Carhon asks.

I look to Carhon. "Well..." I glance at James before turning back to Carhon. "Let's just say for now that Isaac's suit responds to a more powerful signal than what the Reapers might have."

"So it's entirely possible it could have broken through," says James. "Well, that's a bit _loco_, Impy."

We all do a double take at James. "Impy?" asks Isaac.

"You know..." James gestures to Isaac. "All the improvised stuff. The guns, the armor... You know. The whole arsenal."

Isaac nods as he stores his Javelin ammo away. "You learn to adapt when you're in really bad situations," he says. "And you learn to use what you've got."

"Still sounds damn awesome," says James. "Maybe you could tell me how to make some of that."

"Hope you know how to manage your guns," says Isaac.

"Knowledge would be helpful," Mordin supplies. "Basic engineering, also good skill to-"

I suddenly hear a beep come from Isaac. That... Yes, that was the _Dead Space _RIGlink sound! I then look to Isaac as he jumps in surprise. "_Isaac!_" I hear a British-sounding voice shout. "_Isaac! What's happening up there?_"

Isaac looks at the others, and then points at Mordin's omni-tool, right before pointing at his own RIG. "Ellie!" Isaac replies. Hey, so _that's _Ellie! "Whatever you do, stay on the line, and stay where you are as long as you can! I'm going to have someone try to trace this signal so we can find you!"

At this, Mordin instantly gets Isaac's drift. As Shepard leans closer, Mordin kneels in front of Isaac and opens his omni-tool. "_So you're coming!_" Ellie says amidst all this.

"Yes," says Isaac. "I've got a small ground team with me, and we're currently inbound to Khar'shan. Just stay on the line. I'll be there as soon as I can get to you."

"_Good,_" Ellie says. I hear an explosion in the background and a little bit of static, but in a second the conversation is clear again. "_I've also got a couple of civilians with me._"

Isaac looks over as Shepard kneels down. "We'll try to get them out of there, Ellie," says Shepard. "We'll try to make sure they're safe. We just need you to stay strong for them right now."

There's a brief pause on the other line, and I can suddenly hear all the screaming that is happening in the background. Finally, I hear some rounds get launched, and then some plasma cutter shots fired... Wait, Ellie has a plasma cutter? Huh.

"_Isaac, who is that?_" asks Ellie.

"I'm Commander Shepard," Jocelyn replies. "I'm the one in charge of the ship that found Isaac. Trust me, Ellie, we're here to help."

"_So you're bringing in the cavalry, then_," says Ellie. "_Good._"

"I did say I was bringing a ground team," Isaac replies.

"_You did, yeah_," Ellie comments. "_A small ground team, you said. W__e'll need a _lot _more than that if we hope to get rid of every problem on this planet, though. Some of the problems can't actually be dealt with on foot_."

"Don't you worry about that," Shepard replies. "I've got a whole fleet on standby right now, they're just waiting for the word. In the meantime, I'm going to go down there and try to get an idea of what we're up against so the fleet isn't sent in blindly."

"_Why not send them in now?_" Ellie asks.

"The ships have thousands of refugees on them, Ellie," Isaac replies. "We can't risk their lives just yet."

"_Refugees?_" she asks. "_I... I guess that would make sense._" There's a brief pause. "_All right, Commander. But as soon as you find out what you need..._" I hear another explosion, this one a little closer. "_Fuck, another one of the loyalists_."

"Loyalists?" Shepard asks.

"_I don't know why, but there are some Hegemony loyalists,_" says Ellie. "_I can't stay here long. The only thing more dangerous than those weird zombie things are the loyalists, 'cause they can still use weapons. I'll probably have to move from my-_"

"There!" We all look to Mordin as he brings up a map of Khar'shan. On that map is a single white dot, which blinks in and out of existence. "Have trace on signal."

Carhon leans over. "Yeah, that's where I thought it'd be," he says.

I look over to Jenny. "You got that, Jenny?" I ask.

"Ya, mate," says Jenny as she turns her attention back to the console and quickly inputs some coordinates. "Okay... Alright, we're in business now, mates. I'd say our ETA is about ten minutes!"

"_Good_," says Ellie. "_Get down here fast, Isaac. I'll tell you more about what's going on once you find me!_"_  
><em>

"We'll be down as soon as possible!" says Isaac. "Stay alive, Ellie!"

With this, I hear another beep, and the link cuts out.

"Well, we know Ellie's all right," Kasumi comments.

"That's a good thing," I supply.

"It is," says Isaac.

"We'll make sure she's safe," Shepard reassures Isaac. "For now, we have bigger things to worry about." She then turns to the cockpit. "Jenny, get us down there!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Jenny shouts.

And then, I feel a slight kick as the shuttle starts going a little faster.

* * *

><p>It only takes a few more minutes before I hear Jenny whistle. "Will ya look at that, mates?"<p>

I blink, looking to Jenny. I can see a brief glimpse of Khar'shan coming into greater focus as we break the atmosphere. I stand up as Shepard walks to the cockpit. I follow her in there, and look outside of the-holy shit!

Whoah... that's a lot of shit going down.

As we break the atmosphere and get close to the ground, I can see that the scene below us is basically complete pandemonium. I see a couple of explosions on the edges of the viewscreen, and I notice that the city we're pulling into has lots of skirmishes going on. As we get closer, I can see batarians shooting other batarians, husks being shot at, explosions rocking the city... as we get closer, the screaming starts to invade the shuttle. I swear this thing was supposed to be soundproof, but apparently the sounds of suffering can overpower that. As we get even closer, the extent of the pandemonium becomes apparent: it seriously looks like a zombie apocalypse had a child with _Black Hawk Down _or something... Either way, it doesn't look good.

I look over to Jenny at the same time Shepard does. "That's chaotic," Shepard says.

"Ya, mate," Jenny comments. "I can't get that good a landin' zone. The closest landin' zone's about fifty clicks away from Ellie's last location."

Shepard nods. "It could be worse," she says. She pulls out her shotgun, after which I pull out my own assault rifle. I step out to see everyone else preparing their own weapons, after which Shepard nods. "All right." She turns to Isaac. "As soon as we hit the ground, I need you to open one of those conversations with Ellie to figure out where she is."

Isaac nods, inserting a clip into his plasma cutter. "Yes, Shepard," he says.

She nods to the others. "For the rest of you, we need to keep a low profile. The shuttle will probably attract a lot of unwanted attention, so keep your head low until we figure out where Ellie is."

I nod, as does everyone else on the shuttle. A few seconds later, I feel the shuttle slow down. "Jenny, go somewhere safe for now," Shepard says. "If I can, I'll radio you!"

"Ya got it, mate," Jenny replies.

With this, the shuttle door opens, and I then notice that the sky is slightly darkened. I imagine it's both from a combination of smoke billowing everywhere, and the fact that it's twilight in this part of Khar'shan. I hear the sounds of screaming and gunshots everywhere, and I can even see a few civilians running around screaming in terror. I catch sight of a husk or two... how many human slaves did they have on Khar'shan, anyway? And of course, there's the city itself, cold and impersonal and actually in ruins in some places. It looks like it got bombed out for some reason.

I don't get much time to think about it, though, for then I jump off the shuttle next to Shepard. Isaac comes off the shuttle next, with Kasumi, Mordin, James, and Carhon all following rather quickly. Jenny salutes us, and then the shuttle flies away.

"Ellie!" Isaac shouts over the connection. "We're on the planet! Where are you?"

It takes a few seconds for her to reply. "_You just got out of the shuttle that's flying away from you now, right?_"

"Yes, that's us!" says Isaac. "You can see us!"

"_We're on the seventh floor of a ten story building that isn't far from where you landed,_" Ellie replies. "_It's a building that should be directly in front of-shit, you've got husks coming up behind you! They're headed this way!_"

I immediately turn around to see a group of six human husks running at us. Shouting loudly, I raise my assault rifle and shoot at them. I manage to take down one of them and stop another one in its tracks before a shot from behind me takes it out. Of course, the rest of the husks don't get too far thanks to the fact that Shepard's shotgun and Isaac's plasma cutter both make rather short work of these husks. Okay... So that was behind us, which means...

I turn around immediately, as does Shepard. "She's that way!" says Shepard as she begins running.

"_Follow her, Isaac_!" says Ellie. "_She's headed in the right direction!_"

"Right!" Isaac begins following the rest of us as we follow Shepard. "Stay with me, Ellie, we'll be there soon!"

With this, Isaac reloads his plasma cutter rather quickly, running forward with the rest of us. His helmet assembles itself as we run, and damn if it doesn't look badass even while he's running. We all follow the commander, jumping over the occasional piece of debris or something like that. I don't think-

I suddenly hear rounds ping off of my shields. I barely get time to react before I get yanked into cover by Kasumi. Well, shit, there are people that can still shoot here. I'm not sure why I'm so surprised, but... whatever.

I peer out of cover to see a group of about eight batarian soldiers run right on out. I aim my assault rifle at some of them and fire at will, taking down their shields. in a few fell swoops, right before I hear some more rounds ping against my shields. I look up to the building close to where I am to see that there are...

"Oh, hell, we've got them above us!" I shout. I notice Isaac run into cover next to us, firing his plasma cutter up at the batarian shooting at us. The batarian shrinks back behind cover, though, and I think he takes that time to reload.

"_Say hello to the Loyalists_," Ellie replies through the comm link. "_They must've taken up residence in those buildings when we weren't looking._"

"Those?" Isaac asks.

Almost immediately, I hear my shields ping, to the point that this time they actually break. I look to the opposite direction, and immediately push against cover. I look to the building on the other side of the road to see that there's another batarian with a heavy pistol in the building's second story.

God damn it, they're not gonna make this easy on us.

"Right," I comment. "Hang on just a second."

I then aim my rifle at the batarian up there. I begin firing a lot of bursts from the rifle, forcing the batarian in question back into cover. I notice Isaac change to a submachine gun and do the same thing to the guy above us, and I nod at Kasumi. "You think you can get in there and take him out?"

"Of course!" says Kasumi. "Gimme just a second!"

Kasumi cloaks and vanishes from sight almost immediately after. I return my fire to firing at the batarian I've still got suppressed. I take a brief split-second to look ahead to see that Shepard is raining biotic death on most of those batarians before I turn my attention back to the batarian. Okay, he's still hiding out behind cover... Good... That's good...

I hear my shields ping again... wait, when'd they come back online. I look to the side to see that Isaac has taken some time to reload, but think nothing of it before I turn back to the person I'm suppressing and-

I stop once I see Kasumi materialize out of nowhere behind that batarian. She punches him squarely in the face, giving him an electrical shock with her omni-tool before immediately leaping out of the window. She then dashes across the street, setting off an overload that fries the guy above and behind Isaac and I. Isaac takes this as a prime opportunity to fire his submachine gun at the batarian, and he falls as well.

I immediately turn back towards the main fight to see that a few more batarian reinforcements had come in from the front while we were busy. I notice some of them being shot from behind by whoever's in the ten-story building... yeah, that's where Ellie is, but the rounds aren't that frequent. It's Shepard and the rest of us that are doing most of the shooting.

It's shooting that I join pretty quickly, running out of cover and waving my assault rifle in a wild suppressing motion. It causes all the batarian loyalists to duck back into cover, but fortunately this gives Shepard the opening she needs. I see her charge towards one of the batarians, and I notice that Mordin, Carhon, and James all take advantage of this moment as the batarians come right out of cover. I quickly press flat against a road block that was placed there for whatever reason, reloading my assault rifle as I see Isaac and Kasumi run forward. I come out of cover again, just as I see one final batarian loyalist get taken down.

I look over at Shepard, who nods at this turn of events. "All right!" she says. "Let's get over to Ellie before anything else happens!"

I then hear several crashing sounds behind us, and turn around immediately to see that four... _things _seem to have crashed into the ground back over where we were first attacked by husks. I barely get any time to think about this, though, for then they're shooting at us. Rounds ping off of my shields again, and then I leap into cover just as my shields die. I sit there for a few seconds, waiting for my shields to recover from whatever that was. When they do recover, I simply shake my head.

"God damn it, these things just love throwing mooks at us!" I shout. I then come out of cover to-

...

Holy hell. What... what is _that_!?

I see this large, shambling form coming out, but it's not like anything I've ever seen. It's... It's a creepy husk that has a gun for an arm, but that... No... Is that what a batarian husk looks like? Holy shit, that's just... Husks can shoot now. That's creepy in so many ways it's not even funny. But that's... Holy _fuck_...

I raise my assault rifle, firing at one of those... _husks_. It goes down rather quickly, almost too quickly for my taste, but that's when I realize that Isaac had already chopped its gun arm off with that plasma cutter of his. I turn my attention to another husk, however, shooting it quickly before hearing two more booms. Motherfu-

My shields suddenly die again. Okay, that's just-

Ow! Mother_fucker_, ow!

I go back behind cover, looking directly at my arm. Fuck, ow! Shit, I think I just got shot in the arm by a... oh, god, is that the smell of burning flesh? Shit!

I drop my assault rifle and open my omni-tool... Okay, yes, there's the medigel. Oh, feels a lot better already. I'll have to get that looked at by a doctor when we find one, but... ow, that hurt. And I think there was some burned flesh in there?

I shake my head, picking up my assault rifle. By that point, though, the others have mostly taken care of these new husks. That's the good news. The bad news is they're still pouring in.

I aim my assault rifle at the closest of these new husks, and then begin opening fire on it. It turns its attention towards me, and begins firing. I barely notice that my shields are there, but they actually drop again. I drop into cover again, not willing to risk _two _injuries like what I just got. Seriously, our shields are epically failing against these guys, and I have no idea why...

It's enough that when I hear the beep that signals that my shields are back up, I stay as close behind cover as I can. I let off a few shots from my assault rifle, and manage to take one of the things down. I duck down immediately, barely dodging the incoming fire that comes as a reaction to that one falling. I slowly get to my feet, being careful to keep my head down.

When I peek above cover, though, I see one husk go down. When I look around to see the other husks, though, they've all been taken care of. I look over to Isaac as he approaches, looking a little bloody from where one of those rounds must have grazed his cheek. He shakes his head, and then looks at the ten-story building behind him. Shepard joins us soon after, and then looks at the building.

"Right," I say.

"_It looks clear, for now,_" says Ellie. "_I think now would be the best time to get up here, before more things show up._"_  
><em>

"Got it," says Shepard. She then looks to us. "Come on. Let's go."

And with this, we all follow Shepard into the building.

* * *

><p>We climb up several flights of stairs, noticing that the building looks like it had been gutted before our arrival. Hm... if the building's gutted...<p>

We finally get to the seventh floor. Shepard enters first, followed by Isaac, Carhon, and myself. Mordin, James, and Kasumi enter behind us as we see all but three of the other occupants turn to us with fear in their eyes. There are a few batarians there, at least five in number. Two of them are children, one of them is a woman, and two of them are looking out of sniper rifles.

And then I look at the sole human in the room, the only one who actually manages to raise a weapon at us. She's a woman who looks to be rather young, but looks surprisingly menacing for having pigtails. I also notice that she's wearing an eyepatch over her right eye, and is sporting a plasma cutter. As for her clothes... holy hell, have they been washed? It looks like they haven't been washed for months! I mean, I can tell it's a tank top and pants, but still! She looks at the rest of us with her one good eye, and then turns her attention to Isaac.

"Isaac..." she says, lowering her plasma cutter.

Isaac's helmet folds away, and then he looks at her with an extremely relieved expression on his face. He places his own plasma cutter away, walking forward. "Ellie," he says. "Ellie, you're all right!"

Wow, that's Ellie? Hm... Wow, she does look like she's gone through hell. Still kinda pretty though, but what do I know? Ellie starts moving forward, and then she and Isaac suddenly hug in the middle of the room. They hold this position for a few seconds, relief washing through both of them. They then exhale rather strongly, parting just a few seconds later.

"I thought you'd never get off that ship alive," says Ellie.

"I got _very _lucky," says Isaac. "The ship was raided by them, and they actually got me out of that hell hole. They're the first group of people I've actually been able to trust in a while."

"Knowing what you've been through..." Ellie turns to us, bowing slightly. "Thank you for taking care of Isaac."

I nod. "It's always a good thing to help people who are sort of lost in things," I reply, stepping towards Ellie Langford as Shepard follows. "Isaac's talked quite a bit about you. He was quite worried."

Ellie nods. "He had good reason to be," she replies. "I'd rather _not _go through the slave system again. Some of the things that happened there..." She pauses, glancing to the side. However, a frown comes on her face, and she shakes her head. "But we can't afford to think about that now. We're on a planet where everything has basically gone to shit, there'll be time to talk about all that later." She then turns to the Commander. "Are you Shepard?"

"Yes, Ms. Langford," says Shepard. "We're here to help, and hopefully destroy the Leviathan."

"Good," says Ellie. "I don't even know how most of this stuff happened." She then turns to the batarians. "Karg, what's the situation outside?"

The two sniper rifle guys look through their scopes again, scouting the area that I think we were just in. "Still no activity," one of them replies. "I don't like this."

"Neither do I, but we'll be out of here soon so it won't matter anyway," Ellie replies. "Keep watch." She then gestures to us, and we all step closer to the batarians.

The two children look on in surprise, while the woman looks petrified. The sniper rifle guys continue laying with their stomachs on the ground, their sniper rifles positioned so they can shoot at whatever is coming at them. Hm, I guess they must've been the source of some of the shots I couldn't identify. We all turn to Ellie as she pauses, looking outside the window before turning her attention back to us. She leans against a bare pillar, and shrugs.

"Believe it or not, this was one of the less crowded sectors," she says. "Hopefully, we should have a few minutes."

Shepard frowns. "We annihilated an entire group of hostiles," she says. "They may be coming here faster than you might think."

"Also true," Ellie admits, crossing her arms. "I'll make this as quick as I can, but I can't guarantee that I'll avoid being interrupted."

The Commander's expression eases, and then she looks over at the woman and the two children. "Are those the civilians?" Shepard asks.

"Yes," says Ellie. "They're the wife and children of my former master." She sighs. "Odd, I know, but nobody really had any options. When everything fell apart, my master ordered me to get them to safety."

"It certainly looks that way," says Shepard. Her attention turns to the two snipers. "And what about those two?"

"Those two are probably the only reason that me and the civilians are still here," says Ellie. "We ran into them before I noticed that Isaac's RIG was within calling range. It was actually something of an accident that we ran into them, but so far they've been really helpful." Ellie looks at them. "They claim they're resistance against the Hegemony, but they"-here, she points at the woman and the two children-"don't actually believe it."

"Well, there's a relatively simple way to prove that," says Carhon as he comes out from behind us. "Commander, I'll need a moment."

"Certainly, Carhon," says Shepard.

With this, our own batarian walks forward, with both snipers looking away from their weapons for a second. They both proceed to stand up, and look at Carhon as he stands in front of them.

After a few seconds, Carhon immediately stands at attention, his hand curling into a fist which then beats his chest. The other two respond in kind, one of them giving a rather large nod. The second of the two snipers immediately pulls the other snipers' head up, and then they all sort of look at each other with nonplussed expressions. After a few seconds, Carhon's arm falls to his side again, though the two soldiers remain in their salutes. Finally, they drop the salutes right as Carhon extends his hand for a handshake. I watch as both batarians take turns to shake Carhon's hands, though I notice that the index finger of both parties curls in whenever they go in for the handshake.

Finally, Carhon turns, and nods. "They're resistance," he says.

At this, I notice the civilians ease up only slightly. "Secret signs?" I ask.

"You never know who's really what," one of the snipers says. "The sign always changes depending on how involved with the resistance you are. It doesn't exactly stop Hegemony spies from entering the resistance, but the higher ups usually run extensive background checks on potential recruits anyway. All the Hegemony knows is that we use secret hand signs, and that's about it." He lays back down, looking up at Carhon right as he's perched at his rifle. "You from off-world?"

"Yes," says Carhon. "I was mostly doing operations outside of Khar'shan when I ran into these people. They offered me information and a connection with the Council."

The second sniper whistles at this, setting down to look through his sniper rifle again. "Talk about being interesting," he says. "This is all crazy."

"That it is," says Ellie. "Good. I didn't trust that they were from the resistance myself, actually. It's good to get the confirmation, though. They say there's a resistance outpost close by."

Shepard arcs an eyebrow. "Is there?" she asks.

"Yes," Ellie replies. "I haven't been able to tell, though. Comms have been screwy since we started running around, and it's hard to latch on to a signal before we lose it."

"The pilot of my shuttle told me she was having similar issues," says Shepard. "She said she couldn't latch onto a signal long enough for it to mean anything."

"Sounds familiar," one of the snipers comments. "We've had issues with comms since the Leviathan went live. We're trying to coordinate our efforts with the resistance, but we can't really do much without our own Fleet, and we can't contact any resistance members beyond the relay to get the Fleet through."

Shepard nods. "I actually have some information about that myself," she comments. "But we probably don't have time to talk about it here."

"You can probably tell the people in charge of the resistance outpost we're heading to, then," says one of the snipers.

"It sounds like an awfully convenient thing that the resistance had outposts already positioned," says Shepard.

"It was one of our precautions," Carhon replies. "In case things between us and the Hegemony blew up into full-scale warfare, we had positioned several strategic outposts on Khar'shan."

"They were equipped with the best things we could get our hands on," one of the snipers adds. "Comm links, the ability to grow our own food, the most secure terminals you can get without being part of the Hegemony... They even already had people maintaining them."

"We needed to be prepared for anything," Carhon comments. "And in the event that the Hegemony had started to employ more... brutal tactics against the resistance, we needed to be prepared." He nods, looking outside the window before turning his attention back to us. "It looks like it's paid off in more ways than anyone could have anticipated."

"That it does," says Ellie.

"So we're heading to a resistance outpost," says Shepard. "What do we do there?"

"Our hope is that the resistance has secured a few comm lines by now," says the other sniper. "Hopefully, they'll be attempting to coordinate an attack against the Hegemony. They'll also hopefully have figured out where the Leviathan is, or at least something that we can use to find out where it's gone. That won't do us much good if we don't have anything with which to attack it, though."

"We had a run-in with it when we first knew that everything had gone to hell," Ellie says. "Honestly, I still have no idea how we survived that." She pauses, looking up to the sky nervously before looking back to Shepard. "It's huge. Trust me, it's not something we can take down without at least a full fleet of ships."

Shepard nods. "I have a fleet of ships waiting close to the mass relay," she says. "They're currently waiting for my word."

The two sniper guys look at Shepard, and I notice that their eyes have widened considerably. "You... there's a fleet at your disposal?"

"Yes," says Shepard.

The two snipers look at each other in shock before nodding. "Well... I can't say we were expecting that, but... it's good that we've got that resource," says one of the snipers.

"Then I guess we better get to that outpost," says Ellie.

"Yes," says Shepard. "We can catch up and figure everything else out there."

"Good, because we should get going right now," says Ellie. She then looks to the two snipers as they pick their sniper rifles up. "I don't think we'll want to be here when the hostiles return, especially if they're out for revenge as you think they might be."

"You read my mind," says Shepard. She then turns to us, and we all draw our weapons. "Let's get to this resistance post. Ellie, do you know the way?"

"Yes," says Ellie. "They told me in case I had to run over there without them, but that doesn't look like it'll be necessary."

"Then let's go," Shepard says.

Shepard then gestures to Ellie, who nods and leads the way out of the building. Isaac walks up to me as we follow her out, and I notice him holding back a smirk. I don't get to ask about this, though, for then his helmet reappears, and his face is back behind blue light before I can ask him anything else.

He walks ahead, and I simply follow him back down the stairs, reloading my assault rifle as we go.

* * *

><p>As soon as we hit the ground, Ellie moves as quickly as she can down the street. We follow her rather quickly, with Mordin gesturing to our three civilians to keep their heads down. I raise my assault rifle, but find nothing of note as we progress down the street. Behind us, I hear some commotion, but think nothing about it as we disappear down a corner.<p>

Okay... Ellie looks up, with Isaac joining her at the front of the pack. They both look around, holding their respective plasma cutters out in front of them as Shepard joins them. Ellie nods, gesturing for all of us to follow.

"This way," she says.

The two resistance members we ran into earlier nod at this, and then move rather quickly. Everyone else moves quickly, and then we're suddenly weaving through a few back streets. Nothing really eventful happens, which... Hm, doesn't that seem odd for a planet that's under siege? Maybe they're just stretched a little thin...

We weave through a few more back alleys, and I find myself glancing at the two resistance members who bring up the rear along with James. The resistance members don't seem to be complaining so far, and their expressions look impassive if a bit approving, so it can't be that Ellie is leading us in the wrong direction. Not unless they're fakes, but Carhon proved that definitively. So what the hell is up with this whole situation?

Shit... I don't like this one bit.

I stow my assault rifle away and take out my shotgun just as get to the end of a back street. This takes us to a rather open road where there's no cover. However, before we step out, Ellie stops, looking around. Isaac and Shepard stop as well, looking at the street in front of them. I come forward, looking around at the open street.

"I don't like this," says Ellie. "We haven't met any resistance at all on the way here."

"They could be trying to ambush us," says Shepard. "How much further do we have to go?"

"Not too much," says Ellie. She then points at a door just across the street. "If the information is right, that's our outpost."

I look to where Ellie is pointing to see a rather plain building there. However, I can see that there are a few barricades set up, where snipers are sitting. I notice that there is a sniper looking in our direction, and peeking out of his sniper rifle before looking at us through the scope again.

"Well, it certainly looks like an outpost, I'll give it that," I comment. "And they're keeping it well defended."

"Which is also good," says Shepard. She then turns to the two resistance members, who have come up to us in the lull. "Why is it so silent?"

"I don't know," says one of the resistance members. "When we were unscrambling comm channels earlier, though, I thought I heard a few calls for distress from some civilians that were trying to get there. Apparently, they had been ambushed by something right as they were about to get to one of the outposts. I don't know how they knew where the outpost was, but I imagine they must've seen the snipers and figured it was safe."

I peer around the corner, looking down the street to-

Oh.

"I _think _I might know where the Reapers get some of their troops," I comment, pointing to the dragon's teeth that I see sporadically spaced around there. I only see three of them there, but that's enough to cause some alarms. I mean...

"They must be lulling the civilians into a false sense of security," Shepard comments. "The bastards..."

I nod, looking to the three civilians. "Well, that means we're likely going to get ambushed the minute we move from this spot," says Ellie. "How do you want to play this, Shepard?"

Shepard looks at the outpost again before turning back to the resistance members. "Your friends won't open fire on us, will they?"

"No," says the other resistance member. "At least, I don't think they will. I think they'll know who's on which side once we get attacked on our way to the outpost, to be honest. They may suspect that we're Hegemony forces trying to infiltrate their ranks, but I don't think they're dumb enough to shoot first and ask questions later."

Shepard nods, gesturing to the three batarian civilians. "Then we're going to move in a disjointed line," says Shepard. "We're going to put the civilians in the middle of it, with the rest of us covering their movement, as well as pushing them towards the outpost's door if it gets really rough. From there, we'll have to hope for the best." Shepard pumps her shotgun. "And we _cannot _assume that the Reapers are not going to attack just because we get to the door. So stay on guard, even if you manage to get all the way to the door without anything happening."

I nod, pumping my shotgun. "Got it," I comment.

Shepard nods to the resistance members. "You should head out first," Shepard says. "Take Carhon, Mordin, and Kasumi with you. The rest of us will round out the back of the group." Shepard nods, and gestures to the two resistance fighters.

"You got it," says the first of the two resistance members. They then look outside as Carhon, Mordin, and Kasumi all take their places pretty close to the two resistance fighters. The five of them then move outside of the alley, heading towards the door on the opposite side of the street with the three civilians following rather quickly. I glance up to see that the snipers are now looking extra vigilant with our crossing, and then look to Shepard as she nods at us.

I barely manage to get a quarter of the way across the street when a strange hissing sound suddenly sounds from around us. And before long, I see a form jump from one of the buildings to tackle the female civilian.

As her scream rips through the otherwise silent air, all hell breaks loose.

I look at the civilian, right as Shepard rushes forward and literally whacks the husk with her shotgun. I briefly recognize it as one of those quarian/geth hybrids from Rannoch before I see the two resistance members grabbing the kids and running for it. I turn around upon hearing-

Ah!

Okay, that's not good!

I turn to the side, narrowly dodging the fist of the quarian/geth husk that's tackled me to the ground. I quickly go up and hit it in the face with my shotgun, causing it to fall to the side. I scramble to my feet, standing up and then firing my shotgun at it. The shotgun round misses, though, and it's only because Isaac puts it in a stasis that it doesn't come running around. Okay, maybe this time I'll-

Holy hell, what just climbed onto my back? Ack! I find myself running forward and away from the quarian/geth husk, flailing my arms trying to get this thing off. Come on, come on, get off! Get-

I hear a loud boom, and suddenly the thing that has a hold on me has let go slightly. I feel a slight grazing sensation on my back, but I ignore it as I manage to free my right arm up enough to hit this thing in what I assume is its head. I hear a squeal, and only turn to see a human husk wail away. I quickly free my remaining arm, and before I know it I've shot the husk in the head while taking a few steps back.

Holy shit... this is just... Fuck!

I turn back to where I was to see that there are numerous husks raining down on us. Kasumi has just jumped back from narrowly dodging a human husk, while Mordin is firing at a quarian/geth husk that is flying at him at a speed that I don't think will help anyone. I notice that there are a lot more husks coming in, but that the batarians fortified in the roof are firing down at those husks. Even with their efforts, though, the number of husks is a little worrying. Shit... I don't see the civilians anywhere, but maybe that's a good thing.

I hear a hiss from close by, and then turn to see that there's another quarian/geth hybrid staring down at one of the batarian snipers from a wall just above them. Shit, gotta do something! I raise my shotgun, firing at the husk above one of the snipers. It's probably too far away to do anything, but if it gets the attention of the sniper just below it, then-

Yes! The batarian sniper pulls out a pistol and basically empties his clip into the quarian/geth husk. All right!

I quickly turn to see a human husk rushing at me. I shoot this one with my shotgun, though I quickly turn to see that there's another three of them where that one came from. Shit... I quickly turn and run back to the rest of the group, and I barely dodge a stasis use from Isaac as he raises his plasma cutter. Before he can do much with it, however, another quarian/geth hybrid comes out of nowhere and tackles him to the ground.

Immediately, I spring into action, pumping my shotgun and firing a round at the quarian/geth hybrid. It screams in pain, but it's distracted long enough for Isaac to elbow it in the face. However, in so doing, the husk manages to grab Isaac's arm, and it pulls as hard as it can. Before I can pump a third round into the husk, it manages to bear its free arm down on Isaac's arm.

Oh dear, I don't think the human arm is supposed to bend in _quite _that way...

And Isaac obviously agrees, because then he is screaming at the top of his lungs. I pump the third shotgun round at the quarian/geth hybrid, this time getting the husk off of the CEC engineer. I rush forward and stamp the quarian hybrid in the face, before turning my attention to Isaac.

In so doing, I notice something in my peripheral vision. As I bend down next to Isaac and look up, I see that Shepard and most of the others are already standing at the door, gesturing at me like mad. I see Mordin run into the door which the resistance members are keeping open, and I then notice that Carhon, James, and a few other people I don't recognize are firing at will into the approaching crowd of husks.

I nod, kneeling down and picking Isaac up by his good arm. I bring this arm over my shoulders, and begin running towards Shepard and the others. I run as fast as I can, though I immediately hear the sounds of a human husk from behind me. Damn it, come on... get over there...

I hear Isaac groan in pain, but I pay it no mind as suddenly I find myself through the threshhold. Almost immediately, the door seals shut behind Isaac and myself, and I find myself in an area that is lit by candles. A lot of candles, actually. I look around, and my eyes slowly adjust to the decreased brightness. Shit... this place is really lit with candles?

I glance to the side, and literally jump right when I hear a thump come from behind me. I glance behind me, seeing that the door is still shut. I glance to the side again, seeing Shepard there looking incredibly relieved. Ellie also looks like she's doing all right, though Mordin is in front of her applying a rather generous dose of medigel to a rather large gash in her arm. I look to everyone else to see that the two civilian children are both all right, though they're both watching their hysterical mother as she's being comforted by Kasumi to the best of her ability. I then turn to the other side to see Carhon and James both standing there, with Carhon looking at Isaac and myself.

Isaac eventually takes his arm away from me, though he still looks like he's in pain. This... Okay... Wow, we actually managed to get out of that. I mean, there were the human husks there, the geth/quarian...

...

Wait a second.

"Where the hell did the quarian/geth guys come from?" I ask.

Carhon shakes his head. "You thought all batarian slaves were human?" he asks. "There's a sizeable number of quarian slaves that were picked up on their Pilgrimage."

I frown. "But that doesn't explain where the geth parts come from..." I comment. I shake my head, looking at the commander. "Never mind. They're here, somehow, and that's not a good thing."

"You've seen those husks before?" asks Shepard.

I nod. "We have," I comment. "Long story, believe me." I look to the other batarians. "Some of us are hurt."

"There's a med bay in the lower levels," says one of the resistance guards. "Your injured can head there. In the meantime..." He then looks at Shepard. "It's not often one sees the Lion of Elysium here on Khar'shan."

Shepard crosses her arms. "Indeed it's not," she says. "I have a fleet at my disposal to help take down the Leviathan, but there are tens of thousands of refugees taking refuge on that fleet. I don't feel comfortable sending the fleet in unless I know what we're dealing with here."

The guards all nod. "We can take you to our leader, then," one of them says. "He's been trying to sift through the comms all day. He can help you on that."

Shepard nods. "Good," she says. She turns to us. "Head down to the med bay, and wait for me there. Hopefully, I'll only be a few minutes."

And with this, she nods to the batarian guards. Some of them lead her down a corridor that looks to be a little more well-lit than the other corridors around here. I turn to the other guards, who are already opening a door on the side that goes down to a basement level. I look at Isaac once as he gingerly holds his broken arm as still as he can before we both descend into the ground of Khar'shan. Briefly, I feel some pain flare up in my arm, and remember that I do actually have to get that gunshot looked at.

I nod, making a mental note to get that taken care of as we all walk down the stairs.

* * *

><p>I watch the batarian as he wraps a final bandage around my arm. "That should do the trick," the batarian doctor says, giving my arm a light pat. "You should be combat ready in an hour or two."<p>

I nod, pulling myself up to the edge of the medical table. This med bay is actually pretty large, considering that there are something along the lines of... _eight _beds here? I don't know, but they sort of do look a little on the primitive side. I think this is one of the few parts of this outpost that actually uses electrical lighting, as I can see electric lamps lighting the area. There are a few people running around this med-bay, and I see one of the doctors tending to Isaac's wound on a separate table. Otherwise, though, the tables are occupied by batarian civilians and what looks like former human slaves. I even see a quarian sitting in the corner ingesting a tube of dextro paste.

"Thanks," I say, looking around at the room. It's a little cramped, too, so there's not much room to do stuff. But still, it's better than nothing. "You get a lot of business around these parts, huh?"

The doctor nods. "We do our best," he says. "Particularly over the last two days." He shakes his head. "Sometimes we can't save everyone, but we do what we can."

I smile. "Well, hopefully, things'll look up here." I nod, getting off the table. "Thank you, and good luck with everything."

"It's no trouble at all," says the batarian. And with this, he walks off to see his next patient. I look to where the lone quarian sits, before turning my attention back to Isaac. The engineer is just sitting up, with the batarian doctor tending to him giving some final instructions. Isaac nods at these, and then the doctor runs off. I notice the rather large cast on Isaac's arm. Hm... that cast looks pretty nasty, actually. Damn it, he's gonna be out of combat for a bit, isn't he?

I immediately walk over to Isaac, leaning up next to him so he's looking right at me. I look to the rest of the med bay as I stand next to where he's sitting, and then turn my attention back to the engineer. Isaac nods as I settle in place next to him, and then relaxes slightly.

"That looks like a pretty nasty cast," I comment.

"It was a pretty nasty wound," says Isaac. "I haven't had a wound that bad since I was on the Ishimura." He pauses, looking around. "It's nice not to have to tend to my own broken bones for once."

"I'll bet," I comment. I look up above us. "So that was Ellie, huh?"

"I should've expected she'd be strong enough to still be alive at a time like this," he says. "I'm glad she's alive, though. She's probably the only real friend I've had since I first stepped onto the Ishimura."

"I'll bet," I comment, looking up. "Well, apart from us, of course."

"You didn't have any experiences with... _them_," Isaac points out, glancing around at us. "But that's true, I guess." He leans his good arm against his knee. "I guess it's just as bad I might not be able to join you, then. The doctor said I shouldn't move around with this cast for a few hours at the most, and then to take it easy for a day or two." Isaac shakes his head. "I'm shocked at the healing time, though. I wish I had some of the stuff they have here."

I nod. "Yeah, medicine in this place is crazy, even in the worst parts of it." I look up at the ceiling. "What's up with the eyepatch?"

"She actually lost that eye," Isaac comments. "She was attacked with a screwdriver."

I cringe at this, holding my hand up to my mouth. "Ow," I say almost immediately. "I'll bet... oh, god, that must've been hard for her. I mean... a _screwdriver_? That must've hurt enough for her to be out of it for a few hours."

In response, Isaac shakes his head. "Within minutes of it happening, she was already acting like her usual self," he comments. "She actually told me that I owed her an eye when it happened."

I raise an eyebrow. "Did she really?" I ask.

"Yes," says Isaac. "She's been through a lot, but she's got an inner fire, she does. It's good to see that even batarian slavers can't put it out, even after all the stuff I read about them."

"Sticks and stones can break my bones, but... well, you know the rest."

Isaac and I both turn to my right to see that Ellie is indeed standing there. She looks at us with a non-descript look as I turn my attention to her. When I glance back at Isaac, though, I see that he looks infinitely happy to see her.

"Ellie," says Isaac.

"Hey, Isaac," Ellie replies. "Is your arm all right?"

"It will be," Isaac replies. "I still owe you that eye, don't I?"

Ellie shakes her head. "They wouldn't let me replace it," she says. "But I don't know if you still owe me that eye. I think this time we got out of it together."

"Yeah, that's true," Isaac supplies.

I shrug. "Well, you never know," I comment. "I happen to think eyepatches make people pretty badass. Though... hearing how you lost that eye..."

"I could use a cybernetic replacement," she comments. "But by now I'm actually starting to get pretty used to it." She looks over at me. "It seems Isaac's making friends."

I shrug. "It's a long story," I say. "But yeah, he's starting to make friends around here. Just ask Kasumi and Carhon about that." I look at Ellie. "Isaac told us a lot about you. He was _really _worried about you."

"As far as things go, I actually got pretty lucky," Ellie replies. "My... _master_, for lack of a better term, was actually not a _completely_ horrible man. I had to take a lot of racist bullshit from him, but it wasn't too bad." She pauses. "I eventually learned how to remain on his good side. That's when the _really _bad stuff stopped, but until then..." She pauses. "I'd rather not talk about the really bad things, to be honest."

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to get us both out of that," says Isaac. "I should've been able to do better."

Ellie shrugs. "You did your best, Isaac," she says. "And in the end, we're both here, aren't we?"

The CEC engineer nods. "That's true," he says. "We're both here." He looks over at me. "Actually, Ellie, I've been able to loosen up here in a way I haven't been able to for years."

"How so?" asks Ellie, frowning.

I shrug. "It's..." I glance around at all the other people in the med bay. Damn it, I can't tell her here. "It's complicated," I say. "I think we'll have to continue _that _conversation when we get back to the Normandy. But for now... we've got this."

"Yes," says Ellie. She looks at us. "The Commander's busy debriefing the main resistance person at this outpost. Until then, we're basically waiting for her to come up with a game plan." Ellie looks at me. "The Commander looks like she knows what she's doing."

I shrug. "Well, she _did _save the galaxy at least twice before this point," I comment. "Not that it matters now, but..."

Ellie blinks in surprise. "Really?" she asks. "She saved the galaxy twice?"

"Oh yeah," I comment. "And believe me, I was there."

Ellie shakes her head. "This probably makes me sound like I lived under a rock, but... what did she do with that?" she asks.

I shrug. "Well, it depends on your definition of what a 'rock' is in this case," I reply. "And as for what she did, well..." I nod, leaning forward. "Let me tell you the story as I saw it."

And with this, I tell Ellie the tale of Commander Shepard up to its present point.

* * *

><p>Well, I think that was rather enlightening for Ellie in a lot of ways. She seemed to like the tale a lot, but as I continued I thought I noticed all the other batarians listening in. Even if they weren't looking at me, I could tell that there were people seriously listening. And... well, I guess it just felt good to tell the story of Commander Shepard again. That makes me happy more than anything.<p>

The few hours after that are relatively uneventful, though I do end up running into a lot of batarians. Carhon and James are off by themselves somewhere (who knows where), and I think Mordin has started helping some of the batarian doctors with their injured. They could use the organization, it seems like, and I know that Mordin is a pretty good medical doctor. I mean, come on, would he really have been running that clinic on Omega if he _didn't _know a thing or two about medicine? So Mordin does that, and as for me...

Well, I stand right at the stairs, looking at Kasumi. We're both looking at the med-bay doors, where Isaac and Ellie are both chatting away. I lean against the door, looking at it and thinking about them. Man, Isaac seemed so relieved to see that Ellie's all right.

"Well, they certainly seem happy to be back together," says... whoah, wait, what?

I turn to my left to see Kasumi materlize right there next to me. I frown, leaning away from her slightly. "When the hell did you get over here?" I ask.

"Just now," says Kasumi. "I was busy eavesdropping on the Commander's meeting." She shrugs. "I'm glad Isaac's finally found Ellie. It's going to really give him some peace of mind, having her there."

I nod. "He ever tell you about Ellie?" I ask.

"A couple of times." Kasumi crosses her arms. "When we get back to the Citadel, I've gotta do some shopping with her, too."

"_If _we get back," I comment. "I don't know so much about the whole 'when' bit."

"We have to hope we can get back," Kasumi comments. "I mean, us being here would be for nothing if we don't, right?"

I shrug. "I don't know," I say. I look over to the thief. "You said you had just gotten back from eavesdropping on Shepard's meeting?"

"Most of it was spent trying to unscramble various comm lines," she says. "And most of it was Shep getting updates from other batarian leaders. It looks like there are lots of people in our position, stuck in these little outposts with nowhere else to go. It's kind of sad, really, but we can change that."

"Do they know anything?" I ask.

"A couple things," says Kasumi. "They know this didn't just start a few days ago."

"Obviously not," I comment. "I don't think there was any way that it could've gotten this bad so quickly if it did start just recently."

"You and all of the resistance people," says Kasumi. "So they think that they must've been indoctrinated at some point when they started poking around in the Leviathan. They don't exactly know when it started, but most of the evidence they've got points to them starting to look at it last year."

"Around the time when we would've been dealing with the Collectors," I comment. "I know Carhon mentioned something about the batarians taking colonists and all that, so..."

"That explains those new husks," says Kasumi. "But like all crazy things, it doesn't explain where all the geth parts came for the quarian/geth things."

"I know!" I say. "How the hell did _that _happen?"

"I don't know the details myself, but apparently there are batarian pirate bands that like to pillage geth ships," says Kasumi.

Whoah, hold on! "Wait, what?" I ask. "That... that sound suicidal."

"It is, kind of," says Kasumi. "It explains why not many people do it, and according to these guys most people don't try it because it's so risky. But the pirates that do pillage geth ships-and live to tell about it-actually sell geth technology directly to the Hegemony." Kasumi shakes her head. "This is all crazy, really. We know where all the factors came in, but..."

"Hey, it's possible," I comment. "I knew a lot of nations back home that managed to keep huge secrets from everyone else in the world."

"Hm." Kasumi shrugs. "It just seems wild is all."

"It _feels _wild," I comment. "And it gets even wilder when you consider that we have to clean up _their_ mess. So how the hell are we going to do that?"

"Oh, I don't know," says Kasumi. "I ducked out before they could get to that. My cloak doesn't last forever, and that room was so small they would've found me eventually even if it did." She looks up. "But we may have to call Jenny in soon."

"Speaking of which," I comment. "Is she okay?"

"She managed to land at another outpost, actually," says Kasumi. "That was mentioned by one of the other outposts that we contacted. The communication was all messy from the signal jamming, but I'd know that Scottishy-Irish accent anywhere." Kasumi shakes her head. "Nice to see she's still kicking."

"I bet she'll be doing a lot more flying in the very near future," I comment. I then look up at the ceiling. "It's still pretty fucked up, though. The Reapers have dealt with an entire planet, and the planet is being systematically... _worked on_. It kind of makes you think." I sigh, and then look to Kasumi. "Do you think the same thing is happening to other homeworlds right now?"

"Maybe," says Kasumi. "I wonder how Earth is faring."

I snort. "Probably not well," I comment. "I mean... if the Collectors were any indication, Earth probably has it really bad right now, there's no question about it." I look up, sighing. "I wonder, Kasumi. What's happening with Earth? Are there any survivors there, and is there a resistance mounting there? And..." I look down, shaking my head. "I know it's a little ridiculous, but... what's going on in my hometown?"

Kasumi shakes her head. "Trust me, it's not ridiculous," she says. "But I'm sure you could find out what's going on with that little Fade thing of yours."

I shake my head. "I could, but that would just make me more worried," I comment. "And besides, I don't need the Fade to tell me that it's probably going through a lot of hell right now." I snort. "Miami was a pretty crap town anyway. I don't exactly miss it. I mean, I don't want the Reapers to raze it to the ground, but I don't miss it badly enough that I want to know what's going on there."

"I see." Kasumi leans back. "Well, in that case... then yeah, I can see that."

I nod. "It's just crazy is all." I look over to Kasumi, before looking back at the med bay doors. "Wow, Isaac's still with Ellie. You want to head down there and introduce yourself?"

Kasumi shrugs. "Sure, why not?" she says.

I nod. "Come on, then."

With this, the two of us enter the med bay, and then we walk over to where Isaac and Ellie are.

* * *

><p>That goes by rather uneventfully, of course, and after I introduced Kasumi to Isaac and Ellie, they pretty much all got into it quickly. So I left them to their own devices and walked back up the stairs. And from there, it was basically just me doing absolutely nothing. Well, except for exploring this place a little, but there's nothing that's really all that worth noting in here. Well, except the mess hall. The rations here taste like ass, but unfortunately there's really not much we can do when the only other food supplies are kind of not faring so well. It's a pretty dimly lit place, though, and that would be annoying if not for the fact that candlelight is actually kind of nice.<p>

So I blink in surprise when Shepard comes around and picks me up, saying that we have to go get debriefed or some other thing like that. I just go along with her, and then walk into a room where there is an old batarian who looks like he's missing an eye, as well as Carhon, Mordin, and James. They all sort of stand there, though I imagine Kasumi is also in the room.

Turns out she wasn't kidding, either: it really does feel a little cramped in here. I mean, there are only six people (seven if Kasumi's in here), and it feels crowded. We are around a tactical computer that takes up a majority of the room's space, though, so... yeah. It's currently lit up, and it's displaying a 3D map of the city we're in not unlike the map of the Collector base that EDI managed to pull up. So that probably took up a lot of space just from the hardware involved.

I look down at the map, looking directly at the batarian guy with the missing eye. "So I assume this is some of your crew," he says.

"It is," says Shepard. "You already know Carhon, I trust."

"Of the Erash family," says the older batarian. "Your disappearance many years ago made quite a scene on Aratoht. It was even news in Khar'shan for a week or so."

Carhon frowns. "It was that impactful?" he asks.

"It's not every day the heir to a colony runs off like that," he says. He turns his attention back to Shepard. "And the rest...?"

Shepard nods. "Art*** *********, James Vega, and Mordin Solus," she replies, gesturing to each of us.

"And you are...?" I ask.

"Vog'on Skell'ash," he replies. He then glares at me. "And no, I do not write poetry."

I frown. "Uh... what?" I ask. "Poetry?"

"Ah!" Mordin says. "Vogon poetry. _Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_. Interesting to bring it up now."

The old batarian shakes his head. "Just a precaution," he says. "_Every _human I've met with this resistance has asked me if I write poetry. I had _no _idea that such trivial things were important to humans."

I shrug. "Well..." I comment. "Sometimes we're just silly like that."

"Perhaps." Vog'on shakes his head. "Now is not the time for such silliness. We must plan from here."

He then leans against the hardware, looking at the map of the city. He then sifts through it, and then scrolls over to what looks like a rather large building. Huh... that looks suspiciously like Boston's City Hall if it were a lot taller and more garish-looking. I wonder what the batarians would think if they saw that and then looked back at this...

"This was the building at which the Hegemony conducted much of its business," Vog'on says. "You may call it a 'Galaxy Hall', if you wish, though I'd avoid that since that's what the Hegemony calls it."

Shepard nods. "That's where all the administrative duties were done," she says. "You suspect that the Leviathan of Dis is close by."

"It was where the last reported sighting of the Leviathan was, yes," says Vog'on. "And from what we've been able to gather from when we can clear up the comms, that's also where the central base of operations for everyone involved in the loyalist's forces are."

"So of course, they're getting themselves indoctrinated by Reapers," I comment.

"Yes, high probability," Mordin adds. "Building next to Reaper, Reaper tech. Only inevitable. Loyalist forces indoctrinated."

Vog'on nods. "If Shepard hadn't explained what indoctrination was, I would not have believed it myself," he replies. "But that may very well be."

"My question is 'what the hell are they doing with Reaper tech over there'," James comments. "I thought I heard that the experiments happened off-site or something like that."

"They did," said Vog'on. "In fact, they happened clear across the city." Vog'on's hands then go into the map, and he then lifts the whole map so that we're looking underneath the ground level. "But there is a network of tunnels that connects to the facilities that these things occurred in."

"It's possible that indoctrinated scientists snuck the Reaper artifacts into this 'Galaxy Hall' from those tunnels," says Shepard.

"They may also be using those tunnels to bring reinforcements out without our knowing it," says Vog'on. "And we believe that it may be the origin of much of the signal jamming that has plagued us here on Khar'shan in the days since the Leviathan appeared." He then nods to Shepard. "Dealing with both of those issues should be of upmost priority. Once we have those two taken care of, we can deal with the Reaper, and hopefully cut the Loyalists off at the head."

"Why do we need the comms up?" asks Shepard.

"We have forces all around this city," says Vog'on. "We plan on staging an attack on Galaxy Hall and other much more congested areas of this city when the comms are clear again. We cannot organize such a large-scale attack as it is now, however, for it would be too disorganized." Vog'on nods at Shepard. "We could also use some foot soldiers from your fleet."

Shepard nods. "I don't know the exact constitutions of foot soldiers on each of these ships," she replies. "But I'll tell the fleet to lend you some soldiers once I can get in touch with them again."

"Good," he says. "I assume you will also call them to attack the Leviathan."

"Yes," says Shepard. "And what happens when we stem the reinforcements and clear up the comms?"

Vog'on simply smiles. "We rain hell on the Hegemony," he replies. He begins walking along the computer, looking down at the hologram of the city. "And then, once the Hegemony is gone, we can begin rebuilding."

"What of Hegemony prisoners?" asks Shepard.

Vog'on shrugs. "If they're indoctrinated, there may not be much we can do," he comments. "But we plan on being kind to our prisoners." He shakes his head. "We're not the Hegemony."

"As I can tell," says Shepard. She looks down at the building again. "You said we should expect air resistance from the Hegemony."

"Our assessment of the Hegemony's fleet says that they may try to throw something together," Vog'on replies. "That said, the Hegemony already tried mobilizing its fleet to crush the resistance."

"They did?" asks Shepard. "So this place should have been bombed."

"Should have," says Vog'on. "Except that their attempt to crush the resistance was both ill-timed and ill-conceived." Vog'on chuckles. "I think the Hegemony has learned that you shouldn't order your ships to go on bombing runs against civilians." He shakes his head. "We received a huge wave of Hegemony defectors when they pulled _that_. And then, the Leviathan appeared." Vog'on shrugs. "Be prepared for anything, Commander, but I wouldn't expect any especially large ships to show up."

"I'll keep that in mind," says Shepard. "Do we have a floor plan of this building?"

"Yes, actually, though we don't exactly know where anything is," says Vog'on. "It was hard to get spies into Galaxy Hall. You would think it would be easy to infiltrate after the Hegemony essentially collapsed, but since the Leviathan entered the picture it actually became difficult in a different way. Our best bet would be to enter from the top, but even that is foolhardy considering that the Leviathan has shot down every shuttle that has tried. Infiltrating from the ground is also difficult, but it offers a better chance since we don't have to worry too much about the Leviathan. The problem there is the foot soldiers."

Shepard nods. "Then that's how we'll go about this," she says. "I'll take my team with me on the ground, and when we get into the building we'll improvise from there." She nods, opening her omni-tool. "Now, I think there's the matter of the building's floor plan."

Vog'on nods, opening his own omni-tool and starting a file transfer to Shepard's omni-tool. "There you go," he says. "It's comprehensive, so it has a lot of things there that would probably be helpful. I can't tell you where most of these things are, but I will say that there is a satellite tower on the top of the structure, and a door control on the bottom."

I nod, looking over to the Commander. "Sounds like a game plan," I comment. "Shepard?"

"Yes, I think it does," Shepard replies. She looks over to Vog'on, and I see one of her fingers tap the edge of the computer thing. "When do we move out?"

"As soon as you are ready," says Vog'on. "We need to move out as quickly as we can."

Shepard nods. "I'll get the rest of my ground team together, then," she says. "With me."

With this, Mordin, Carhon, James, and I all bow respectfully to Vog'on, with Shepard nodding. "I'll let you know when I'm ready to move out."

"Of course, Commander," says Vog'on.

And with this, we all exit the rather cramped room.

* * *

><p>I take the lull just before the armored vehicle pulls up to the front of the base to check my ammo stocks. They're actually letting us use the stock room to stock up on ammunition before we go out, and they've even authorized us to take a few thermal clips if we need them. I look through all the thermal clips... Hm... I think one will be enough. I mean, maybe not really, but there are a lot of batarian soldiers in this coming fight, and we shouldn't really be taking all their ammo. After all, how does one stage an attack.<p>

Besides, I don't really need the thermal clips as much. They'll need it more than I do.

So I take the one thermal clip and stash it away. I then look over at James as he reloads an assault rifle.

He nods at me, and shrugs. "Well, _chiquitín_, it looks like we're about to go into the fire."

"Yeah," I comment. "You looking forward to it?"

"You bet," James replies. "Hell, I'll probably have some stories to tell all the recruits ten years from now. Well, if we get off this rock, anyway, but..."

"That seems a little more likely with each passing second," I comment. "I mean it doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things, but... I guess that's what happens when you start seeing plans to try to save a world."

"Maybe," says James. "I just want to get out of here and kick more Reaper ass. I mean, they're probably all over the place by now."

I nod. "They would be," I comment. "But whether or not we can actually kick their ass to oblivion... At this point, we'd need nothing short of a miracle to get us out of this."

"Hey, maybe we'll get lucky and the Commander will go wild on these _hijos de puta_," says James. "Hell, if we were _really _lucky, she'd just punch them all and they'd leave us alone."

I roll my eyes, and find myself chuckling. "Okay, that image is actually pretty amusing," I comment. "It's implausible, but... you know."

"Yep," says James. He shrugs. "You know, when Shepard first got arrested, I didn't think I'd ever actually fight battles with her."

I smile. "And here we are," I comment.

James nods in agreement. "And here we are," he echoes. "I have to say, I actually didn't think it would get this crazy."

I shake my head. "You don't know the _half _of it, James," I reply. "That which you've seen with the Commander to this point? That was just the warm-up round. You'll be seeing how crazy it can really get in a few minutes, no doubt."

"I'm lookin' forward to it," he says. "It can't be any more _loco _than how I think it'll go."

I shrug. "We'll be the judge of that." I then pull out my assault rifle. "Well, let's go meet up with the Commander, yeah?"

"Yeah," says James.

And with this, the two of us leave the armory.


	33. Chapter 32

_A/N: And a Happy New Year to you all!_

_Yeah, with a new year comes new Mass Vexations chapters. And you guys will probably like the fact that this is the year during which I intend to end Mass Vexations as a trilogy. We've still got a few twists left, and one or two new elements to introduce, but at this point? Trust me, at this point there's not much. So refresh your memory with the plot developments, 'cause after a certain point we'll be hitting the home stretch of this trilogy._

_Fun times will be had when we finally get there, but that's a ways off at the moment. For now... for now, we still have to save the batarian homeworld._

_So without further ado, let's get on with the show._

* * *

><p>Chapter 32: Khar'shan, Part 2: Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring<p>

When we step outside of the outpost, I raise my assault rifle and make sure that... okay, it's empty. Thank Jeebus.

I look over to the Commander, looking over to see that Ellie is joining us. This time, though, she's sporting some standard-issue armor, as well as carrying some of Isaac's weaponry around. Ellie simply loads a clip into her plasma cutter, and then nods at us.

"Shepard?" I ask. "What's Ellie doing with us?"

"Isaac couldn't join us because of his arm injury," says Shepard. "Ellie volunteered in his place."

Ellie nods, walking over to us. "It's the least I can do for you after keeping Isaac safe," she says.

I look up. "But you're a civilian," I comment.

"A civilian who can shoot things, and who's lost an eye," says Ellie. "I'll be all right, trust me."

Shepard shrugs. "Besides, it could be pretty vital for us strategically: Ellie and Isaac's communications can break through the Reapers' jamming, at least for now." The Commander looks back at the outpost. "So Isaac is staying here as a liaison between us and the resistance outpost. We'll have Ellie relay vital information to Isaac as we go. Hopefully we'll have something done before the Reapers figure out how to jam that signal too."

I nod, looking at Mordin, James, Carhon, and Kasumi as they all come out of the outpost. The door closes behind them, and then we look up. "All right," says Kasumi. "So, what do we do first, Shep?"

"Well, above all we have to get to that 'Galaxy Hall' place first," Shepard comments. "But once we get there... The reinforcements are probably the biggest issue." She checks her shotgun again, nodding when she sees it's fully loaded. "We'll try to close the tunnels below first, and then we'll try to get comms working again. I'm sure they've got some kind of security system going, and I'm sure we'll need to find out where things are. The floor plan is good enough to give us a very good idea of what's where, but it'll be of no use to us if we can't access the system."

"Good thing you brought _La Capucha_ here," says James.

"_Capucha_?" asks Kasumi.

"Hood," I reply. "It's a good thing, trust me."

Shepard nods. "All right," she says. "Now... I believe we have quite some distance to traverse."

"We do," says Ellie. "On foot, it'll take at least an hour to get there. At least, that's what Vog'on said."

I nod. "Then we better get going," I comment.

"You read my mind, Serviceman," says Shepard. "Come on, everyone. Let's go."

And with this, Shepard and Ellie begin heading towards where we're supposed to go. I follow along, looking carefully around us just in case any husks decide to try anything.

* * *

><p>Thankfully for all of us, the trek there is relatively uneventful. Sure, there's the odd skirmish here or there, but we don't get overwhelmed by husks the way we almost did when we tried to enter the outpost. No, the <em>real <em>issues are gonna start when we get close to our destination. The skirmishes aren't too bad, but... well... it's kinda weird to think about them when you go through a maze of back alleys and all that. I'm not kidding about the maze part, either: we almost got lost a couple of times.

And sometimes, the buildings rise and fall. Whenever they rise, I swear I begin seeing a sleek black spire appear. It shifts position every time we move around and I can see it, though, and there comes a point where I see it... Okay, that's gotta be the top of the Reaper in question here. That just makes this even more creepy. Shit, I thought Rannoch was the last time I'd have to deal with a Reaper on foot. And now...

Well, I guess we're going to have to dodge red laser beams of death _without _a vehicle with which to do it on this time.

Eventually, Ellie and Shepard lead us through the back alley maze, and then we all take a few seconds to look at where... holy hell...

The alley leads out to a wide open area. Any building from here to where Galaxy Hall is has been razed to the ground by this point, and basically the only change of terrain involves lots and _lots _of debris. On some of the hills, there are dragon's teeth strategically placed. I see a few corpses littering the street, some of which look half-rotted by this point. I don't know exactly what's up with this, but... Holy hell, is it ugly.

I look up to see Galaxy Hall directly in front of us. It's a rather intimidating building, made of hard concrete and all that jazz. Hm... you'd think a totalitarian government would make it more regal, but apparently what it makes up for in... regal qualities it more than makes up for in just how intimidating it is. Compared to the rest of the city it's very tall, so much that it seems to actually touch the light gray sky above us even though I know it's probably only the size of Nakatomi Plaza. That's nothing to balk at, though I guess it doesn't help that everything around a large area has been decimated. From what I can tell, the debris actually forms a circle around the tower, with a diameter of at least of one and a half football fields or something. Hm... and there's a radar tower somewhere up on the top floor. Oh God... Just stay away from the edges and you'll be fine, Art. Just stay away from the edge...

...

And then I look to the left of the building.

And there stands a Reaper as it watches guard. It's black, it towers over everything around it, and simply looks like it doesn't take any prisoners. I frown as I watch it move, though. Hm... there's something... _different _about this one. I mean, the red lights are still there, but...

"Well, there's the Leviathan," says Ellie as I place a hand on the building immediately to my right. "I never thought I'd see anything like it."

But there's something about this... wait...

I look back to Shepard. "Shepard, doesn't the Leviathan look a bit beat up to you?" I ask.

"It does..." Shepard says as she looks forward.

Yeah, it does look beat up. It doesn't really look like Sovereign with its perfectly sleek surfaces. This one actually looks like it's been through a little bit of wear and tear. For one thing, it's completely missing one of its legs, and it actually seems to walk with a bit of a limp. For another, there are some lights on it that aren't functional at all. And then there's all the marks that are visible even from this distance. It actually gives the appearance of being a very dangerous war veteran, but...

"You think that this one'll be easier to take down?" asks Kasumi.

"Unlikely," Mordin replies. "Reaper still powerful. Not completely disabled, either. Still capable of powering up, walking, indoctrination, taking over homeworld." The salarian sniffs loudly. "Would expect challenge."

"I do have to say, whatever cycle found _that _guy really must've done some damage," Shepard comments. "Maybe it'll make things easier when the Fleet comes in." She frowns. "But for now, we're on foot, so we have to be careful. We also have to hope that it won't fire on us once we enter the building."

"I don't think it would be stupid enough to fire on its own troops," says Ellie.

"Very true," Shepard concedes. She looks to Galaxy Hall, mapping out the terrain quickly before pumping her shotgun. "Well, I'm expecting to be attacked by Reaper soldiers on the way there. And we'll have to dodge the laser as well." She looks to us. "I think I can give only one piece of advice. Once we break the buildings, _keep moving_. Keep moving, and don't stop until you get to the building."

I nod. "Of course," I comment. I glance at the Leviathan before nodding to Shepard. "Well, the sooner we can get in there, the better."

"Yeah," she says. "Let's go!"

And with this, we draw our weapons. We look at the landscape before us for a few seconds, drinking in all the detail. I look at all the dragon's teeth, and decide to make it a point to both stay as close to Shepard as I can, and to make sure I don't get anywhere near those things. Since I don't know what husks are going to be around...

After a few seconds, Shepard looks ahead of her. "Move out!"

And with this, we all burst out of the break in the buildings, moving as quickly as we can across the debris-littered landscape.

As we expect, we start seeing those batarian husks from earlier break out of the woodwork. Keeping to Shepard's advice, I continue running, though I try to stay pretty close to the ground. As the batarian husks fire on us, I send some covering fire. I notice Ellie ducking under the fire, blindly firing her plasma cutter. I fire at more of the batarian husks, and I hear them shriek pretty loudly.

I don't really notice anything crazy until the Leviathan itself slowly turns to us. I notice it out of my peripheral vision, and when I do I look up. I don't dare stop running, though, and I only spend a few seconds to look at the Leviathan before I turn my attention back to the husks in front of us.

I raise my assault rifle, concentrating less on killing these guys than on keeping them off balance. I mean, if we constantly have to move, it's not worth going in for kill shots at this stage. Or something. I fire a spray of mass accelerator rounds, but all it seems to do is...

...

What the...?

I pause, suddenly looking up at the Leviathan of Dis. By now, it's turned completely to us, and now I hear a loud hissing sound that seems to be approaching. Wait... Oh, shit, that's the laser of death that's racing towards us! The Leviathan is over there, but the red laser beam is dragging itself across the landscape, and I see in its trail that...

Shit! That thing could vaporize us!

I turn tail and sprint towards our destination as fast as I can, almost dropping my assault rifle as I do. The rounds from the batarians sail all around me and ping off of my shields, but... shit, shit, shit!

I look back to my left to see the red laser beam of death almost on us. Oh, Lord, we're gonna die! Fuck me with a-

I suddenly get tackled to the ground. I yelp as I fall to the ground, actually dropping my assault rifle this time. I look up, petrified in fear as the red laser beam of death passes right over where I was barely two seconds ago. It goes right by us, and then dissipates almost immediately.

...

Holy fuck...

I look behind me to see James clambering to his feet. I shake my head, reaching for my assault rifle before getting hauled back to my feet by the large marine.

"Shit," James says immediately. "_Que grande_..."

"I know!" I shout as we both break back into a run. I look behind me to see Ellie, Mordin, and Carhon all scrambling to their feet as well. "Come on!"

And with this, we continue on our way. I look ahead to see Shepard biotically charging at a few of these batarian husks. That puts her ahead of the pack in a pretty good way, but she makes sure to stand still for a few seconds so we can catch up. She of course continues moving as soon as we've caught up to her, and we continue running as quickly as we can.

I hear the loud hissing sound again, and see that the red beam of death is headed towards us again. This time, I just run as far forward as I can, sprinting quickly so I'm right next to Shepard. Come on, just-

Whoah, why's my foot sinking down in-ah!

I suddenly find myself tumbling down a mound. Ow, motherfucker ow! I roll to a stop right at the foot of the hill laying and looking up at the grey sky above me for a few seconds. I then see that I must've not been looking where I went, as I took a pretty steep fall off of some debris. Shit, man, this is... That laser beam is crazy! I quickly scramble to my feet, hearing some footsteps come up behind me. I take a step forward-

-and then immediately get yanked back as the red laser beam of death runs over where I would have been if I had taken a step forward.

I look behind me to see Kasumi there. She shakes her head. "I knew Shep was crazy, but _this_..." She shakes her head. "Come on!"

I follow Kasumi as she starts running up a mound of debris, and it's only then that we notice... wait, when'd we get that close to this place? I shake my head... Damn it Art, you can ask that later. Now you just have to get there. I run as quickly as I can, blindly firing my assault rifle to the side. It keeps the batarian husks at bay, though I think they're catching on, as I hear the rounds ping off of my shields a lot more frequently. Come on...

I look ahead to see Shepard charging her way through a bunch of batarian husks, but before long she's standing right at the entrance. Kasumi has raced ahead of me, and is now there attempting to open the door to get us in there. I see James and Carhon run up to the door just as I hear a third hissing noise. I look to my left again to see the laser beam racing towards us. I also glance behind me to see Mordin and Ellie both making a run for it. I turn around, firing at some more of the batarian husks for a few seconds. I don't actually hit any of them, but it distracts them long enough for Ellie and Mordin to get over to the door.

And almost immediately, I run forward, my body literally hitting the wall a split second before the beam passes right by where I was running. I watch the red laser beam pass us and then disappear.

It's at that moment that I hear the door open. "Got it!" shouts Kasumi.

"Come on!" We all run in at Shepard's command, the door closing behind us right as Ellie and Mordin cross the threshold.

And when the door closes, I notice that the hall is dimly lit. It's not bad enough that we need to turn on the flashlights, though, so we can still make things out. And it actually looks like a rather intimidating, militaristic building. Shit... If Kim Jong-Il was patrolling these halls at one point, I honestly would not be that surprised. The walls just look white, and the fact that the room we're in is really tall doesn't help. I also see a picture of some batarian dude who I don't know, though I imagine he's important since the picture is being displayed there like he's fucking Mao Zedong or something.

I look back to the rest of the group to see that we all look rather battered. James is applying some medigel to himself, Carhon is feeling his leg to make sure nothing was broken, Mordin is stemming some bleeding on his side, and Ellie... well, she just looks like she's been really scratched up.

I feel my own body soon after, feeling that my cheek seems to have gotten just a bit bloody. Hm... probably from the tumble earlier. I must not have noticed it in my mad rush to get over in here.

I shake my head. I can get it looked at later. For now...

I look over to Shepard. "So we're in," I say. "Now what?"

Shepard nods. "We go below." She opens her omni-tool, checking the floor plan of the place we're in. "The controls for the passageways are below us. We'll have to close the passageways from there, and then we'll be free to go back upstairs."

"Sounds like a plan, Lola," James comments. "Let's just hope we don't have any crazy _pendejos_ down there."

"This place got taken by the Reapers," Shepard comments. "I'm expecting heavy resistance." She then turned her attention to Ellie. "Ellie?"

The one-eyed woman nods, and then manipulates a thing or two on her RIG. After a few seconds, I see a blue light shine directly in front of her face. "Isaac, we're in," she says.

"_You're in? Good._" Isaac's voice on the other end is... well, we're still in contact with them. "_We're still trying to unscramble all the comms jamming, but we're not having luck._"

"Sorry, Isaac, but we're going downstairs first," says Ellie. "But we'll get back to the top eventually. I'll contact you when we're on our way to doing that."

"_All right,_" says Isaac. "_J-just be c-c-c-careful ther-Ell-llie..._"

And with this, the link cuts out. I look over at Shepard as she frowns. Those stammerings sounded electronic in nature, which means...

"It looks like the Reapers are starting to adapt to Ellie and Isaac's signal," I comment.

"Shit," says Shepard. "We better not use it too much from here on out."

"I hear you, Commander," Ellie replies. She looks at the setting surrounding us. "I guess we go onward."

"That we do," says Shepard. She then pumps her shotgun, looking at the building we're in. "Keep your guard up, people. We'll be expecting husks and loyalists. I don't know what husks we'll be looking for, but do _not _let your weapons down for even one second."

I nod. "Got it, Commander," I say.

She nods, and then gestures to a door towards the back of the room. "This way," she says.

We all follow her directly to the door.

* * *

><p>Some time later, I've drawn my shotgun. We're descending down a staircase which is actually poorly lit. Now we've got our flashlights on, and we're descending as slowly as we dare into the depths beneath this building. I look around us at the staircase... Even though it's a relatively narrow way, I can't help but feel something's going to jump out at us. The fact that the hall is made out of the blackest stone I have ever seen <em>really <em>doesn't help, but we slowly descend.

I think I hear footsteps not belonging to us as we descend. Like... as if someone is trying to follow us. I look behind me quickly to see nobody but James there. The others are still ahead of me, but I can't help but feel as if there's someone behind us that shouldn't be there... And if that's true...

I shake my head, continuing to descend downwards. I point my shotgun up at the ceiling, and continue down.

We eventually get to the bottom of the staircase, and then we walk out to see... whoah... this is a cavern, all right. And it looks like it's very sparsely illuminated. As Shepard turns the flashlight on her shotgun off first, I think... yeah, I'll turn this off. I turn my flashlight off in turn, though I immediately notice that we don't really need it that much thanks to the faint illumination.

I can also hear the sounds of something sliding across the walls and ceiling of this cavern. I look up, seeing that the walls and ceiling look like they're crawling with _something. _Probably those quarian/geth husks, but you can't be too sure. Either way, in the dim lighting it looks like the black walls of the cavern are acting like water, with bits that constantly shift and flow and ebb and all that. It's actually a rather disturbing picture, so I stay low to the ground and sneak closer to Shepard. Kasumi is standing close by, kneeling on the ground at this point.

"What do we do?" I whisper as loudly as I dare.

"It's on the other side," Kasumi replies in an even quieter whisper. "Gimme just a second..."

And with this, Kasumi vanishes from sight with that tactical cloak.

I nod, coming up against cover. I reach for my assault rifle... no, I probably shouldn't, the noise from changing weapons could probably alert whatever's in here to our presence. And we _really _cannot do with that. I simply hold my shotgun close, and then get into cover. I only hope some of these guys get into a range where this isn't frickin' useless.

I look over to the things above us, and then I see a faint orange light appear way on the other side of the cavern. I frown... yes, that's probably Kasumi. Wait, is the cavern really that big? Huh... There's the faint orange light there and I don't see a wall. How the hell did a Reaper get to walk around this place without it caving on him? Maybe... no, I can't think about that. There are more pressing issues to think of, really, and besides, it doesn't matter.

I look above me to see that the whole thing actually looks like it's beginning to move towards her a little bit. I raise my shotgun nervously, looking at the way things go. I look over to Shepard and everyone else, all of whom are scattered behind various pieces of cover. Ellie's actually hiding behind a stalagmite, with Carhon and Mordin both taking cover rather close to where we entered this place.

I hear some electronic clicking that definitely sounds like a geth walked in here when we weren't looking.

And then, I hear what sounds like a rock being unsettled. However, I immediately see something drop a long distance from the ceiling.

Before I know what has happened, a flashlight is turned on, revealing that it is indeed one of those quarian-geth husks. I hear the harsh report of an assault rifle being fired almost immediately, and the husk falls to the ground right next to Kasumi, the husk being gone.

And that is when all attention is turned to us. I see the sea of husks suddenly go in the other direction, moving towards _us_ with the sound of a thousand marching feet. I quickly turn on my gun-mounted flashlight (as does everyone else), and then we all start firing at will. Some of the husks begin flying at us from above.

I actually duck behind cover, narrowly dodging one such husk. I turn to it quickly, and fire my shotgun at it. It doesn't kill the thing right away, though, so then it manages to scramble to a good position and jump right at me. I quickly duck under it, though, rolling underneath it and getting to my feet. As soon as I'm on my feet, I fire my shotgun at it, and _this _time it goes down.

And then I promptly find my shields taking hits. By the time I've resumed cover, my shields are almost completely gone. I frown, but then look over to see...

"Oh, god damn it," I say. "Fucking loyalists..."

And indeed, for loyalists are starting to filter in now. They begin adding fire in addition to all the jumping quarian/geth hybrids that are jumping all around us, and it does force some of us behind cover. Ellie's cover is practically gone by the time they've fired their first volley, and Ellie runs over to take her place next to Shepard. I see her narrowly dodge a few rounds, and then I see that there's a loyalist running up to her as quickly as he can. I lean out of cover, firing my shotgun at the batarian loyalist in question. This actually takes him down, and I immediately retreat behind cover and pump my shotgun. I breathe in, watching as another husk comes right there.

I then turn above me to see another quarian/geth husk jumping down at me from the ceiling. I fire my shotgun at it, and this time it takes it down. However, it doesn't stop it from falling, and so I end up leaping to the side to avoid being tackled by its dead body. I immediately hear some rounds ping off of shields I didn't know had regenerated, and then the shield dies and-

Ah, motherfucker!

I retreat behind cover, looking at the place on my leg where I felt the mass accelerator round go. Fuck... ow... I stumble a little, suddenly feeling... Oh, fuck, this damn thing broke my shin, didn't it? Damn it all...

I lean back against cover, looking directly behind me as Mordin suddenly runs in. He opens his omni-tool, and then I feel relief as a soothing cold comes over my leg... Ah, medigel... You won't fix my leg just yet, but...

I nod to Mordin, and then he takes a spot in my cover just in time for me to see a quarian/geth husk rushing towards us again. I quickly come out from behind Mordin, shooting at the husk before it's able to get to us. This shot also stops it dead, and it falls and slides to a halt right at my feet.

From there, we rather quickly fall into a rather stable routine. Mordin and I shoot at the batarian loyalists that come out of the woodwork, with some of us shooting at the quarian-geth husks whenever they get too close. Sometimes, the quarian/geth husks are able to tackle some people, but it's usually close enough that they can deal with it themselves. Ellie actually nearly got killed by one, but one shot with her plasma cutter managed to behead it rather quickly.

And it is after nearly a minute of trading fire with these things when I hear a _huge _groan from somewhere in the distance. I look beyond my cover to see what looks like a _giant _steel door that slowly lowers over an opening of the cave. I blink... Kasumi must've done it!

The doors continue to close on us, though by this time the batarians and the husks are redoubling their efforts. With the redoubled efforts also comes a bit of sloppiness on their end, though. Thanks to this, we manage to take out more people. Eventually, we keep up the fighting for about a minute before we hear a loud slam from the doors.

"All right!" I hear James shout. "One task down!"

"Right!" I shout, shooting at a husk. "Let's make sure they can't actually reactivate it."

I then hear an explosion from the other side of the cavern. I blink, looking over to see that the panel Kasumi used to stand in front of has been blown to pieces. I look to my side to see Kasumi materialize right there, smiling in satisfaction.

I look at her. "What did you do?" I ask.

"Oh, Jimmy just gave me some grenades before I crossed the way," Kasumi replies. "I think I put them to pretty good use."

I look back at where she was before nodding. "Yeah, it looks like it," I comment.

"Right," says Shepard. "That's one task down. Now we have to disable the comm jamming. Hopefully, there won't be anything on the other side they can use to open that door while we deal with the communications jamming." Shepard looks over at Ellie. "Ellie?"

Ellie nods, and then opens up the RIGLink. "Isaac, it's Ellie," she says. "We've sealed the doors and blocked off the reinforcements from both ends."

In response, we hear static, eventually segueing into... "_W-w-what? Ellie, c-c-ca-fsshh-you rep-p-p-fssshhh..._"

"Isaac?" Ellie leans closer. "Isaac, can you repeat that?"

"_Ell-l-l-fhssfhfh_."

And then, the RIGLink cuts. Ellie pounds her fist against a nearby stalagmite. "Damn it!" she says. "They figured out how to get through that."

"Was only a matter of time," Mordin states. "No matter. Should have comms fully functional soon if careful. Make haste."

"Mordin's right," says Shepard. "If we go and disable the comms quickly, that won't be an issue anyway." She then pumps her shotgun. "Let's go."

And with this, we all exit the caverns, and climb back up the dark stairs.

* * *

><p>As we re-cross the lobby, I instinctively change my shotgun for my assault rifle. Yeah, the last time we got lucky, but <em>this <em>time... This time we're actually going to have to fight our way through a lot of people.

I glance at Ellie once as she reloads her plasma cutter. We all look to Shepard as she opens her omni-tool.

"All right," she says. "One task is down, but now we have to work quickly." She opens her omni-tool. "This building is tall, so the only way we'll be able to get to the top of it reliably is to take an elevator."

"Which of course will be shot," I comment. "Because why should the Reapers make our jobs easy, you know?"

"Exactly," says Shepard. She then looks over at Kasumi. "Fortunately, elevator control is only three floors above us, so we should be all right to get there and activate it. We need Kasumi to hack into it, and bring the elevators back online."

"By now, I think you know what I'd say to that," Kasumi replies with a smile. "You've just been treating me so well these past few days."

"Apparently," Carhon says, rolling his eyes. He then looks to the door. "Do you think the Leviathan has caught on to what we're doing?"

"I wouldn't doubt it if it did," says Shepard. "So I'm expecting resistance on our way to the elevator controls, and even as we take care of them. I don't know what that'll mean for the comm arrays, though I don't expect the Leviathan itself to actually shoot at us given that we'll be right next to something that it actually will want to keep intact. Stay alert, and do not put your weapons away."

"Of course, Commander," Mordin says quickly as he changes his submachine gun for his pistol.

I nod. "Well, what are we waiting for?" I ask. "Let's go!"

And with this, we all run over to the far end of the room as quickly as we can. This time, Shepard opens a door just behind where the kind of welcoming desk would be, and so we get treated to climbing up a pair of stairs. This group of stairs is nowhere _near _as uninviting as the other pair, however, as there is actually reasonably decent lighting here and I can tell that the stairs are grey. That actually makes me feel really good about myself for a large variety of reasons.

Maybe we can actually do this.

* * *

><p>Shepard opens the door to the floor that the elevator controls are on. And almost as soon as she does, we're greeted by a hailstorm of bullets flying in our direction.<p>

I immediately retreat behind cover, looking beyond the wall I've taken cover behind to see that this floor is absolutely _crawling _with loyalists. I see several loyalists in front, I see several loyalists in back... this floor is nothing but loyalists.

Well, we're going to have to get that elevator running _somehow_, so... I don't know.

Before I can fully form my thoughts, Shepard is already biotically streaking past the rest of us. I look beyond cover to see her punch a batarian loyalist who was hiding behind a pillar not too far from where we are. She then jumps up, slamming her fist on the ground and sending at least two more batarian loyalists flying up in the air. As they hit the ceiling, I see another batarian run into view, looking as if he was set on fire by an incendiary blast. I quickly raise my assault rifle, turning it in the direction that that batarian came from and gunning down another batarian loyalist.

As soon as those loyalists go down, I break from cover, rushing forward as quickly as I can. Some rounds deflect off of my shields, but I manage to get behind cover before my shields really manage to die. I briefly see Kasumi appear out of nowhere to punch out a batarian on the other side of the cover I'm at before running forward a further distance.

I raise my assault rifle, and watch as James starts running ahead of me like he's some kind of krogan battlemaster or something. Fortunately, he's covered by Carhon, Ellie, and Mordin, so he manages to run right up to a batarian to shotgun him in the face. He gets behind a strange metal desk cover, and manages to bash the batarian on the other side in the face hard enough to put that guy out of commission. As I come out of cover and shoot at a batarian about two desks away from James, I see Shepard streak across my vision, no doubt to get more guys with that biotic punch of hers. As soon as she passes, I shoot at the batarian loyalist I was aiming at, taking out the loyalist's shields and giving James another opportunity to make a break for it.

It's in similar fashion that we continue through the room. Occasionally, my shields die, but there's not usually enough time that I can actually get wounded before my shields recharge. And hey, at least there are no quarian/geth husks hopping around all over the place. _That _is a huge relief, it really is.

Eventually, we manage to work our way to a small room on the far end of the floor. I reload my assault rifle, slamming the thermal clip in my assault rifle as we then get to the far end of the floor. I see Kasumi blink out of view, and a few seconds later the door opens. I see a final loyalist look on in surprise before he gets lit on fire by Mordin's incendiary blast. I look back at the door Kasumi went through, before noticing that the room does have a window. I look at the terminal within that room, watching as Kasumi materializes next to it, already typing away.

I nod. "Right," I say, slowly turning to the other side of my cover. "Kasumi's in."

"I noticed," Shepard replies. She switches to her submachine gun, looking at the others as we all change our load-outs. "By now, they know we're here. Keep your guard up."

I look over to Ellie in that moment as she kneels behind a desk that's right next to the pillar I'm taking cover behind. She looks like she's doing really okay for herself, actually, as I don't see a single scratch on her. She looks up at me with her one eye, reloading her plasma cutter and nodding. Hm... maybe bringing her along wasn't a bad idea at all.

I then hear the doors open on the other side, and look beyond my cover to see loyalists _and _those crazy batarian husks come out of the woodwork.

Before long, we're all exchanging heated fire. Mass accelerator rounds fly across the no-man's land between us and the incoming loyalists. Occasionally I'll see someone in the group get biotically lifted, and even more occasionally I'll see people get lit on fire, but other than that it's a steady stream of loyalists and batarian husks getting gunned down.

It should be easy, but I actually find myself retreating behind cover a lot more than not. The pain in my leg is reduced to a throbbing now, but it only serves to remind me that with those batarian husks around my shields can die pretty quickly. So I duck behind cover frequently, using the lulls to check my ammo stores. I have to reload once or twice, though it's really no big deal.

Really, position defense has gotten pretty easy by this point, it really has. You just point and shoot at things.

And after a while, I hear a whirr come from within the building. By this time, most of the loyalists are dead, and we're just left with batarian husks. I look over to the room to see that Kasumi has already disappeared from the room with the elevator controls. I turn my attention back to the husks just in time to see the outline of a female figure rushing towards these husks. Before I can properly digest this, I suddenly see Kasumi appear, delivering a charged punch to one of the husks.

"Come on!" shouts Kasumi. "The elevators are ready!"

"I hear you there!"

Almost immediately, Shepard flashes blue, and she is out of cover and dealing biotic hell to the husks before I know what's happened. Looking to Ellie briefly, I run out of cover, shooting at the closest husk there is to me. I hear everyone else follow suit, and before long we're all running to the elevator, shooting up the batarian husks as we go.

It only takes a few seconds, but I look over as Shepard hits the call button. Barely three seconds later, the elevator door opens... Hm, lucky us, it must've been right at the floor there. Ellie and I are the first ones in, followed by Kasumi and Mordin in short order. James and Carhon all run inside as quickly as we can, and then Shepard fires some more rounds from her submachine gun before she enters as well. She hits the call button for the top floor, and before I know it, the husks are cut off for us, and we're riding all the way to the top of the building.

I sigh, leaning against the wall. I nearly drop my assault rifle as I do this, but hang on to it. "Wow," I comment. "That was pretty crazy."

"Eh, I was expecting more," James replies. "But at least we got through those _pendejos_, eh?"

"That we did," says Shepard. "Kasumi, Mordin, I'm leaving you in charge of breaking the jamming. I'm expecting some resistance once we get there, and we'll have to find a staircase that goes to the roof. Once we get there, we hole up and wait for any remaining resistance in this building to come to us."

"Got it, Shep," says Kasumi.

The rest of the elevator ride is spent in relative silence, the sounds of people checking their ammo being the only sound that's heard in the elevator on its way up.

* * *

><p>When the elevator door opens to the top floor, we find that there is surprisingly very little resistance. All we see there is a single batarian loyalist that is quickly gunned down by Mordin. But as soon as the gunshots die out, we see that there is nobody else here.<p>

...

"Something's not right," Shepard says. "There should be more resistance than this."

Ellie frowns, looking up at the ceiling. "Do you think the Leviathan expected this?" she asks.

"Who knows?" says Shepard.

"Maybe the loyalists are all below us trying to get up here?" Carhon asks.

"No," says Shepard. "If they were worried about us, they probably would've had a group stationed up here."

I glance up. "It's possible they didn't expect us to get this far," I comment. "Maybe they threw all their loyalists at us down on the lower levels."

"Could be," Shepard concedes. "Or there is resistance here, and we just haven't met it yet. Either way, I'm not taking any chances. Keep your guard up."

With this, we raise our weapons as Shepard begins leading us through the room. I look up at the ceiling, briefly wondering if there's any shattered glass around here before we move deeper into the floor. We run into no further resistance as we move around on this floor, though... is it me, or is this floor a little darker than it should be?

We get to the stairs to the roof without any further incident, of course. So Shepard leads us as we walk up the stairs. We walk up the stairs rather slowly, and then we come to a door at the top of the staircase. Hm... Well, there's plenty of cover around here, if there's something waiting for us...

And Shepard gestures us to go right into that cover. We flank the edges of the door, with Shepard going right up to the door's controls. I look over to Ellie as she takes a place next to me, with James and Carhon standing on my side. I briefly nod to Kasumi and Mordin on the other end, and then look over to Shepard.

After giving us a few hand gestures, she opens the door. I raise my assault rifle, pointing at the roof, and-

...

Holy shit...

I lower my assault rifle in awe, looking at what's on the roof.

"Well, I guess we know why there's nobody guarding this place," says James.

For in front of us rests a _lot _of dragon's teeth. Not just dragon's teeth, though: I also see various geth parts scattered around, and some of those tube things of the variety that we saw on Rannoch. Scattered around are also a few freshly-brought corpses. It doesn't look like there's anyone guarding it, though, and I can see the outline of husks in construction within the tubes.

But that's _nothing _compared to what is directly in front of us. For there, I see a group of three loyalists strapped to a series of chairs. They're facing this monolith that looks like it was constructed out of spare parts. The monolith glows blue and red, and I see two other loyalists standing there. The two loyalists who are not restrained don't seem to have noticed that the door has opened yet, though it doesn't stop Mordin and Ellie from shooting them immediately. I look back at them briefly before looking up at the monolith...

...

"Shit, this is a husk factory," I comment as I look up.

"And it looks like a place where people go to get indoctrinated," Shepard adds. "And from the looks of things, there are husks ready to attack us." She shakes her head.

"Insentient," Mordin says. "Horrifying. Cannot imagine what happened here. Too many variables. Think of dead..." He sniffs really loudly.

"What kind of hell have we stepped into?" asks James._  
><em>

I shake my head, looking around. "I don't know," I say. I then look to Shepard. "But for now, it doesn't matter right?"

"It doesn't," says Shepard. "We're here to stop this, once and for all." She then looks at everything around us. "Kasumi, look for anything that might lead to us being able to stop the signal jamming."

"_That cannot be done_."

W... what the hell was-

Ah! Ow! What the fuck-?

I fall to my knees, suddenly feeling as if someone has stabbed me in the brain. The world around me suddenly becomes rather blurry, and I end up placing my hands on the floor beneath me just to keep myself steady. What...? What the hell...?

I suddenly feel myself lifting my head without my commanding it. I briefly catch that everyone else is on the floor writing in pain before my eyes suddenly turn against my will to look at what looks like a rather crazily modified batarian. His eyes glow unnaturally, and he looks like he's partly a husk as well. I try to move my limbs of my own will, and find that I can only pull myself up to a standing position. What the fuck _is _that thing?_  
><em>

Before I get an answer, I notice Shepard walk up to it. It then turns to Shepard.

"Well, if it is not the Demon herself," says the batarian. "What a pleasure indeed." He glares at Shepard, and... what the hell is this batarian doing? This is just... ah!

I feel the stabbing pain in my brain again, and find myself clutching it instinctively. I cannot tear my eyes away from this batarian, however, and even my footsteps don't seem to be following my free will. I find my gaze forcibly directed at all of my fellow squadmates, and I see that they're all basically incapacitated now. It's just Shepard and I circling around this batarian.

And from somewhere deep within me, I find that my voice still wants to say something. I try to squeeze my eyes shut, but can't. However, I'm still able to speak of my own accord.

"W... what the h-h-hell...?" I ask. My throat constricts quite suddenly

The batarian looks right over to me. "Ah, and the Demon's little assistant is here as well," the batarian replies. "This is _quite _the occasion. It's not every day that I have _two _people with such a powerful affinity to the Fade here."

I'm suddenly looking directly at Shepard (again, against my will), seeing that she's slowly getting to her feet. I suddenly feel a question forming in my mind, and before I know it I have suddenly spoken.

"You m-m-might... _ah_... have the w-wrong person, th-then... ow!" I comment. I'm brought to my knees again, though I'm suddenly forced to stand up again.

"I do not have the wrong person," the batarian replies. He then looks at Shepard. "She has walked its plains and come back. Her affinity with the Fade is... powerful. It is as the Leviathan said it would be. You two are part of _it_..."

I find the sudden urge to frown. Shepard has an affinity to the...? No, it would make sense. Shepard died and came back to life, but then why are we circling around the batarian, and why hasn't this batarian tried to control Ellie? And why...?

Unless...

...

_No_. No way...

That means that the Leviathan knows about the stuff the Protheans found. And that means...

That means Shepard is one of us!

"I know what you might ask next," says the batarian. "How do we know about your secret?" He then tilts his head to the right. "Inference, mostly. Like your friends the protheans, we too can see in there. We too see the visions. And we too saw the archvision that the protheans saw about four people who would change the course of this galaxy's history. The course of our very existence." He then looks at Shepard. "I should have known this... _Shepard_ would be one of them."

"W... what are you trying to accomplish?" Shepard asks immediately. She's rewarded with falling down on the ground, even as I continue circling around him.

"Nobody would understand," says the batarian... no, the avatar of the Leviathan. "You two least of all. There is little in this world that would lead you to understand."

I... "S... So you'd rather... make us your _slaves_?" I ask.

"You are being ascended," the Reaper avatar replies. "Your existence as one of us is _not _that of a slave's."

"Th... agh!" I see Shepard fall to her knees. "Then why are you killing entire species?"

At this shout, Shepard's head is slammed into the ground by some other-worldly force, as if someone is forcing her... I try to look away, but find that there is a different force keeping me from looking away. I try to move my eyes, to no avail. I try to close them, also to no avail.

And in the end, I feel my limbs stiffen, and I stand in place, completely unable to move. I feel my limbs, but... this must be what a puppet feels like...

"We do not kill," says the avatar. "We simply offer perfection. Liberation."

"Y... You're insane," Shepard replies.

Just as suddenly as she was forced down to her knees, Shepard is yanked back up to her feet, and then we begin circling around the Reaper avatar. Wait, is the circle getting smaller? And is Shepard suddenly walking faster?

"We are not insane," says the batarian. "And you do not understand."

As Shepard walks, I suddenly feel my eyes getting turned so that I'm facing in front of me. My heart begins to beat faster and faster... what the fuck is going on? Shit, I just wanna move of my own accord!

"How much... how much do you know?" Shepard asks.

"We know that the four are important," says the avatar. "We do not know how, though we believe the protheans set forth a series of events to fulfill that vision. Searching the Fade has brought us no closer to a complete answer. It is a vast place." I hear a brief pause. "It is almost a miracle that the protheans have planned for the contingencies they did. They even accounted for the alpha relay, it seems." The avatar chuckles bitterly. "We could have truly done damage to the galaxy if it had been allowed to remain whole, but alas."

"T... Then the alpha relay..." Shepard says.

"That was one of our plans." The avatar simply shakes his head as I come to a sudden stop. "In the event that the Citadel failed, we had a back-up plan in place, wherein we struck from three places at the same time. A third of our forces remained in dark space, waiting by the relay on the other side of the Citadel's mass relay. The remaining two-thirds proceeded to go to two other places. Sovereign did well, making his puppet place the seeds of our plan in your councillor. The rest of you did an admirable job stopping him, but unfortunately we had control of the turian ship. There was little you could have done." A more light-hearted chuckle was heard. "Harbinger did attempt to warn you, Shepard. You could not stop the arrival. It was inevitable."

I suddenly feel a hand place itself on my shoulders. I briefly recognize it as Shepard's hand, and then I feel myself get forced roughly to my knees. "Th... There was a third place..." I say. "W... Where...?"

"It matters not," the avatar replies. "But there is a final piece I must take care of." I then see the avatar walk right in front of us. "Harbinger told me much of what transpired as soon as the relay network became ours. It is how I know of you. And how I know of your significance."

I suddenly hear Shepard drop her shotgun, and before I know what has happened I hear the sounds of a pistol being pulled out. I then feel the barrel of Shepard's gun press into the back of my head...

Wait... No... No! No no no no no no no!

"But if you were to die..."

Fuck! Shepard... I feel the urge to turn, but my body does not obey my mind. I feel my eyes widen in terror, the only movement of any part of my body that I am actually controlling right now. The gun only presses harder against my skull. No... Damn it, Shepard! Shepard, don't do this!

"...it would save us all effort. And that is what shall happen."

I feel my heart race faster than it has ever raced before. Time suddenly seems to slow down as I look at the Reaper avatar in front of me. Fuck... No, I can't. Not when there are things that need me. Not when Tali...

Tali...

No...

I hear the pistol press against my skull again, forcing me forward a little bit. I suddenly look down at the ground, my eyes staring straight ahead. I struggle to move my limbs, _anything _really. I'm met with being completely stone-faced... my limbs a little numb.

And then, time seems to freeze. In that single moment, I feel the urge to squeeze my eyes shut, though they do not. I simply look at the ground.

I hear the gunshot.

...

...

And in an instant, I suddenly look up to see the Reaper avatar, with a hole in its head from where Shepard shot it. I hear two more gunshots, and then the Reaper avatar drops, dead. I look up at the monolith just in front of us to see a large crack suddenly form. I hear four more gunshots, each one creating a larger impact on the monolith. I then hear Shepard shout as she walks into my view, tossing a biotic warp at the monolith before it finally crumbles to the ground.

And instantly, my hands are feeling my face. I don't know when I dropped the assault rifle, but I evidently did... Oh my God, I'm actually in control of my own limbs again! I feel my face, and chuckle almost in joy as I stand back up.

"Holy shit!" I shout. I shake my head nervously, looking back to the others to watch them getting back to their feet. "What the hell...?"

"I have no idea," says Shepard. "But I think he was controlling our movement. It took me a bit of effort to actually say anything."

I slowly stand up, and then end up walking up to the Commander. "That's how I felt," I say. I look at Shepard, shaking my head. "You don't think that was the Leviathan?"

"I do," says the Commander plainly. She then looks at the Reaper as it looks towards us. "It's probably angry that we got past its last line of defense."

"I'll say," I comment. I look over to the monolith. "That must've been controlling our movements through... through..." I tilt my head back at the dead batarian behind us. "Just who was that?"

"That was the leader of the Hegemony." We all turn around to see Carhon walking towards us. He's still holding his head in pain, and the rest of the group is slowly walking around. Ellie is standing just behind Carhon, looking at the dead avatar on the ground. "He was a target of the resistance from day one. I didn't think I'd ever see him in person, but..." He shakes his head. "So he was indoctrinated in the end."

"Looks like it," says Shepard as she looks down at the corpse. I walk up to the corpse as Ellie kneels next to him.

"I thought I had seen his face before," Ellie comments. "Sometimes my... _master _talked about him. Even had a picture on his wall." She then looks up to us. "But we can talk about that later. I've just got one question, Commander: what the hell was that thing with the mind control?"

"And what was all that about some Fade?" We look to James immediately. "What kinda crazy _mierda __del toro_ was he talking about?"

"What's all of this about more secrets?" Carhon asks. "I already knew you were hiding plenty of secrets, Art, but...?"

"Visions?" Ellie asks. "What was that about?"

"How the hell do you know the protheans?" asks James.

...

Oh, _fuck_. They actually heard all that. Damn it... Shit, how do I-

"_Shepard? Shepard? Come in, mate, don't leave me hangin' 'ere!_"

...

Jenny, if you were here, I would give you the biggest hug known to man. Seriously. That's how perfect your timing is.

Shepard immediately answers the comm unit. "Jenny?" she asks.

"_Oh, that's a sound voice ta hear,_" Jenny replies immediately. "_The comms went back online. They're not jammin' anymore!_"

"Good," says Jocelyn as she looks at the sky. "And what's the status of everyone else?"

"_We dinnae, mate,_" says Jenny immediately. "_We're just startin' ta get our bearin's 'ere_."

Shepard nods. "All right," she says. "Coordinate with the other leaders. Let me know if something comes up."

"_Will do, mu'um,_" Jenny replies.

At once, the comm link cuts out, and then Shepard is already opening another comm link to someone else. "Isaac," Shepard says. "Isaac, do you read me?"

"_Shepard!_" Isaac's voice is clearly distressed. "_I was on the line with Ellie when the static got really bad and it just cut out! Is Ellie all right?_"

Ellie steps forward. "I'm fine, Isaac," she says. "I'm okay, and I'm unharmed for now."

Isaac's sigh of relief is audible even from this end. "_Good_," he says. "_I was seriously worried there._"

"_So you shut down the comms jamming._" And there's Vo'gon. He sounds rather pleased, actually.

"We did," says Shepard. "We had a very strange episode with the leader of the Hegemony, though. He had become the Reapers' avatar."

"_That explains a lot,_" says Vo'gon. "_We're getting scrambled reports, some of which are saying that the loyalists and the husks are becoming disorganized. We don't have a full picture yet, though. I'll let you know when we do._"

Shepard nods. "The Leviathan is still up and running," says Shepard, looking at the Reaper right by us. "And by what we just did, I imagine it's going to be _pissed_."

"_Then you better call that Fleet in, and quickly,_" Vo'gon replies. "_If we have to deal with a thing that size wailing on us, then that's not gonna be good._"

"Right," says Shepard. "I'll get right on that. Let me know when something changes."

Shepard disconnects that line, too, and then looks to the Leviathan. She briefly stares at it for a second as the Reaper turns to us, and then she opens another comm link. "Joker?" she asks. "Do you read me?"

"_Loud and clear, Commander_," Joker replies suddenly. "_I guess this is our cue to bring in the cavalry?_"

"You got that right, Joker," says Shepard. "The Reaper is close to where I am, and we're just about to-"

I hear the mechanical screaming of the Reaper right by the building, and suddenly the floor rumbles beneath us. I only take a second to step back before a red laser seems to burst out from under the floor around where Ellie, Kasumi, and the others had been writing during our encounter with the Reaper avatar. It holds, slowly inching towards us for a few seconds before it dissipates altogether.

I look at Shepard for one split-second. That split second is all it takes for all of us to start running right for the door back down. "Shit, it's firing at us! Joker, get the Fleet over my position, _now_!"

"_I estimate it will take at least five minutes for the Fleet to appear over your position_," says EDI immediately. "_Further calculations suggest it may take longer._"

"_Just get it over here!_" shouts Shepard as she slams her hand on the door control. We all rush in immediately after, and I hear Joker say something about how they're gonna get the Fleet in. At this point, I'm concentrating on running over to where the elevator is. I immediately run forward, right as Shepard cuts the link to Joker.

Barely a split second later, I hear the mechanical screaming again, and before I know it I feel large hands shove me down. I briefly notice that James is laying on the floor next to me before the red laser of death bursts through the floor again. This time, however, I suddenly watch as some debris from the roof starts to fall onto this floor. I watch a Dragon's Tooth crash through the floor and feel a ceiling panel fall on my arms as they guard my head. It takes a second or two more before before the red laser beam of death finally goes out, and even then there's still a few pieces of debris that fall from the rooftop. I look directly behind me, to see that Mordin is busy pulling Kasumi away from some wreckage of what must have been one of those tube things. Shepard is getting Ellie to her feet, and Carhon is leaping across a small gap in the floor that must have been caused by a falling Dragon's tooth or something.

Either way, Shepard motions us to the elevator.

And _that _is when the elevator door seems to glow an unnatural red. Nearly a second after watching the elevator door glow red, I see that it gets swept up in the red laser beam of death being fired at us by the Reaper that I think is circling around the building. I look up at ceiling and see _more _debris fall, though this time the debris falls right into where the elevator shaft likely was. All I hear immediately after that is the sound of a large spacious object hitting some metallic surface, and then I hear a loud metallic squeal. I bring my hands to my fingers, and then the squeal immediately stops, giving way instead to a loud snap and the sound of metal grinding against metal. The sound dies away, and... Shit, did the Elevator just go...?

And then the red laser dies out, and it reveals that the elevator is probably _not _going to be functioning very well: well, that's if an elevator _can _function after the damage done to the elevator shaft directly in front of us.

Fuck!

I look to the side to see the doors to the staircase. Wait... we've still got...

"Come on!" I shout. With this, I spring up and rush towards the stairs, James practically grabbing onto my armor as I run as fast as I can with a mild limp. I look back to the others to see them following suit as well, before we all burst through the doors into the emergency stairwell. The lights are out, but at this point we don't have to fumble too hard for the guard rail of the staircase. I grip the guard rail, and begin running down the stairs as quickly as I can.

I can literally feel my heartbeat in my ears by now. As we quickly descend, I notice that it's suddenly gone a little quiet. Sure, I hear the noise still, but the Reaper doesn't seem to be attacking us directly, at least not for now. Damn it, Art... You can't think about that now. Right now, you just have to get the hell out of this building. Just get out of this building, get out of this building, just take the blessing in disguise and get the hell out of here.

We run down about eleven flights of stairs before we hear the mechanical whirring noise again, followed by a burst from somewhere above us. I briefly pause and look up, and- holy, shit, it's coming from above!

"Oh, _fuck_," I shout as I begin vaulting down three stairs at a time.

I nearly trip on my way down the stairs as the laser beam of death seems to be rushing right for us. C'mon, c'mon... I look ahead of me to see a door to the actual floor, and find myself nearly leaping for it. I slam my hand on the door control, opening the way into the floor beneath most of us. I rush through the opened door, James following me as quickly as we can. Barely a split second after I get onto the floor in question, everyone else follows suit, with Ellie rushing in right as the beam narrowly misses her. We all look behind us, hearing the beam continue on to take out the staircase on the floors beneath us, and then I hear the sounds cease. After a second or two, the wall of the staircase simply falls away, and I hear a loud thud from the ground below.

I look back to Shepard, watching as she shakes her head while looking down. "Damn it," she says. She then looks in our direction. "Look for another staircase!"

Mordin immediately sees another door, and runs to the door. He slams his hand on the door controls, but when the door opens we don't see a staircase there either. I look to the other end where Ellie has opened a door to see much the same thing. Shit... so _that's _what the Leviathan was doing while we were busy running down the stairs.

And then, I hear the mechanical whirring from outside, and then look to see that we're now looking directly at the Reaper. His eyes are still beneath us somewhere, but I can see where his body forms into that spire... Shit, if this thing is the size of Nakatomi Plaza, then we're only on the 24th floor, and still in the danger zone if we should fall...

The Reaper's mechanical whirring, however, becomes something else. "_Fools_," it says. "_Why do you prefer resistance? Why do you not accept the inevitable?_"

I look over at Shepard. Before she can say anything else, however, a red laser beam bursts through the floor. The group of us is sent scattering around the room, with Shepard, Ellie, Mordin, and myself running to one end of the floor while Carhon, James, and Kasumi run to the other end. The beam trails towards James, Carhon, and Kasumi, moving slowly enough so as to cause my heart rate to spike. I look there... wait, why's the beam not edging towards them?

The beam suddenly stops just a fraction of an inch away from the wall. "_For you see, Leader, your hope is wasted on resistance_," the Reaper continues. "_You build up an expectation that you have a chance, that you can defeat us. You strive against inevitability. And in the end... it matters not what happens there._"

It's then that I notice the sound of cracking concrete around and above us. I look up suddenly, feeling the building slowly begin to shake. I look directly at Shepard, who seems just as confused as I am. What's going... wait, why's the floor on their side suddenly...?

...

Holy _fuck_, he took out the supports! And that means...

Kasumi seems to realize this at the same time we do, for suddenly she's running across her section of the floor. Carhon and James quickly follow suit as their part of the building begins to fall back. Shepard, Ellie, Mordin, and I run forward as fast as we can, coming to the edge of our half of the building as the other part begins to peel away. Kasumi leaps beyond the chasm, and fortunately for her she lands with ease right as the gap begins to widen noticeably and the building begins to fall away from their side.

With this, I turn my attention to James and Carhon, both of whom have jumped as well. James barely manages to catch the ledge, and immediately I run over to help pull him up. Ellie comes along too, and we're both grabbing a hold of his arms and trying to pull him up. I look over to Shepard and Mordin immediately, who are both looking at the floor beneath us. I look over there, and see Carhon slowly getting up from where he rolled over.

And then, I hear the cracking of concrete get louder, and then I watch as half of the building parts from the rest of us. It slowly leans away, and then I hear a grand sound of concrete falling against more concrete as that half of the building falls. I look up at our building, seeing it begin to sway precariously. I then look to the Reaper as it slowly turns to us, looking mighty angry. Well, if a tall sentient warship could look incredibly angry, anyway. For a moment, I see its beam charge up, the mechanical whir getting louder.

Ellie and I slowly pull James up to our level, with Shepard and Kasumi offering assistance just as I begin to feel our half of the building begin to lean back. That actually helps us pull James over the edge, and Mordin immediately runs over as well. We all look at the Reaper, and I imagine Carhon is doing the same thing from where he is a floor below us.

"_There is no hope,_" says the Leviathan. "_There is no salvation. Embrace the inevitable_."

It then fires at an area below us. That is all it takes for the rest of our half of the building to lean back with increasing velocity.

Before I know what has happened, the floor has given out from under us, and we're all sent falling in a heap. I watch the Reaper get ever taller as... No! No! We're falling! Fuck! It wasn't supposed to end like this! No no no no no!

I then very suddenly see the world turn a strange shade of light blue. I suddenly find myself looking down and around, and then look at Shepard. She looks like she's really pushing herself, as I see herself and most of the rest of us being surrounded by a blue aura. Wait a second... is she...?

I don't get my answer, for then my back hits the debris of the building without too many issues, and I hear the rest of the building fall just behind where I am. As soon as I land, the world is back to its regular tint.

Almost immediately, I sit up, patting myself. Holy... My ribs are okay... My leg still has that little injury... my arms are fine... and my face...

...

Holy shit, I'm alive!

I chuckle in relief, turning behind me to see Shepard shakily standing up. Ellie brushes some dust off of her, as do James and Kasumi a short distance away. I see Mordin stand up, and I then look at Shepard as she looks completely serious. I then see Carhon standing, looking significantly worse for wear. Wow, did Shepard just biotically save us all?

I look over to Shepard, and she smiles briefly before falling to the ground. James immediately runs over to Shepard, placing a hand on her neck and counting. After a few seconds, he nods.

"She's alive," he says.

I look at James, shaking my head as I walk over to him. "I didn't think she could do that with her biotics," I comment.

James shakes his head, looking up at me. "You know something, Art?" he asks. He then glances around briefly before shaking his head. "_Tampoco no creo que ella supiera esto._" He chuckles then as he lifts Shepard and slings her over his shoulders. "I'm telling you, _chiquitín_, your commander has serious _cojones_."

Right before I can give an amused snort, I hear the loud mechanical whirring.

"_Why will you not die?_" I hear the Leviathan... was that shouting? Immediately, I look up at the Leviathan...

Oh, damn it, why did we have to get that hope spot _now _of all times? I suddenly see it glow red again, and then I suddenly find myself moving away as quickly as I can.

But the first red laser beam doesn't go for us. Instead, it hits Carhon as he starts making his way towards us. I don't think he even gets to scream before he is suddenly vaporized right before our very eyes.

I look at James as he immediately starts. "Carhon!" he shouts.

But it's too late. The laser beam vanishes a few seconds later. And in the beam's wake, there is absolutely _nothing _there.

Wh... what... The Reaper just killed Carhon without... without... No, he just killed one of the only people who probably ensured that we'd evacuate the Bahak system in time, and...

That _bastard!_

A loud thud sounds, and the earth shakes. I immediately look up, and _boy _does the Leviathan seem _pissed_. It looks down on us, and advances as quickly as a ship of that size is able to on foot.

Before long, my feet start moving of their own accord. "Oh, _crap_!" I say. "Run!"

And with this, I immediately turn tail, running away as fast as my feet can. Within the next few seconds, the rest of us follow suit, with Kasumi and Mordin running slightly in front of me. Ellie matches pace with me, and then I suddenly feel the Reaper's footsteps on us. Damn it, if only we had a vehicle with which to get away on!

I then hear the whirr, and then I hear the laser beam destroy debris behind us. I don't dare look back, instead running a little faster. The throbbing in my leg is getting worse, but I just power through it and keep running as fast as my feet can carry me. I look over to James, though, whose eyes seem to have widened almost imperceptibly. He's holding on to Shepard as best as he can, making sure her legs are supported as he runs.

I turn in front of me and- ah! I stop, looking at the laser beam as it strikes the ground in front of me. I only get to pause for a split second, though, as Ellie then tackles me out of the way. The beam passes by where I was just a split second earlier, and then it dissipates altogether. Holy... Holy mother of _God_...

I don't get to think about it for long before I'm pulled to my feet by Ellie again. By then, James has gotten in front of us, and we're still running away from the Reaper as it advances on us. Before long, my feet are obeying me again, and I'm running forward as fast as I can. I glance over at Mordin and Kasumi as they run as quickly as we can. I look over to the buildings at the far end... maybe if we could get in there and out of the open...

"C'mon, Joker..." I whisper under my breath as I trip and nearly fall. "C'mon, get that damn Fleet over here already!"

With this, I run back into the spaces between buildings, Ellie and James both following. I look around, seeing that the alley is surprisingly empty. Well, I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth, 'cause the only thing worse than being chased on foot by a Reaper is doing it while husks are trying to kill you. Either way, we duck into the buildings, and begin weaving around as confusingly as we can.

We've just turned a corner when I hear the red laser of death impact against the ground again. It just so happens that it razes the building directly in front of us. I leap out of the way, with Ellie barely managing to pull James out of the way before the beam passes directly over where I was barely a second or two earlier. I quickly get to my feet right as the beam dissipates.

Ellie immediately pulls me to my feet, shouting something about coming on before we quickly begin maneuvering our way through the alleyways again. We round another corner just as the Reaper fires another one of those lasers behind us. I dare not look back as we turn a corner, and I feel the heat from the laser as it _narrowly _misses us. Wait, did it go faster or something? Shit, that was close... I stumble a little, but keep on moving as quickly as I can.

We turn onto an open street almost immediately after, and continue to run as fast as we can. Damn it, gotta keep moving, gotta keep moving! I hear the mechanical whirr again, and then it suddenly strikes the ground immediately in front of us. Ellie, James, and I immediately stop running, and then turn tail and immediately jump to the sides as the beam suddenly flies towards us. I feel the heat again, though it passes right by me before it can get really bad, and I turn to Ellie as soon as I land. James is slowly getting up on the other side, and then I look to make sure Ellie is all right before scrambling to my feet.

And then, I hear a _different _sort of noise coming from above. The Reaper, Ellie, James, and myself all notice this at the same time, and we all look up to see the Normandy. It's flying right towards the Reaper, and I can see the Citadel fleet coming in on the Normandy's heels.

"_Hang on to your seat belts, kids, the cavalry's coming in!_" Joker shouts into the comm link. The Normandy comes closer, closer...

And then, I hear a loud fizzing sound as the Normandy fires her Thanix Cannon. I quickly turn towards the Reaper just in time to see the Thanix Cannon's strike hit true. I see that the Leviathan obviously has no shields, for the Thanix Cannon promptly burns a hole right through the Leviathan. The loud mechanical scream that comes from the Reaper afterwards is almost deafening, so I bring my hands up to my ears almost immediately.

There is no break for the Leviathan, though, for then the other ships in the Council's fleet come running in, opening fire on the Leviathan. The Leviathan just continues to take multiple hits as lots of torpedoes strike the Reaper. Eventually, I see another leg of the Leviathan fall off, with the Leviathan's old battle wounds taking its toll.

Finally, I watch the Normandy turn around to come in for another Thanix Cannon strike. I stand back as this blow also connects with the Leviathan of Dis. It strikes the Leviathan right down the center, and then the Leviathan seems to look at us with pure rage.

And then, the Leviathan simply blows up. I look up at the debris that begins forming everywhere, and then I leap to the side and cover my head. Ellie does the same thing right as James retreats behind some rubble. The debris rains down on us, huge black chunks of metal flying about everywhere. I hear all this noise for several seconds, and then that quickly subsides.

When I lift my head, I look around to see smoldering chunks of the Leviathan of Dis just laying around everywhere. I look up, seeing all the damage done to the Leviathan... Holy shit, we actually did it. We evaded a Reaper on foot, and lived to tell the tale... Holy mother of _fuck_...

I look over to James as he stands up. He looks at the Leviathan's remains sullenly, shaking his head as he looks on. He then walks up to Ellie and I and sighs. I briefly catch sigh of Mordin and Kasumi walking out of the alleyways, Kasumi with a little limp as she moves along. I look over to James as we all gather right in the center of all the debris.

James immediately spits at one of the pieces of debris. "_Vaya al diablo, Segador_," he replies bitterly. "Serves you right for what happened to Carhon."_  
><em>

I then look back at the remains of Galaxy Hall. It's in ruins now, as it looks like it was sheared right off of something. Either way, it now looks like a majestic monument to a time gone by, though I shudder to think of how many batarians were lost there. I then think... Shit, Carhon...

He would've looked forward to seeing something like this. And now... Now that damn Reaper vaporized him. Damn it all to _hell_...

I look to everyone else. "We've... we've still got his family on the Normandy, though, right?" I ask.

"That just makes it worse," Kasumi points out. "Who's going to tell them?"

"I will." James looks down at the ground. "Carhon was... a friend." I raise my eyebrows at his slight hesitation. "I was closer to him than anyone else on the Normandy. I'll tell his family."

"All right," I say, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Look, if you need some time alone, then I'll understand.

He shakes his head. "I'm a soldier," he says. "Death is something I'm used to by now."

I nod. Before I can reply, though, my comm link springs to life. "_Art?_" Joker asks. "_Shepard's not responding, and that Reaper looks like it blew so much shit up that Stallone would blush in shock. What happened?_"

I shake my head, bringing my hand up to my ear. "Well, funny you should say Stallone," I comment. "We basically just got chased by a Reaper on foot after falling about twenty-four stories. It would've been to our death if not for our Commander doing something with her biotics that knocked her out." I shake my head, looking over there. "And what's up with the Fleets?"

"_We don't know,_" says Joker. "_But the Fleets are deploying foot soldiers and coordinating with the resistance people as we speak. We should have a ground force organized soon enough. And as for the Fleets... some of them broke off to engage a few batarian ships that were patrolling the orbit of Khar'shan. I've still got a betting pool for who's gonna win, if you want to-_"

"No, Joker, I _don't _want to bet on that," I comment. "In fact, I'd rather you not wager things about peoples' lives, thank you very much."

"_Suit yourself,_" says Joker. "_Anyway, we'll have this city cleaned out of the Reaper influence in a bit. I suggest you get back to this Vo'gon guy who contacted us so we can get going with that._"

"As you say, Joker." And with this, I cut the line. I look up to the others "Well, it's back to Vo'gon for now. Come on, guys. We've got some distance to go yet."

With this, I turn away from the remains of the Leviathan. Ellie looks back for a brief second before following. I then hear the crunch of multiple footsteps behind me, and I can briefly see the vision of Carhon Erash being vaporized right in front of me as we walk among the streets of Khar'shan's capitol city.


	34. Chapter 33

_A/N: All right. With that, we just finish witnessing some really crazy stunts on Khar'shan._

_This time, we're actually changing the focus of where MV is. Well, if you thought the B Story chapters were confined to the first part of MV3, that is where you would be sorely mistaken. The main character of the B Story changes, but the B Story marches on. And this time, we return to the B Story._

_So without further ado, here's the chapter:_

* * *

><p>Chapter 33: B Story: A Glimmer<p>

Ugh... Oh...

Oh... Ow... Oh, God...

Mm... Where...? Where am I...?

I slowly open my eyes... Ow! Oh, ow, my ribs... Oh, how...?

I look up as soon as my eyes open. And all I see is a garden around me that is up in flames. There is debris literally everywhere, and I look around to see... Oh, God... I look up at the tall steel walls that form where we are, and then turn my head to see that there's a huge window in the distance that looks like it was shot through. There's a faint blue shimmer just beyond the broken window...

Oh, God... what...?

Wait. There was a panel... And a man in front of it... No, not a man, a turian... Okay, girl, there we go... Yes, he was the councilor! And he was doing something... Reapers... Calling them in... Yeah, something like that.

And what about that dream I had? Yes, that dream... that was a strange dream I had, and I can only barely recall something about... I don't know, something about something... yes, in the center of the Citadel. But what? I don't... I don't quite know...

Oh, relax, it was only a dream. And dreams... well, you can think about that later. What else...?

I slowly pull myself into a seating position. Agh, oh, mind the ribs, girl. Oh... Ow... I need to get that looked at when I can find medical help. But what...

Wait, yes, the Reapers. They... they invaded. Even after... Yes, I remember now! We were trying to stop the turian councilor, but we didn't succeed.

... We? Hold it... wait, we... turian... yes, with blue facial marks, one that goes on his mandible, and-

Garrus! Shit! Garrus was with me!

I slowly pull myself to my feet... Oh, god, my ribs are _killing _me. Just be careful girl, don't aggravate them too much... Nng... I stand up, letting out a loud grunt as I lean against a particularly tall piece of debris. I look around... God damn it, where is he? I just remember the both of us getting blacked out... Where...?

I bring my hand up behind my head and... shit, is that _blood_? I bring my hand forward after feeling the dried fluid at the back of my head. I... Damn it, the lighting isn't optimal, but... yep, that's definitely blood. And it's _dry _blood, no less.

How long was I out, anyway? And if I was out for a while, then where's Garrus? He can't have abandoned me, and if he had found me he would've given me medical attention, and...

Wait...

I look up... No, I can't shout, that might hurt the ribs... So I begin shuffling around. I slowly move around... Ow, Christ, it hurts just to even _walk_... Oh, keep it together, girl, that won't help you find Garrus. He's got to be around here somewhere...

I slowly stumble around, holding a hand around my hips and moving with very small movements. It feels like hours when I finally manage to get even ten feet away from where I started. I feel a pronounced limp all over my body, and by now I just feel like I'm in constant pain. That makes the journey easier, though, as I get used to it after a while. I begin to move forward more confidently once this happens. And eventually, I begin to move about the room.

All the while, my eyes scan the area around me, searching for any sign of Garrus... C'mon, Garrus, where are you? I just... c'mon, even if there's something as simple as an eyepiece, or a sniper rifle, or...

Or...

Wait! What's that over...?

I slowly saunter up to it, being careful not to cause a spike of pain as I walk forward. I then look at... yes, it's a sniper rifle! That means Garrus was here. But-

Ah!

"Garrus!" I whisper.

I move a little more quickly than before, coming to stop right by the turian. He's laying there, right by the wall with some blood having dried on the side of his face. A piece of debris must've fallen on his leg, because I see some more blue blood dried right under a black piece of Sovereign. He still looks like he's out cold... And no wonder, with that rock on his leg...

I get to my knees, and place my hands on the piece of debr-ow! I breathe steadily, biting on my lower lip hard enough to draw blood. Okay, girl, just ignore the pain... You've gotta get this rock off of Garrus' leg somehow... Okay, girl, that's it... Just... steady... and...

I push as hard as I can, the piece of debris shifting from Garrus' leg. I feel a stabbing pain in my ribs, and immediately take my hands off the rock, letting out a loud moan of pain. Damn... ow! Oh, God, ow! I lean my back against the wall, feeling the tears spill from my eyes. I take a few seconds to breathe, getting the pain back under control. Ow... Okay, okay, I'm... I open my eyes (wait, I closed my eyes?) to see that the debris has actually shifted well enough that the rock is no longer on Garrus' leg. Okay, good... I look back at the leg, slowly and carefully leaning forward to examine it.

Okay, it's bent at an odd angle, but it doesn't look shattered. So if nothing else, it's at least broken. It's a good thing turian hide is made of stronger stuff than people think it is, otherwise I think I'd be seeing bone. Still, I have to set the leg and bandage it... but with what? I mean... I look at the sleeve of my clothes.

...

Well, if it'll heal Garrus' leg, then I don't have a problem with it. I don't think I can do it now, though: I don't want him to wake up to a screaming pain in his leg as someone sets it.

So I guess I just wait for Garrus to get up. However long that takes. Either way, I'm not moving away from this spot.

It's not like I could really get very far, anyway...

* * *

><p>Eventually, after an hour that seems to drag on tortuously, I hear a groan from Garrus. He shifts close to where I'm sitting, and even despite the ever subsiding pain I manage to smile as Garrus moves. Slowly, I lean over him, stroking his shoulder gently.<p>

"There there, Garrus," I say. "I'm here."

He then looks up at me. "Madison..." he says. "W... what happened?"

"A lot of crap," I reply. "Don't move too much. It looks like some of the debris broke your leg."

Garrus groans as he sits up, and I can tell by the way his mandibles are shaking that he is trying his best not to cry out in pain. "Ng... I can see that," Garrus comments. He chuckles bitterly. "I'm not too worried: I've had _much _worse injuries on Omega."

I manage to chuckle, shaking my head and smiling. "Oh, don't remind me," I reply. "The _last _thing I need is a reminder of the time you came back from fighting Garm. I didn't think you could beat someone like that and _still _live."

"A broken arm, lots of cuts, and three shattered ribs was what Kat counted." Garrus smirks in that unique turian way. "Typical day on Omega, you know."

I roll my eyes. "I can't believe we're _still _joking about that," I comment. "Especially after... well..."

Garrus nods. "Yeah," he says. "Even after everything we did, the Reapers still came into town." He sighs. "We've faced suicidal odds before, but I don't know that we'll get out of _this_set of odds all that well."

"Well, we're still here, aren't we?" I ask. "Maybe there's something that'll help us get out of here."

"Yeah, and Omega was a perfectly fine little rock with no problems on it," Garrus comments sarcastically. He then looks above us. "The Reapers are going to come for us eventually, you realize that."

I simply scoot closer, being mindful not to upset my injuries. "So?" I ask. "We've still got each other, we're still alive, and they haven't come for us yet." I look up. "I think they must think we died in the explosion or something."

"Probably," says Garrus. He then groans. "But we don't have a way out of this chamber, not unless we try to see if we can outwit a Reaper by hacking the elevator controls. I'm good with tech as it is, but even _I _won't say that I'm _that_ good."

I shake my head. "Maybe there's something we haven't tried," I comment. "Maybe the Keeper tunnels would help us."

"Not a good idea," Garrus replies. "Some of the passages are too small for us to fit in them."

I frown. "Emergency stairs?" I ask.

"To my knowledge, they don't exist," says Garrus.

I look down at the ground. "Do you think if we tried to call someone they might respond?"

With this, the turian looks right at me. "It could work," says Garrus. "It assumes that there are people still in range of a car, but it's something."

I nod. "Then that's what we'll try first," I say. I look down at his leg. "First, I'm going to set this, though. We can't have you walking around with an untreated broken leg, you know?"

Garrus groans. "This is gonna hurt," he says.

I look up at him, winking playfully. "You say that like I'm a mad doctor."

Garrus chuckles at this. "Hardly." He smiles as best he can considering the circumstances. "I know how you are, Madison. Just... be careful."

I lean closer to his leg, slowly taking his broken leg in my hands. I hear a high-pitched whine come from him almost immediately, but I give him the warmest look I can manage. "I don't know how well I'll do that with broken ribs, but... I'll try my best." I nod, moving his leg carefully over a displaced piece of debris. I then take my jacket off, placing it away from the pool of dry turian blood that was where Garrus' leg was. Okay, now I just need... yes! I grab a couple of pieces of pipe from nearby. Thank God that was there...

"Now, hold still. This will probably hurt."

With this, I position his leg, and promptly set it. This earns me a whine from Garrus, who looks like he's trying really hard not to scream in pain. I immediately take my jacket and the pipes, and place the pipes just behind and in front of his leg while it's still set in more or less the right place. I tie my jacket around both the pipes and Garrus' leg as quickly as I can, being careful not to let the two pipes fall.

I then lean back against the wall, looking at my handiwork. "It's not an actual cast, but it'll have to do for now," I say. "You okay?"

"Ng... No... Ow..." Garrus immediately says, sitting upright.

I nod. "Trust me, I'm not in the best shape either," I comment. "But we'll get through this."

I place a hand on his good knee reassuringly. He returns the gesture by placing his hand on my knee, dragging his two fingers across my hand slowly as he does this. He nods, still not looking completely happy, but he drops the subject, and then pats my hand.

"We better... gah... place that call," Garrus replies. He inhales and exhales harshly a few more times, before leaning against the wall and groaning in pain.

"Yeah, we should," I say, opening up my omni-tool. "Leave that to me, Garrus."

All right... let's see... Tidoses? Maybe... Let me try that.

I open the comm link, and then bring my hand to my ear. "Tidoses," I say. "Tidoses, are you there?"

But all I hear in reply is static. I look at Garrus, who I guess can hear it too. I frown, looking out the window briefly. Maybe there's someone else...? Miranda, yes! She was around the Council too. Yes... there she is.

"Miranda?" I ask as soon as I open the comm line. "Miranda? It's Madison. Are you there?"

And again, I only hear static as a reply.

"Damn it," says Garrus. "The Reapers must be jamming communications."

I shake my head, closing my omni-tool. "They must be," I comment. I look directly at Garrus. "Any more bright ideas?"

"Did you bring a breathing apparatus?" Garrus asks.

I shake my head. "No," I say. "Why?"

"Well, the other option would've been to try scaling down the Citadel Tower on foot," Garrus replies.

"You can do that?" Madison asks.

"Shepard and the rest of us did it when Sovereign attacked the Citadel," Garrus replies. "The problem is that we need a breathing apparatus: the outside of the building exists in a vacuum." He shakes his head. "_And _it's a zero gravity environment."

"Which we don't want to traverse with broken bones..." My hand tightens into a fist. "Damn it, there's gotta be _something _we can do to get out of here."

I look up. Hm... there's the window over there. We could always... no, Garrus already explained why that's not an option. We'd just be jumping out into a vacuum, and probably into a Reaper if we're not careful and they're still floating around between the tower and the wards. I look at the rest of the debris, seeing how the flames are only now beginning to die, and how dark the room is becoming as a result of this. I mean, maybe there's...

Wait.

"How did the turian councilor get here?" I ask.

Garrus leans forward. "That's a good question," he says. "How _did _he get here?" I slowly find myself standing up. "It's too bad he's on the bottom of a one-story fall. That fall's hard enough when you're body's in perfectly good condition, I can't imagine how much it would hurt with broken bones."

"But maybe there's some clue as to how he got here laying around somewhere," I comment. Garrus slowly leans his body against the wall, preparing to stand on his good leg. "Maybe he took a sky-car over here, or maybe there's some secret passage to the rest of the Citadel that we don't know about."

"Either way, it's worth a look." Garrus stands up slowly, being careful not to aggravate his broken leg. "Come on."

With this, he walks with a very pronounced limp to where the Citadel's control panel was. I follow him as we slowly walk towards where the control panel was. Whoah, it was really right there? Interesting... I can't believe I didn't notice that before, but I guess it makes sense that we didn't get too far from where the control panel is. We then walk forward, looking right over to the hole that Sparatus fell into when we shot him.

And sure enough, the turian councillor's body is still there. He's laying face-down in a pool of his own blood that's dried by now. He remains unmoving, and almost looks normal from here. He had to die for the good of everyone, but it's still sad. He didn't know what he was doing, and even if he did he must've been screaming pounding against the walls of whatever cage he was trapped in... And now, he's got nothing to show for it. It's almost sad.

Damn Reapers. Damn them all...

I look to Garrus, looking at where his eyes are, before turning my attention elsewhere in the room. I look where Garrus is looking to see that part of the floor above where Councillor Sparatus fell seems to form a strange staircase. Sure, it's in pieces, and the steps are uneven thanks to the distribution of the debris, but with some effort we could probably climb down those stairs.

I look at Garrus, our eyes meeting briefly. "Well, we could always use that," I comment.

"We could," says Garrus. "Come on. Let's see if we can get out of this chamber."

With this, we walk right over to the debris staircase. I slowly step down, feeling the pain flare in my ribs. For his part, Garrus manages to find a way to climb down without aggravating his broken leg, but I actually end up pausing. Noticing this, Garrus looks up at me as soon as he descends the first staircase.

"You need help there?" Garrus asks.

I nod. "I... I think I could use it," she says.

The turian only nods. "Trust me, I know you're a tough girl," he says. "Come on."

With this, he reaches towards me, being careful not to grip my ribs too hard. I still cringe as the pain flares up again, but at least I'm able to weather it rather than feeling the pain the exhertion might have caused me. He then proceeds to help me down the stairs along the way, moving as slowly as he can and making sure to brace himself so he doesn't break his leg.

When we both finally get to the ground, Garrus immediately goes over to the turian councilor. I follow him, kneeling next to the councilor. Garrus does so as well, and begins patting the turian's body up and down. I'm not sure what that would do given that Sparatus was in a prison cell, but maybe there is something there. In the meantime... I open my omni-tool and then wave it over the arm that Sparatus' omni-tool should be on.

And sure enough, I watch the omni-tool open. Hm... I begin scrolling through his menus... Wait, how'd he get his... No, one of the indoctrinated prison guards might've given it to him when they broke him out. Only natural, after all...

Hm... What was the last application he used? Hm... Okay, go to that menu, go through the drop-down box... map? Hm, this might be interesting. He apparently needed a map of something. But what...?

I open the map in question, and am then treated to a map that appears holographically. Garrus looks up immediately, and then we both look at the image. Not wasting any time, I open my own omni-tool.

"Garrus, get a transfer going there," I say. "I think that map I've pulled up is important somehow."

Garrus nods immediately. "And if I know your instinct the way I do..." He leans over, being careful not to lean over his broken leg. "Let me see here..."

The turian's hands begin to manipulate the Councillor's omnitool pretty quickly. I watch as his hands immediately send the map digitally over to my omni-tool. A few seconds later, I hear my own omni-tool ping, and then I bring up the map. Hm... This map looks odd, but what...?

Wait a second. It seems to go _up _to some place. And then, the destination point is marked very clearly. And the destination is somewhere in the middle of a tall tower. An _extremely _tall tower, actually, and it's a little something that...

I raise my omni-tool to Garrus. "I think I've got it," I say. "I think... I think Sparatus had a map of a secret passage here. One that went all the way up to this chamber."

Garrus leans forward as he closes Sparatus' omni-tool. He ends up placing one of his hands on the ground to steady himself. "A secret passage?" Garrus asks. "Do you think the Reapers planned that?"

"Probably," I comment, looking above us. "If he needed a way to quickly get up here, then he could've used the pandemonium to get to the top of the tower and activate the relay without anybody knowing." I look off to the side. "And maybe that's how Saren got to this part of the Citadel so quickly once he went through the Conduit."

Garrus shakes his head. "There are elevators right where the Conduit is," says Garrus. "He wouldn't have needed that secret passage. Still, he had chaos on his side." Garrus slowly stood up, cringing a little as he accidentally placed some weight on his leg. "The question is, where _is _this passage?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." I zoom into the map. squinting as I manipulate the map. C'mon, there's gotta be something... Hm.

"Well, it's actually not far from where we are now," I comment, pointing out that we seem to be pretty close... yeah, there's the slight dip in the ground there that's not right at the stairs. That's gotta be it. "So it has to down here where we are... but where would we open the passage?"

"And how do we open it?" asks Garrus. "I wouldn't be surprised if the Reapers found some way to keep us from using it."

I look up, glancing back at the omni-tool. "Maybe there's some kind of Reaper code there," I comment. "Check it again, see-"

And at that moment, I'm interrupted by the sound of a passageway opening somewhere close by. Garrus and I both jolt, the jolting actually causing a small shooting pain to shoot up in my body. I look towards the source of the sound to see part of the wall seemingly peeling away from us. It peels away from us, and then retreates into a little something, opening up to a black void. I look there... oh, is that it? Then how...?

And who is that? And who...

Wait, I know her!

"Liara!"

I slowly stand up as the young human that was accompanying Liara stands guard at the passageway. Liara walks forward, Garrus immediately walking forward to greet her.

"Liara, I didn't think you'd ever return to the Citadel," says Garrus.

"I didn't think I would either," Liara says as I slowly stand up. "Are you two all right?"

"No," I reply. "We have broken bones, the both of us. And... agh... It hurts just to breathe, I'm afraid."

Liara nods. "You certainly have looked better," she concedes. "I'm just glad you're both alive. Bailey sounded worried when we found him."

W-what? "Bailey?" I ask. "You mean... he's alive?"

"Yes," says Liara. "I ran into him while trying to locate the secret passage that went to the Council chambers.

I sigh in relief. "Good," I comment. "Is he safe now?"

"He's waiting further down the passage," says Liara. She then turns to the passage again as the young man remains standing where it is. "He mentioned you were up here. So we thought to come and find you. It's a good thing you are alive."

"Everything's gone to hell below us, hasn't it?" I ask.

"I'm afraid it has," says Liara. She shakes her head. "Feron is down below, trying to ferry as many other survivors into one group as he can and trying to find a safe spot. I said I would be down to find him in a little."

"Then I guess that's our cue to get going?" I ask.

"It is," says Liara.

I nod, looking at the young man. "Well, I guess we better move," I comment, looking at the young man. "And by the way, that is...?"

"Brendan Ganserig," says Liara. "He's one of my operatives."

Garrus blinks. "Dropping the secrecy, Liara?" he asks. "I didn't think you were the type."

"It's meaningless to keep using my cover when I ended up opening the secret passage with him and Bailey present," says Liara.

"Yeah, how did you find us, anyway?" I ask.

"It's a long story," says Liara. "I'll tell you on the way down."

I nod. "Then let's get going," I say. "Feron probably doesn't want to be kept waiting."

With this, Liara nods. The three of us walk on over to the opening of the secret passage, which Brendan had been keeping open with his body. We step through the passage's doorway almost immediately, and then Brendan follows us. I watch Brendan and Liara turn on their omni-tool flashlights as we begin walking deeper into the passageway, and then the wall rises up again and plunges us in near-total darkness.

* * *

><p>"Well, I didn't think you survived that blast at the top of the tower. But somehow, you two proved me wrong. Drinks are on me once this whole mess gets sorted out."<p>

It's a relief to hear Bailey's voice as the group of us continues walking along the dark passageway. I simply look up at Bailey as he pushes off from where he was leaning against the wall. And in the light of Liara's flashlight, he actually doesn't look like he got off too badly. I see a pretty big bruise by his right eye, but other than that he looks all right.

I smile, walking forward and shaking his hand. I wince a little as this aggravates my injuries, but I try not to think about it. "You're alive," I say. "I didn't think..."

"It was a close one," Bailey adds. He then looks over at Brendan. "Thankfully, I ran into this kid here at the right time. I'm pretty sure my ass would be grass if he hadn't saved it."

"Well, I do my best," Brendan replies. "And besides, I was under orders of the Shadow Broker him-herself."

Garrus and I both look at Liara. "Well, we've got company," says Garrus. "That's better than nothing, but we still need medical attention."

"I'm afraid that there's nothing I can do about that," says Liara. "Any clinics that might have helped with that may not be functional when we return to the wards."

"So we're stuck with these injuries," I comment. I shake my head. "Great. Now we have to survive against Reaper forces with broken bones."

"It could be worse," says Brendan.

I look up, glancing down at my self. "True," I comment. "I could have to go through that without the wonders of medigel to help me. There's that."

I think I hear Garrus shift his foot uncomfortably behind me, but I don't think about this too much before Liara nods. "We're wasting time here," she says. "Come on."

With this, the five of us proceed to move on. Well, Liara's here, Feron's down below trying to gather us together, and we're still alive, so… it could be far worse. It really could.

So we continue moving in the darkness.

* * *

><p>We move quite a ways, still remaining in the dark. The flashlights are the only light around us, and I find it a little difficult to navigate. Thankfully, Bailey and Brendan have been very helpful, helping Garrus and I to traverse some of the ups and downs of this odd synthetic terrain. It just keeps moving up and down all over the place, with stairs that lead down and ladders that lead up...<p>

Eventually, though, I start to feel gravity tug at me in a rather odd way. I only take a couple more steps before I end up falling on my face. I let out a groan of pain as I feel the pain in my ribs flare up again, and I lay there for a few seconds before I feel someone's hands take a hold of me. Eventually, I'm helped to my feet, though the pain in my ribs hasn't totally gone away. When I do, I suddenly marvel at how the floor we were walking has suddenly become the wall.

I look at Liara as she takes her hands off of me. "Thanks," I say.

"It was strange for us as well," Liara comments. "Gravity misbehaves within the entrance to this passage."

"So I can tell." I look back to Garrus as he's helped to his feet by Bailey and Brendan.

"Well, it could be worse," says Bailey. "The Reapers could've entered this passage while we were still in here. That would've been annoying."

"We've been fortunate on that account, yes," Liara agrees. She draws her pistol almost immediately. "I doubt we will have such luck when we get out of this passage."

I nod, looking at Garrus as he draws his assault rifle. "Well, we better get going then," Brendan replies. "Feron's probably waiting for us. And then..."

"What then?" I ask.

"We do not know," says Liara. "I guess... we attempt to survive as long as possible. And against Reaper forces and Cerberus troops, that is easier said than done."

"Maybe it is," I say. "There's gotta be something we can do, though."

Liara simply shakes her head. "Unfortunately, Feron couldn't find anything in what we had," she says.

"So we've got nothing," says Garrus.

Liara bows her head. "I'm sorry, Garrus," she says. "We tried to look."

The turian shrugs. "It could be worse," he grudgingly admits. "We could be _dead_."

"That's true, though I wouldn't put it in such blunt terms," Liara replies.

"It's a chance, at least," Garrus says. "That's better than nothing at this point. And maybe we'll find something. Either way, we may be able to find something that can stop the Reapers."

"With the galaxy divided eight ways from Sunday, I don't think that's gonna happen," Bailey adds.

"Well, we can't just sit here and wait to die," I reply. "We have to hope for something! I don't know what we'd hope for, but there has to be more than this."

"Maybe, but from where I'm standing I ain't seeing it," Bailey replies. "We're trapped in the Citadel, we're cut off from everyone else... If you've got any ideas, princess, I'd like to hear them."

I shake my head. "We'll think of something," I say. "We'll figure it out. I don't know how, I don't know when, but we'll figure it out." I then look to Liara. "Come on. We need to get back into the Citadel."

The asari nods, and then we follow her as she begins to move through the rest of the passage.

Eventually, we come to a place in the passage that lets out to the Wards. The Wards look just as grey as I remember them to be, though the streets are oddly quiet now. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised, what with the Reapers having taken over the station and everything. Liara steps forward, looking around.

"I guess having the comms out complicates everything," I comment.

"Yeah," says Brendan. "The comms don't really work as well as they should. If we try to use them, we just end up getting nothing but static. But we did work around that."

"We told Feron to look for survivors, and get them to the med clinic closest to where we are within five hours," says Liara.

"There's a hospital clinic near here?" asks Garrus.

"No, but we agreed to meet there," Brendan replies.

"At the moment, we're in the Kithoi Ward," Bailey notes. "It's been pretty quiet since the Reapers came in."

"I'll bet," I comment, looking up. "Are there any nurses on hand?"

"Hopefully," says Liara. "I would not expect them to be there, but hopefully there will be something there so you can get medical attention for your wounds."

"I hope there's something there: I don't want to go around with a broken leg while the galaxy's falling apart," Garrus says. "Let's hope there's something there..."

Liara nods. "This way."

She then leads the way, with Brendan and Bailey holding the front. I stand behind Garrus. I mean... I don't want to worsen my ribs with anything like the recoil of these guns. I need to take it easy. And so, I stand behind them all and walk forward with everyone else.

* * *

><p>We come out onto a street, and that's when we see the first of these husks. They're a rather small group of human husks, of course, so they simply start running towards us. Liara responds by throwing a singularity at them, and I watch as the husks suddenly float in the air. Bailey simply draws his pistol, firing shots at each of these husks as the singularity does its thing. Eventually, the husks drop to the ground, and none of them are actually moving. Taking this as a good thing, we continue on, me keeping my head down in case these husks come out and attack us again.<p>

And indeed, I suddenly hear several mass accelerator rounds fly right past my head. Almost immediately, I take cover behind a nearby wall, making sure there are no husks in there before turning my attention back to everyone else. There are several turian husks that come out of various storefronts, and I even see a pair of human husks as well. The human husks rush forward as the turian husks fire at everyone. The first of the human husks runs right for Liara, but she takes her time off of shooting at the turian husks to punch the thing biotically, sending the human husk flying back. The second husk goes for Brendan, but thankfully Garrus is far enough back that a few assault rifle shots take care of him.

I then watch as Garrus' shields die around him. I hear Garrus shout in pain as I see a mass accelerator round penetrate one of his arms. He immediately ducks behind cover, and I only lean further behind cover as the assault only gets more intense. There must be more turian husks that've gotten over here when I wasn't looking. Damn it, if only I didn't have broken ribs...

I dare to lean out of cover to see the fight. Electric sparks are emitted from one of the other turian husks, and I watch as it gets taken down by fire. I briefly glance over to Bailey right as he raises his omni-tool at another of these turian husks. I watch those turian husks also get shocked, but another husk forces Bailey back into cover with a well-placed assault rifle volley. I see Liara appear out of cover again as she throws a biotic warp at one of the husks. The warp causes the turian husk to stumble back, to which Brendan rises up and shoots the husk down immediately. It goes down, and stays down as Garrus comes out of cover. I briefly notice the medigel mixed with blue blood on his arm before he fires into the crowd of husks again. He manages to help take another one down, before he flashes his omni-tool and causes another husk's shields to overload.

The small fight continues in such a fashion, up until the last of the turian husks is taken down. When I see this, I walk out of cover, looking over as Brendan comes along to help me out of cover. As soon as I'm out of cover, I see Bailey and Liara stand up, looking for husks that we don't actually end up seeing. She then nods and turns to us as Garrus comes out of cover.

"Come on," Liara says. "The coast looks clear for now, but no doubt we'll have to worry about more husks."

"They always come 'round when we least expect them," Bailey adds. "Come on. We need to get moving."

I nod. "Right."

With this, I follow Liara and Bailey as they lead the way to our destination once more.

We encounter several more skirmishes with Reaper-based forces on our way back, though none of them are really major. Thankfully, we've avoided dealing with that thing that we saw with Bailey last time. We don't accumulate any more injuries on the way, so for that... well, that's something, girl. That's something.

Liara and Bailey all round a corner, raising their pistols again. I watch them as they look ahead of us, but they hesitate this time. Frowning, I walk forward with Garrus and Brendan. We all look over, and then I see a particularly noticeable building. It's not a storefront, but it _does _look like... Wait, those windows, the way some of the desks are arranged...

"Well, looks like we got to this clinic in one piece," Garrus immediately says. "I thought we'd have a couple more broken bones than that."

I walk up to Liara, looking at her as I look back at the windows. I then look back to Liara, raising my eyebrows. "What's the problem?" I ask.

"There's no one here yet," says Liara.

Bailey then opens his omni-tool, and looks at a little timing function briefly. "Well, that may have something to do with the fact that we're early," he comments. "At least we got here. That way, we can hold the fort if the Reapers suddenly try to attack this place."

"That's true," Brendan comments as he looks up. "We're going to need to do what we can to keep these s'kaks off of us, you know?"

I blink in surprise. S'kaks? Say what? Is that...? No, girl, it's not important. "That's true," I comment. "We can get in there and fortify this place in case Feron comes back with a bunch of husks."

Liara nods. "At least we're here at all," she says. "Come on, let's go inside. Bailey's right. Feron may not be here, but we have to prepare for his arrival. _If _he comes back."

"I'm sure he's fine, Liara," says Bailey. "Feron can handle himself, you said it yourself."

Liara nods. "I know," she replies. "I have to be prepared for that responsibility, though. Come."

With this, we walk towards the clinic in question. Bailey uses some authorization code to open the door, and with that we step into the office. I find myself looking around the room as Liara, Bailey, and Brendan begin moving around the office. I feel a dull ache in my ribs again as we move along. Hm... Well, we don't have a nurse yet, but maybe this would be a good time to stock up on medigel.

I look over to Bailey. "Yep, just as I thought," he comments. He holds up a thermal clip. "This station hasn't been touched by anyone since we got here."

"You checked the place out first?" Garrus asks.

"Of course we did," says Liara. "We needed to be sure this place would have what we needed to help people survive."

Garrus nods. "Fair point," he says. "Hopefully, nobody noticed that the door was unlocked."

"We locked it back up before we went to the top of the tower," Brendan replies. "Trust us, if anything got in here, it'll be a surprise to us too."

I nod, looking over. "So does this thing have any medical beds?" I ask.

"It does," says Bailey. "But none of us know how to use them. Again, we'd need a doctor here if we're gonna make any use of that."

All right. Well, I guess I could wait for a short amount of time if that's what it'll take. I step away from Bailey as Garrus walks up to him. Brendan walks into a back room soon after that, and then I look over to the windows. I notice that Liara stands there looking out of them too. I walk up to her, glancing around at the empty streets that surround the clinic's entrance.

"I can't believe that the Citadel would be so _empty_..." I comment.

"Neither can I," Liara adds. "I have never seen the Citadel so empty before."

"And you're a hundred and... nine, now?" I ask.

"I am," says Liara. "I've seen some strange things in my life, but this? I don't know what to make of this..." She shakes her head. "Everything over the past several hours has been... surreal. I can barely believe it myself."

I sigh. "Join the club," I comment.

We both look outside, right before Liara turns to me. She glances to the side, and I turn back to see that Garrus and Bailey are both concentrating on taking stock of the ammunition we have left. I look back to Liara, right as she pulls a little something from a pouch in her little coat. I frown as she nods to me.

"I saved the piece you and Art found from the Collector base, by the way," she says. She then holds out... holy crap, she saved that? "Not that this information will make much of a difference now. With the Reapers invading anyway..."

I nod, taking the small tablet of prothean cuneiform in my hand. "It's good that you saved it," I comment. "Thank you for bringing it. I'll make sure to hang on to it, even if it can't tell us anything else."

Liara looks outside, placing her hands behind her back. "I wouldn't be so sure of that," she says.

I frown, looking at the asari as she looks outside. "What does that mean?" I ask.

She glances behind me, before shaking her head. "I'm afraid I can't talk about what that means right now," she says. "Trust me. You'll see."

I raise my eyebrow at this comment. "It sounds odd, is all," I comment. I shrug, looking back out the window of the clinic. "You sure you can't just tell me that?"

"It's something that the Reapers and Cerberus can't hear," she says. "If I say it now, they may catch on. We can't risk that, and in the Citadel as it is now we can't be too careful."

I nod. "All right," I say. "But I'm hoping for some answers soon."

"You'll get those when the time comes," Liara says. "For now... We have to make sure Feron and the others come back."

And with this, I nod, watching as Liara goes to talk to Bailey and Garrus. I look over to Liara as she begins discussing things with the two C-SEC people, their conversation becoming quite animated. I keep my eyes on this conversation for a few seconds as Bailey hands Liara a thermal clip.

I then look at the little tablet of cuneiform that Liara gave me. What is up with this thing...? Ah, well, don't sweat it, girl. Maybe it's not actually important, and she's just giving it to you for old times' sake. Maybe. I don't know. She was cryptic there, and that's not always a good thing. But what if she's telling the truth and there's more to this object that I didn't see? Maybe...

I pocket the object, and then walk over to where Garrus and Bailey are right as Brendan comes out from deep within the clinic.

* * *

><p>A few rather uneventful minutes pass as we begin taking stock of what is actually in this clinic here. I find myself looking out of the window as everyone else continues to do their thing. I simply stand there with my hand on the windowsill, looking outside. It's... eerily quiet, really. It shouldn't be legal to be this quiet, but I guess that's what happens when the Reapers come into town and cause... <em>this<em>.

Did the Reapers really get through the Citadel and overpower it so quickly? It's almost unreal how there are very few survivors that we can see... That's just... How did it end like this? This is... This is horrible...

I simply breathe in, looking outside. Maybe Bailey's right. Maybe there's nothing we can do. I mean, if by some miracle we manage to save the Citadel, what then? We're still talking about extreme civilian casualties and all that, so...

Oh, this is just _great_.

I sigh, shaking my head as I walk away from the windowsill.

That's when I hear... what is that sound? It sounds like a partially synthetic scream. A really high pitched one, but something about it doesn't sound... _natural_. I turn back to the window, looking outside of the window and wondering what...

"What the hell was that?" I ask.

We hear the scream again, and then I hear footsteps as Liara and Bailey both go up to the window. They frown, looking out of the window.

"I think that's a Reaper husk," says Bailey. "It's not the first time I've heard that scream."

"Then what the hell is causing it?" I ask.

"I dunno," he says. "I didn't actually get close enough to find out."

We look ahead of us, and before long I see some movement in the distance. Hey, wait a minute... I raise my hand and point in the direction of the movement.

"Hey, what's that?" I ask.

We all look towards the motion as it comes closer to us... Wait a minute. That motion...

"Survivors!" Liara says. "Feron is back!"

And indeed, I see a rainbow-colored drell leading the pack of survivors back. I then hear Liara rush over to the door, Brendan running over there. They both open the door, and they start yelling at the drell who I assume is Feron. And indeed, he has a few survivors tagging along with him. I... Is that Miranda? Yes... yes it is! She's all right! And there's... that's probably Oriana and Kolyat with her. I think. Art may have mentioned that Miranda was staying behind for Oriana, so it would... and... holy crap! It's Eltarn and Sawrik... Shit!

I watch the group of survivors get near us. They run, and... wait, what's that?

I look over there suddenly, looking at the large creature following them. That's... That's a husk! Sit, they're being chased by-!

"Futar!" I hear Brendan shout. "Shit, they're being chased by a husk!"

I look over as the husk seems to teleport a few feet towards us. It does so again a second or two later, and then...

"It's not just any husk," I comment. "It's an asari husk!"

I watch Brendan run out, wielding an assault rifle. I watch as he joins Bailey and Liara in providing cover fire. This only manages to distract the strange asari husk, which looks at the three people firing at her. Feron and the others duck under that fire, and I see Miranda turning around and throwing a warp at the asari. Feron turns back as Miranda yells at the civilians to make a break for it. Feron then grabs a submachine gun he was holding, turning back and laying some fire there as well. I step back, watching as the civilians run right past Bailey, Brendan, and Liara, and come rushing right in just as Garrus passes them with his own assault rifle. I look at the civilians as they rush in, getting behind tables and chairs and exhaling harshly.

I walk away from the window, moving towards Eltarn and Sawrik. I briefly see the second drell and what I think is Oriana both checking on each other before I walk over to the older turian. "Eltarn?" I ask.

He looks up, and then beams. "Madison!" he says. "You're alive! I didn't think you..."

"I'm here," I say, looking back out the window to the asari husk. Feron and Miranda quickly turn around, the asari husk walking towards them threateningly. "What the hell is that?"

I then watch as the asari husk stands perfectly still, bringing its arm forward quickly. I then watch as the asari launches a large blue ball of energy that goes right for... shit! I watch as Liara, Bailey, and Brendan scatter around, Garrus making an attempt to do so before the large biotic ball hits him. I feel my heart rate rise as he stumbles back, though thankfully Miranda runs by there just in time to catch him.

Shit, no! Garrus!

With this, I watch Liara walk towards the asari husk, glowing blue as she does so. Within a few seconds, Liara has broken out into a run, and before I can say anything else she leaps at the asari husk. I watch as the asari husk takes the blow, keeling over and screaming. Ah, that's a _scream_, all right! I cover my ears... Jesus, I feel like a knife is trying to stab me in the ear! I cower behind a desk, feeling the pain in my ribs flare up again. I squeeze my eyes shut for a few seconds, before hearing footsteps enter the clinic. I open my eyes immediately, seeing Miranda and Bailey helping Garrus into the office. Garrus...

Oh, good, he's still breathing. That's as good a sign as anything. I look up as Liara immediately runs in, Brendan following her. As soon as they're through the door, Brendan closes it. The asari husk is left to look at us through the windows, glaring at us almost angrily as she eyes us like we're prey of some sort.

The husk miraculously remains quiet, and then we watch for a few seconds as the asari just looks at us. I feel chills run up and down my spine, unconsciously placing my hand on a desk and... Holy hell...

"Is it over?" I ask.

"I hope so," says Miranda immediately. "That _thing_ chased us halfway across the Kithoi Ward. Nearly got Eltarn and Kolyat at a couple of points, too..."

I sigh. "Hopefully, it can't break through glass," says Liara.

And then, we see the asari husk outside gather in on itself. I watch as blue energy swirls around it, and then I hear Feron's group of survivors take a step back.

"Crap, it's that _attack _again!" shouts Feron.

And before I can say anything else, a biotic field erupts from the asari husk, and the asari lets out an almighty shriek. I cover my ears, feeling myself get yanked under the desk. No sooner do I do this than I can faintly make out the sound of glass being shattered. I open my eyes to see a few shards of glass slide across the floor, and I flinch when I feel shards of glass rain down on my head.

"Mother_fucker_!" I hear someone shout. I can't make out who it is, but I know-

And almost immediately, I hear the sound of gunfire echoing within the small office. I hear Sawrik let out a loud shriek that's immediately overpowered by the scream of the asari husk. I look at Eltarn as he tightly holds Sawrik against him, and then I look over my cover to watch the asari husk teleport into the office with us.

Holy Christ, what the hell...!?

The asari husk immediately teleports towards me, and before I know what has happened it's standing right over Eltarn, Sawrik, and I. I look up at it, staring into black, lifeless eyes... Oh my God... What... Okay, keep it together, girl, just keep it together, whatever you do. Don't-

I then hear the asari husk roar. Before I can think anything else, I feel a pair of claws grab my neck. I'm suddenly hoisted off the ground, being held high in the air. My ribs start screaming in pain, and I let out a shriek as I suddenly bring my arms up, trying to break the hold this thing has on my neck. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!

I kick wildly in the air, and then I find myself looking right at the asari husk. I stare into its dead, lifeless eyes as it lets out another loud shriek. I then shut my eyes, trying to look away. Oh, God, this is the end, isn't it? Fuck, no... This is gonna-

"Get away from her, you bitch!"

I hear Miranda shout this, and then I immediately feel myself get dropped to the ground. I land on the ground hard, and I let out a cry of pain as I feel my ribs flare up again. I find it a little hard to breathe at first, but then I feel hands grab at my arms and pull me away. I look back at the asari husk as Miranda throws another warp at it. The husk lets out a screech, and then Miranda runs in and throws another warp. The asari husk stumbles back, and then Miranda grabs her pistol, aiming it at the husk's head.

"Die!" Miranda shouts.

With this, she pulls the trigger, and the asari husk is shot right between the eyes. I then hear it shriek one more time, and then watch as the husk slowly disintegrates in a way I have never seen happen with a husk. After a few seconds, the asari husk is little more than a pile of dust on the ground. After the dust settles on the ground, there is a lengthy silence punctuated only by a soft sobbing of what I assume has to be Sawrik. Everyone just stares at the pile of ashes, looking quite shocked at everything. I'm half expecting them to come back to life, myself. And if they do... holy _fuck_...

I then look as the rainbow colored drell from earlier peeks his head out from behind a desk. "It's dead," he said. "I thought that thing would _never _die..."

Bailey looks at the pile of dust. "I don't doubt it, if it chased you all the way here and destroyed windows that would normally withstand a blast from a rocket launcher," he comments. "What _was _that?"

"Some kind of asari husk," Miranda replies. "We don't know how it came to be, though. We saw some asari bodies on dragon's teeth when we ran into Feron, and some of them didn't turn."

Liara looks at the dust. "Was this asari maybe an ardat-yakshi?" she asks.

"An ardat-yakshi?" Brendan asks as he comes out from behind me. "I thought they were kept within asari space or something!"

"Not always," I comment, looking down at the corpse. "Some of them manage to slip through the cracks. That, or this one didn't even know yet."

"As someone once told us, you don't know you're an ardat-yakshi until you kill your lover in the meld," Garrus adds as he leans against the table. "That bitch packed a punch, though."

"That she did," says Eltarn as he stands up. Sawrik is sobbing lightly against his father's shoulder, and Eltarn is holding him like there's no tomorrow. "Well, we're here, Feron. And it looks like it's not going to be safe for much longer."

"It definitely doesn't look like it," Feron agrees as he looks to Liara. "We need to get out of here."

Liara nods. "Of course," she says. "But I think we all need to rest first. Some of us are injured, and I think that running around the Citadel for several hours is exhausting."

"It is," says the other drell in the room as he stands up. Hm... teal. I should've expected a teal-colored drell. "We need to rest, Feron. We can't keep running around like that."

Feron nods. "Then I guess we have to stay here for a few hours," he says. He then looks to Liara. "And what of the injured ones?"

"Some of them have broken bones," says Liara. "We were waiting to tend to them until someone with medical knowledge could help us."

Miranda nods. "It's a good thing I'm here, then," she says as she walks up to me. "I have some knowledge of how to use the machines that a clinic might have. Hopefully, I should be able to get them functioning enough that they can shoot things."

I nod as she picks me up. "That would be-ah!-great," I comment.

Miranda nods. "All right," she says. "Oriana, Kolyat, make sure that Eltarn and Sawrik are attended to."

"Of course." I see Oriana stand up, and then she walks over to Bailey.

I see her start a conversation, but I don't pay attention to it as Miranda walks away from the office and takes me to the back room. "Glad you're still alive," says Miranda. "I thought you and Garrus were probably dead."

I chuckle, but then wince as I feel the slight stab in my ribs again. "We've survived worse," I reply.

"No doubt," she says as we cross a door to the medical machines. "What are your injuries?"

I sit up an hour or so later, looking at Miranda as she nods.

"Well, your ribs should be in relatively good shape from here on out," Miranda comments. "They're not completely healed, but they shouldn't limit your movement too much now. At the very least, you should be able to fire your gun."

"I hope so," I comment. I then look at Miranda. "You're all right."

Miranda simply looks at me, leaning against the medical bed as I look at Miranda. "I could say the same for you," she replies. "Feron told us what Bailey told him. I thought you wouldn't be alive."

"It's almost a miracle that we're alive, really," I comment. "I thought we were gone when we the Reaper hit the control panel with that beam." I pause... "But that means that we don't really have a chance..."

"Maybe not, but we're here," says Miranda. "That probably means more than you think it does." She then looks out of the room. "At least my sister is all right. There is that."

"You've stayed by her side, I take it," I say.

"And fortunately for us, we have run into no Cerberus units either," she says. "I don't think they can say much that can make me rejoin Cerberus since the invasion has already begun, but you never can be too careful."

I nod. "Good," I say. I pause, looking at her. "I don't know how, but Kai Leng is still alive."

Miranda frowns. "That slippery bastard is still alive?" she asks. "I thought you killed him!"

"I thought we did too," I comment. "But... we probably would've arrived at the Citadel control panel sooner if Kai Leng hadn't somehow come back to life." I look up. "Do you think they had a Lazarus Project version 2.0?"

"Can't be," says Miranda. "Even if all the data was already there, it would still take time to bring him back. The drugs don't kick in immediately, and the cybernetics are extremely expensive. Even the Illusive Man would hesitate before spending four billion credits twice." She then pauses. "Unless..."

"You think Reaper tech was involved?" I ask.

"Possibly," Miranda replies. "I can't say for certain, but the possibility exists. Reaper tech is more advanced, not to mention it would cost much less than buying resources for the cybernetics." She pauses. "It still doesn't explain how he was resurrected so quickly."

"I don't know if that matters," I reply. "He's still out there." I look outside to Garrus as he talks to Feron. "And by the way, Garrus has a broken leg. I did what I could with broken ribs and no casts, but I think you should look at him too."

"Turian physiology is not my expertise, but I will do what I can," Miranda replies as I step off of the table. "You should go talk to Eltarn. He and Sawrik were worried about you."

I nod. "I'll go ahead and do that," I say. "You take care of Garrus."

"Of course." Miranda exits the room with me, and she immediately walks over to Garrus.

I nod, looking over to Eltarn where he sits by a nearby desk. Sawrik is in his father's arms, holding on to his father for dear life. He's stopped crying by now, though, and can only stay still there. Eltarn himself looks... well, he looks like he's got a rather nasty cut just underneath one of his eyes, but otherwise he looks like he's doing okay. Eltarn looks up as I approach, and he nods.

"Madison," Eltarn says. "You're all right."

"I am," I comment as I sit down next to him and Sawrik. "I guess you survived the end of the galaxy as we know it, too."

"We did," Eltarn replies. "I didn't think I'd ever see that much happen, but..." He shakes his head. "At least Sawrik's still with us."

I nod. "That's a good thing," I comment, patting his shoulder. "At least he's still here."

"Yeah," Eltarn says as he rubs his son's back. "Poor kid is scared out of his mind, though. I can't say I blame him." He looks behind him. "I don't know where those monsters came from, but I don't think they're here to treat us well. And..." He shakes his head. "What the hell could've created them?"

"I don't know," I say. "But we intend to stop them."

"How?" Eltarn asks. "You saw that... _thing _that nearly killed you. And think, there are probably hundreds of them crawling around the Citadel. Not to mention the other things that can kill us all! And you say you're going to stop them? How?"

"I don't know," I admit. "But we'll find a way. Trust me, Eltarn, we'll find a way, even if we have to fight a Reaper with our fists."

And with this, he sighs. "I..." he shakes his head, closing his eyes as he holds Sawrik close to him. "I don't know. It all seems hopeless, Madison. I know that logically we're all screwed, but..." He looks over to me, opening his eyes. "If you say it, I want to believe you. I want to believe you'll find away."

I nod, placing a hand on his knee. "We'll find a way."

Eltarn nodded, holding Sawrik close. "You know, it's a funny thing that happened on the way here," he comments. "You know Mr. Shelby?"

I raise my eyebrows. "Of course I do," I comment. "What happened?"

"Well, he and I bumped into each other," says Eltarn.

I gasp. "What?" I ask. "He's around?"

Eltarn simply looks at the ground in dismay, Sawrik getting noticeably grim. "Not... exactly, no," Eltarn replies. "He broke out when the Reaper attack first happened I guess. And then he came up to us, and..." Eltarn looks back to the banshee's remains. "He actually saved my life, and possibly Sawrik's too. He... He was there when that ugly thing first showed up. He told us to run, and he stayed behind. I didn't stick around to see him die, but... I heard the loud yell that accompanied his death."

I blink, looking at Eltarn. "Wait, so he..." I pause, looking at the floor. "I'll be damned, he _did _believe in all that stuff about finding a father who would risk anything for a son."

"I guess in the end, he did," Eltarn comments. "I don't think he was right, but in the end..." He shakes his head. "I thought you should know that. You know, what with you having a history with him and all."

"I appreciate you telling me that," I say. "Even in the end, he believed in what he was doing. Thank you, Eltarn."

"Don't mention it," says Eltarn.

And with this, we fall into silence, right as I see Miranda attend to Garrus' wounds through the doorway.

* * *

><p><em>I find myself walking through a crowded street. Wait, this street... This is like it was back in Philadelphia... Hm. I have to be dreaming. I mean, there's Garrus to worry about, there are the Reapers out there...<em>

_...but if this is a dream, why does it feel so _real_?_

_I walk up to a sign post, placing my hand on it immediately. It feels cold; that's when I notice the snow falling all around me, all white particles falling to the ground. They seem extra fuzzy for some strange reason, and the people walking around me..._

_It's just a dream, and yet... Did it...? No, it never normally snowed this much in Philadelphia. And if it did, they'd plow most of the snow and salt all the roads. And as it is, the cars are just driving through the snow. No, there's no way this can be real. It's vivid, but it's not real. I'm just experiencing it like..._

_Like I'm awake..._

_Hold on. If I'm experiencing it like I'm awake... why?_

_Maybe there's... Wait a second. Liara gave me the cuneiform inscription earlier today. And Art mentioned that his dreams were vivid whenever he had that thing he found on the Collector ship with him. And my dreams only got this vivid when... is it possible? Shit, I'll have to ask Liara how vivid her dreams were recently when I ask her about this, 'cause if she and potentially Feron had the same thing happen to them..._

_I don't get to think about this too long, though, for then I see a cloaked figure walking in the streets. I frown, looking at the cloaked figure. That's very odd for Philadelphia, and I'm sure that there's something different about this one person there. I don't know if... no, if I die in here, the worst I can expect is to wake up. No, I'll be fine._

_I begin following the cloaked figure around the city as he weaves through the streets. A couple of times he glances behind me to see that I'm following him. I simply continue following him, sifting through the large crowd of people that keeps on bombarding me. I have to see that cloaked figure. This is unusual, and I have to see why it is. Things like this don't just happen._

_I walk along, following the cloaked figure. Eventually, he turns into a dark alley. I follow him there, seeing that he has suddenly stopped in the center of the alley, though he's not very far from the entrance of the alley. I pause as soon as I enter the alley, looking at the cloaked figure nervously. I take a step forward, remembering some of the alleys in Omega briefly._

_The cloaked figure then turns to me. His skin looks like it's been bleached with ash of some kind, and he sports a black beard. I can also see through the cloak that he's_ huge_, and could probably beat the crap out of me if I moved. He simply stands there, looking at me, and I can instantly tell that there's something more to him._

_"Uh..." I say. "Is there a reason I can think rationally in a dream right now?"_

_"There is," the man replies. "You may ask the asari, but... the artifact you have now was tainted with a strong piece of the Fade. A... Fade signature, if you wish."_

_I frown. "Wait, what?" I ask. "You mean... what does that even...?"_

_"The Fade is present in all things," says the cloaked man as he steps towards me. "However, some who know the Fade best can... amplify the Fade in this world through an object. The Protheans did much amplifying in their day."_

_"They did?" I ask. "I guess they had an affinity with it? The way Art talked about the rachni queen?"_

_"Yes," says the man. "But that is only one part of what you must be told, and in the grand scheme of things it is not important." He then leans towards me. "There is a way to save the Citadel from its current predicament."_

_I jolt. W-what? "You mean, there _is _actually a way?" I ask._

_"Yes, though it may not matter now," he says. "What I tell you may be a false hope, for the Reapers may have found it by now."_

_"If it's a hope, we have to take it," I say. "What do you need me to do?"_

_The cloaked man walks past me, looking back at me. "I will not say what it specifically," he says. "I trust that you know of the protheans that came to the Citadel from Ilos."_

_"I... think so," I say. "Garrus may have told me about them at some point."_

_"They did more than sabotage the keepers' signal," the cloaked figure replies. "They also left something deep in the bowels of the Citadel. It was their last gift, built as they starved to death. It may save you. It may not, as the Reapers likely know it exists now."_

_"What is it?" I ask._

_The cloaked figure then turns back past me, and walks up to the doors of one of the buildings in the alley. I look at him as he nods at me. "I will not be specific," he says. "But if it works, you must be prepared for anything. And regardless, there are many dangers that will greet you on the way there. I cannot promise that it is a solution that comes free."_

_"Oh, just tell me already!" I comment. "Where do I go? And what is it?"_

_"It is... complicated," he says. "It is... a back door, if you will. As for where to go... seek out the keeper tunnels in the Kithoi Ward. They will take you to where they are." He then pauses, opening the door. "Do not worry. The tunnels in the Kithoi Ward are safe. Go."_

_And with this, the figure opens the back door of the building and enters it. He then leaves me standing in the alleyway, looking at the door... what? What is all this? And... does he mean there's a back door to the Citadel? As in... their systems? Maybe... maybe that's what he means. So there's a back door into the Citadel's systems somewhere in the Citadel that no human would dare reach. How did they...?_

_I don't know. And I don't know what's going to happen when we get there. And from how that cloaked figure put it... it may not entirely be good. But... I have to trust this. It's something, which is a lot better than nothing._

_Yes. I have to trust that man. I don't know who he is, but somehow that doesn't matter. All right. I think I know what I need to do when I wake up._

* * *

><p>"So your dreams became extremely vivid as well, and they told you to look for that?"<p>

I nod, watching as Liara prepares a pistol. "They did," I say. "I guess you had a similar experience."

"I did, yes," says Liara. "I remembered my dreams more vividly. I even had a conversation with my mother in a few of these dreams."

I raise my eyebrows. "And I guess the dreams started telling you to do things," I say.

"The dreams told me to give you Art's cuneiform tablet," Liara replies. "I would have disbelieved them, but... when do dreams ever become so vivid that you can remember them as if you experienced them while awake?"

"I know," I say. "When that happens, it's almost impossible not to take it seriously." I pause. "How did you know it was a dream immediately?"

"My mother is dead," Liara replies plainly. "And I was speaking to her on Thessia as if the years of silence between us had never existed."

I blink, looking down at the ground. "Right..." I comment. "Sorry."

"It is all right," Liara says. She then leans forward. "So this person told you to look to the keeper tunnels in the Kithoi Ward?"

"Yes," I reply. "I think they might lead to some back door into the Citadel's systems. I'm not a hundred percent sure that this is the case, but we have to try looking."

"We do," says Liara. She looks out there. "It will be difficult to convince people to go in there, you know. But here, you may have an advantage." She walks through the small office, and I follow her immediately. "Did you know that the keeper tunnels in the Kithoi Ward are actually larger than most keeper tunnels in the Citadel?"

I blink. "Really?" I ask.

"Yes," says Liara. "The... duct rats, as they are called, are actually a little older here in the Kithoi Ward than they are in the remaining wards of the Citadel. Some of my agents have actually hid in the Kithoi Ward's keeper tunnels at times."

"So what's stopping people from living there?" I ask.

"The keeper tunnel entrances are tucked away in corners," Liara replies. "It is true for the whole Citadel, but especially in the Kithoi Ward." She shakes her head. "I don't believe we can convince people here to look for an entrance to the keeper tunnels of this ward, but if you believe it, I will see what I can do." She then looks over to Garrus where he's sleeping with his back against a desk. "Do you plan on telling Garrus when you wake up?"

"Of course!" I reply. I then look behind Liara at everyone else. "And even if we can't convince anyone else to look for that entrance, we still have to tell them about this."

"Of course," says Liara. "It would be dangerous and quite insensitive to abandon them here without an explanation." She rubs her chin. "The question is 'how do we explain this to them'."

"You worry about that," I say. "I'll tell Garrus when he wakes up. You don't have to come with us when we go to the keeper tunnels."

Liara frowns. "And why not?" she asks. "If this back door was potentially constructed by the Protheans as the reference to Ilos suggests, then how will you know what to do?"

"You had a difficult time translating the cuneiform," I reply.

"Only because it was not neatly written, and Prothean cuneiform was an infrequently used letter system within the Prothean empire," Liara replies. "If I was met with a cleaner text that was more commonly used by the Protheans, I may be able to help you. A back door into the Citadel's systems is useless if we can't read the interface. It may not be in Prothean text, but we have to assume that this is the case for now, for I doubt that they would set the interfaces to be read in Galactic Standard."

I nod. "Point taken," I say. I sigh. "All right, you can come with Garrus and I. But we're not asking anyone else to come with us."

"Maybe not," says Liara. "But I get the feeling we'll have more people with us by accident by the time we're done."

"Probably," I comment. "Here's hoping we can actually get there safely."

"Indeed," Liara comments.

"Go into the keeper tunnels? Are you crazy?"

Bailey finishes asking this as soon as Liara finishes proposing the idea to him. Everyone else is up by now, and we're about to start our trek deeper into the Citadel. Garrus simply looks at me with a knowing glance, and I see Miranda nodding to Liara. I think they both understand what we're getting at, but for everyone else...

"We don't really know if there's anything there," Liara says. "But what if we just had someone check the keeper tunnels and go as far as they can take us just in case?"

"Sorry, I don't buy it," says Bailey. "I've seen enough duct rats vanish in the keeper tunnels to know that it's _not _a good idea."

"Even in the Kithoi Ward?" Kolyat asks. "I thought the keeper tunnels were larger in the Kithoi Ward than the rest of the Citadel."

"I thought that was the case too," Garrus adds.

"It doesn't stop children from disappearing," Bailey replies. "I'm not going down there."

I raise my hands. "We're not asking you to come with us," I say. "We just think there might be something in there we haven't thought of..."

"Maybe, but what if you die and then it turns out that there's nothing there?" Bailey asks. "Then we've just wasted a life meaninglessly. And even if we don't come, there's still the risk of you dying on your way down there."

"And on the chance that something _is _down there?" I ask. "Wouldn't it be worth the risk if there was something we could do down there."

"I doubt you'll find anything where the keepers are, but you're welcome to try," says Bailey. "Just count me out of it." He looks behind him. "Besides, we have civilians with us."

"And that's why I'm going there with Liara and a few other people," I reply. "We won't ask you to come with us. Not all of you, anyway."

Garrus nods. "Well, if you're going there, then I'm going as well," he says. "I can't let you wander off and get killed."

I watch as Brendan pushes off. "You know? What the hell?" he asks. "It's probably going to be crazy down there, but I kind of want to see what's down there."

I blink in surprise as Brendan walks towards us. "I... I guess that works," I comment as Brendan walks towards us.

Miranda crosses her arms. "As much as I would like to help, I can't," she says. "I have Oriana to look after. And the others may need protection."

"I'm staying as well," Feron replies. "Someone needs to look after the civilians."

I nod. "All right," I say. "That's fine. We won't force you to come with us. But we just think there might be something down there. Don't you think that's worth investigating?"

"Maybe," says Bailey. He sighs, and rubs his temples. "I just hope you know what you're doing down there."

"We'll figure it out," says Garrus.

"We'll go a short ways with you," says Liara. "As soon as we have an opportunity, we'll break away, and then we'll go deep in the Kithoi Ward."

"All right," says Feron. "In the meantime, we should be going."

With this, we all nod in agreement, and so we exit the clinic. As we do, however, I feel a tug on my arm. When I do, I look down to see Sawrik there, with Eltarn standing a little behind him.

"Please don't go," Sawrik says. "There are bad things in there!"

I blink, and then kneel next to Sawrik. "Sawrik, I know that," I reply. "But we have to go in there."

"B-but you could die in there..." he says. "And..."

I nod. "Look, Sawrik," I say. "You know the big bad ships everywhere?"

Sawrik nods. "I guess," he says.

"And you know all the monsters they've dropped here?" I continue.

"Yes..." he says.

I nod. "I'm going to go to try and stop those things," I say. "I will need something very special there, and hopefully it'll make all the monsters and the bad ships go away. And then you and your daddy can be safe again."

Sawrik looks up at me. "You think so?" she asks.

I pat his head, giving him a smile. "I certainly do, kiddo," I reply.

Sawrik nods. "All right," he says. "Just... make them go away."

I stand up. "I'll be sure to do that," I comment.

I look at Eltarn, who looks so thankful that I said the things I did to Sawrik. He nods, and then guides Sawrik along as they rejoin everyone else. I stay behind looking at them for a few seconds, before I begin walking again. I feel Garrus place a hand on my shoulder, and when I look at him he only smiles.

* * *

><p><strong>Elsewhere in the Citadel...<strong>

"Are they gone...?"

I look over to the salarian C-SEC officer and the turian Spectre. The salarian has just finished speaking, and he dares not speak above a whisper. We did just manage to hide from one of those huge... _brutes_ that are outside of the store. I shift slightly, looking up and seeing...

I duck back down. "No," I say. "They're still sort of _there_."

The turian Spectre shakes her head. "We need to find a different solution than just sitting here hiding," she says. "There's _got _to be a better way than this."

"If there is, I don't know it yet," I reply. I sigh, looking up at the ceiling. "I just wish..."

"Well, I wish I could get back to my father, so you're not the only one who's wishing for something," the turian Spectre replies. She shakes her head, and checks her assault rifle one more time. "If only we had a damn _rocket launcher _or something, we'd be out of here."

I sigh. "Well... we can't use the back entrance, so..." I shake my head. "Yeah, a rocket launcher would be useful right about now." I sigh.

"He's fine," says the salarian reassuringly. "I'm sure he's fine."

"I hope he is," I reply. "Otherwise..."

I feel a three-fingered hand rest on my shoulder. I turn, looking directly at the turian Spectre as she looks at me. "We'll find him, Will," she says. "We'll find Nadeire. Trust me."

I nod. "I hope so, Tidoses," I say. "I hope so..."


	35. Chapter 34

_A/N: And with that, the plot of MV3 thickens. Crazy times will definitely be had with that, let me tell ya. As for now..._

_Well, for now, we go back to Art. Nothing much will really happen in this chapter itself, but the coming chapters... Whoah, nelly, will you be in for some twists and turns there. For one thing, you'll finally get an answer to "what were those coordinates leading to", and for another... well, the extend of what the protheans planned for the galaxy will be revealed. And it will be crazy._

_For now, though, we have to build character. So let's get to it._

* * *

><p>Chapter 34: A New Hope<p>

James keeps his head bowed as he finishes speaking. The twins, M'shk, and the mother all just look at James with a certain amount of shock in their eyes. The youngest of all the siblings simply looks confused. It's M'yask who looks the most devastated by Carhon's death, however, as she immediately falls to her knees in front of James.

M'yask says something I can't quite make out, even by reading her lips. James mutters another word, and then I can faintly see a tear run down his cheek. Almost immediately, I watch as M'yask breaks down sobbing right there on the ground. Skresh immediately turns to Vag'rash, the two twins looking at each other in disbelief as the mother also begins crying. Almost immediately, James kneels next to M'yask and pulls her into a comforting hug. I watch as the batarian family turns to each other, and slowly I see the batarian family grieve the loss of Carhon.

I watch this from the mess hall, where James stands within the med bay. Dr. Chakwas isn't in there at the moment, and I assume she decided it was best to give Carhon's family space as well. I simply watch the family from the mess hall.

It's such that I don't notice someone coming over to sit by me until I hear someone sit down next to me. "Well, that's a bit o' bollocks," I hear.

I turn my head immediately to see Gregor sitting down next to me. "What is?" I ask.

"Just... that," he says. "What in the hell'd 'ave to happen for some giant squid ta come in 'n' kill 'im like that?"

I sigh. "I don't know," I say.

Gregor nods, rapping his fingers against the table. We spend some more time watching Carhon's family grieve in silence, with James looking like he's whispering soothingly into M'yask's ear. I see that M'shk has sat down on one of the medical beds, giving a hollow look to the ground. The twins are hugging each other, and the mother is simply sitting there, holding the young boy that was with the family close to her.

Gregor sighs. "Y'know, mate, I was goin' mental for no reason when 'e joined the Normandy," Gregor says. "I thought when 'e came on that he was a real bad egg, y'know?" He crosses his arms. "An' yet, when it all came down t' it, Carhon Erash was a sound man, mate."

I nod. "He was a good man indeed, Gregor," I say. I then pat his shoulders. "I guess...?"

"Yeah," says Gregor. "I was wrong about 'im, mate. I think... I think I'm gonna actually miss 'is face 'ere."

I nod. "I will too," I say. "I think in the end, he was good in all the ways that counted." I turn to Gregor. "You managing the weapons?"

"Eh, I'm puttin' it on the long finger," he comments. "We jus' saved a homeworld, y'know?"

"True," I comment. "But that's no reason to slack off."

"Well, the on'y thing I need ta do is fix 'er shotgun," Gregor says. "The Commander's. It got real banged on by th'rock, y'know?"

I nod. "I think I have some idea," I comment. "I still have no idea how she saved our lives with that biotic thing."

"And that's why she's in 'ere," Gregor comments, pointing to the med bay. "Jammy ol' lady, she is. She's only gettin' up in a day."

"A day?" I ask.

"That's what the good doctor said, mate," Gregor comments.

"I see..." I comment. "I'll be glad when she finally wakes up."

"Oh, you 'n' 'alf the Normandy," Gregor replies.

I nod, patting my hand on the table. "Well... I'm gonna get going," I say. "I need to get some sleep. It's been nonstop ever since we touched down on Khar'shan..."

"Indeed," says Gregor. "You keep alert, mate."

I stand up, walking away from the table. "I'll go ahead and do that," I say. "You take care."

Gregor simply nods, and then goes back to watching Carhon's family grieve. I walk away from the mess hall slowly, passing the elevator on my way back to my quarters. It's been a long day, and I _really _need some sleep here, so... I should've guessed that liberating a homeworld from the Reapers would be really tiring. I guess that's why Shepard went straight to her cabin after we had finally gotten back to the Normandy after all the debriefing and the several hours of fighting that ensured that it would only be a matter of time until Khar'shan was liberated.

I step into my quarters, and barely get to move too much before I flop onto the bed. Within a few minutes, I'm fast asleep.

* * *

><p><em>When I drift off to sleep, I find myself back in the corridor that defies gravity again, but there's something... <em>different _about it this time. There's something... blacker about the walls. I can't really pin my finger on what it is, but they look a little darker than they really should. They're black... like a starless night or something. Somehow I can still make out the contour of the corridor, but everything else..._

_I simply search for the little thing with the key inside. I find the key in there as usual, and notice that it feels slightly different, as if it's more... corroded. I don't know. I just stand up, feeling the key and walking down the corridor again. I feel gravity affect me like normal, but... I don't know. It's just... Something's wrong about this. I don't really know._

_I just shrug and continue walking down the corridor. It can't get any weirder than this, can it?_

_I walk down, feeling gravity tug at me in the unusual ways that it usually does. The walk down is rather uneventful, of course, so eventually I just dismiss the dream around me as something else. I just walk on over, and eventually reach the door._

_By now, I've learned to block out the sound of the oncoming mob, and I calmly open the door and walk into my-whoah! What the fuck?_

_I walk into my apartment, but... this can't be my old apartment! It... it can't be! It's all... it looks like there was a fire in here! A really, really bad fire! And... Holy crap, everything's _gone_!_

_I rush up the stairs that lead to the bed area to find that there is _nothing _there whatsoever. I only see the Inception briefcase sitting right there in the center of the room. I look behind me, to see that the rest of the room is in as bad a shape. It's completely empty, and I notice that there is a lot of glass over by the where the window was. A lot of _shattered _glass, actually. That's just... what's going on?_

_I gingerly walk to the main area of the room, feeling a gust of wind hit me as soon as I walk into the room proper. I look up at where the window was to see a vast black emptiness that just sort of hovers in front of me. I walk closer to the window, hearing some of the glass crunch beneath my feet as I look up to the inky blackness. I walk forward, almost bringing my hand up to the darkness as if to touch it._

_I then hear a particularly loud crunch beneath my feet. I look down, seeing that I have stepped on a relatively large piece of glass. It shines in the blackness, even though there's no real light source there. Oddly, it doesn't reflect anything: it's more that there's absolutely nothing there at all. I lift my foot, seeing the many, many pieces beneath my feet. I bend down, lifting one of the glass shards and looking at it. It just looks like a typical glass shard, really, except that it seems to be... black. I can't see my fingers through it, anyway, so... I dunno, this sounds really weird and crazy to me. I just..._

_I turn it over, looking at it from the side. Hm... if it weren't black, it would be just like an average shard. I then look back and-_

_Holy shit! It's Thane's face!_

_I drop the shard almost immediately, jumping up and taking several steps back. I look at the shard at where I dropped it, though I don't see Thane's face anywhere. I find myself breathing in and out, looking at the shard as it lays there in front of me. Okay, Art, calm down, just..._

_I breathe in. "It's just a dream," I say. "None of this is actually happening."_

_"Says you."_

_I pause, turning to look behind me. I can faintly see an image of Carhon standing there before it immediately vanishes. As I look around, however, I see Carhon manifest just above where the bathroom is. I see him sitting with his feet just over where the refrigerator would likely be, wearing a smirk on his face._

_"I think you would realize that even in dreams, pain can be real," says Carhon._

_"No..." I say. "You're not really there! You're dead!"_

_"Am I?" he asks. He then pushes off, and to my surprise he slowly glides to the ground in front of me. I take a couple of steps back, looking at Carhon in shock. "I still exist here, don't I? You remember me even now."_

_"But you're dead!" I say. "I'll wake up and remember you're dead!"_

_And with this, Carhon can only smile wickedly. "And perhaps that is the point," he... it says. "Soon enough, you will have to face us. You can't run away from this forever."_

_"Run away from _what_!?" I ask._

_"Ask your dear friend Orange," the apparition of Carhon says darkly. "We're _dying _to show ourselves again."_

_ Carhon vanishes, and I immediately hear a rush of wind as suddenly everything begins flying around. The glass shards begin flying in the air, and I find myself ducking as they begin to fly around. I don't know what's causing this, but I try not to think about that. I notice that the glass shards don't actually cut any skin, which is odd, but... Jesus, what the fuck is-_

_I then look up, seeing something flash red outside. I'm standing directly in the center of the room, glass shards flying around me as the red intensifies. I hear a loud mechanical whirring, and... Oh, no..._

_"No..." I say. "No! Nooooo!"_

_Suddenly, the red light fills the whole room, and before I know it a beam shoots out of the origin of the red light._

_"Nooooo-"_

* * *

><p>"-oooooooo!"<p>

I suddenly sit up in bed, looking directly in front of me. I breathe in and out, looking at the room in front of me. I feel my chest, and then begin feeling myself. Holy fuck... Okay... Okay, I'm all right. I'm all right, don't worry about a thing, just sit there...

I look ahead of me. Holy shit, what the hell...?

I bring my hand into my pocket, and immediately draw Orange out. Orange... Oh, God, Orange, please be there! Please be there...!

"Keeper?" she asks. "Are you all right? You seem... perturbed."

I nod. I know, Orange, I'm really disturbed. I just had the worst dream, and-

"I know, Keeper," says Orange. "I... apologize. That must have been... I'm sorry."

It's fine, Orange... Just... what happened? And what was it talking about when it said 'they were waiting to'... whatever?

"I believe... I believe what you saw is your subconscious," she says. "It is... complicated."

It's compli... what? Orange, what are you talking about? What was that _thing _in my dream talking about?

"Art..." I hear a brief pause. "What I am about to tell you may... not make you happy." She sighs. "But in the end... I assume you must have figured it out sometime."

What, that you're controlling my dreams?

"Yes..."

I blink. Well... I can't say I'm surprised. I mean, you did drop the _Inception _briefcase in my dream, and I wouldn't have met you or the others in my mind if I hadn't done that. I figured that was you somehow. And I guess you were the one behind the fact that my dreams were constant for so long.

"Truly?" Orange asks.

Of course! I mean, c'mon, having the same recurring dream for over two years? Yeah, that doesn't normally happen to people. So I'm guessing you had something to do with that.

"I... did..." she says. "I am afraid this only makes the next part of what I will tell you harder to detail."

Why?

"Well..." She pauses. "In order to manipulate your dreams... I was forced to stave off a portion of your subconscious."

... So... So you were literally altering my mind in dreams...

W... What the _fuck!?_ You were-

"It is not as unpleasant as it sounds, Keeper," Orange says.

Oh, yeah, you were just suppressing a piece of my mind, _that _doesn't sound unpleasant in anyway at all! What, did you change my personality too or something else that's crazy like that? What else have you done to my head that I don't know about?

"I have not touched any part of your mind that does not directly relate to your dreams," she says. "I assure you, I did nothing of the kind of activity that you assume now with this revelation."

Yeah, 'cause that's _real_ comforting. How do I know you're not trying to bend me to your will like the Reapers?

"Because I am telling you." She pauses. "I assure you, Keeper, I have not touched your mind in any way that could be called unsavory. If you trust nothing else I say, trust me with this."

I just... I sigh. All right, but it's _still _questionable that you did that at all. I mean, seriously, Orange? And... wait, does this mean that my subconscious is fighting back? Does this mean it's trying to get back in my dreams again?

"It would seem so," says Orange. "I suspect that is what happened anyway."

So allow me to dream normally again! You just have to put the Inception briefcase in my dream again!

"I am afraid it is not so simple," she says. "I have seen your mind, Keeper. It is... a dark place. I fear that what you have seen in your most recent dream is only a taste of what you will find when I relinquish control of the dream to your subconscious."

Wait, so that's what I'm _supposed _to be dreaming about? I just... Damn it. I... I knew you were influencing my dreams, but to think you actually _hijacked _them... I just... I know why you did it, and if my regular dreams are supposed to be nightmares... I just don't... Why didn't you say anything?

"I... do not know, to be honest," she admits. "Perhaps I thought it best if you did not truly question the source of the dreams. It seems now that it is inevitable that you will dream what you were meant to dream."

I nod. God damn it... So I'm supposed to be having nightmares. I mean, I don't like nightmares, but the fact that you're hijacking my dreams... I honestly don't know what's worse. And I'm not even going to try figuring it out, I'm really not. I mean... this whole thing is so complicated. I'll need to think a little bit about this. At least I have my own free will, right? You _swear _you're not treating me like some kind of puppet.

"I would never think of such a thing, Keeper," she says. "I have far too much respect for you as a living being in the situation you are in to treat you as little more than a puppet."

All right. I guess... I guess that makes it a little better, though I still don't like that you've hijacked my dreams. I just... You said something about it being inevitable to dream the dreams I was meant to dream?

"Yes," Orange replies. "The time will come when I must leave, Keeper."

Wait, you mean... you'll really just leave?

"Eventually, I must," Orange replies. "I have resisted the call of the Black City for many millennia, yet I fear that the time may come when I will no longer be able to resist it. I feel that time coming soon. I will stay until the Reapers are defeated, but after that... I will leave your mind forever."

I blink. That's it, then? You're just going to leave when all this is done.

"Yes," Orange replies. "Once the Reapers are dead, I will have no further purpose to stay here. I will then leave. If you wish me to, I can have someone stay behind to make sure you do not experience intense nightmares."

By hijacking my mind again... I just... I don't know... God damn it. I need to think about this a little more. I need... time.

"Time which I shall give you," she says. "In the meantime, you should attempt to rest."

All right.

I then place Orange right there on the nighttable. I look at her, sighing. Damn it, she's been hijacking my mind this whole time. I mean, I knew that she was influencing my dreams on some level, but to think it actually went that far... I just... I don't know. I need to think about that.

And I also need to think about what she told me about having someone stay behind to monitor my dreams. On the one hand, I don't like the idea of someone taking over my dreams for the rest of my natural life, I really don't. It's just... unnerving. But on the other hand, that nightmare... That was... Good Lord in heaven, I'd rather not see those things again. I mean, I just... was that really the dream I was supposed to have? One where Thane and Carhon haunt me...? I just... Damn it...

I lay down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling as I ponder on this.

* * *

><p>The rest of the night is spent tossing and turning. I try to go back to sleep, but the thought of seeing that dream again keeps me awake. I just... I'm going to have to deal with those kinds of nightmares when Orange leaves my mind...? I just... I don't know... Fuck... Why the fuck did I have to be the one who got sent here?<p>

Eventually, I just sit in bed, looking outside at the drive core. I simply sit up, looking at the drive core. It's not glowing now, though I think it might have something to do with the fact that we're refueling at the moment. Joker said they were taking the Normandy in to get re-fueled as soon as they could. I guess we would need it, but where would we be going to with all this extra fuel? Well... maybe there's the whole 'explore other places in this cluster and hope that we can find some resources to help keep the Reapers at bay as long as we can'... yeah, that's probably what we need the refueling for.

I shake my head, pulling my legs close. It's a little colder in here than it usually is, actually. I wonder why that is. I didn't notice anything odd about Khar'shan's weather when I was down there with everyone else, so what's up with the sudden coldness? Hm... I dunno.

I simply sit at the edge of the bed. Well, we've freed up Khar'shan... now what? I'm not sure what's supposed to happen, but... I guess now I just have to play it by ear, and hope that the Reapers avoid Khar'shan long enough for us to do stuff about it.

Hm... I wonder what-

I then hear the door open, and look up to find Tali walking in. She and I look at each other for a few seconds right as she enters. The door closes behind her, and I'm almost shocked that I can hear the exact moment when the locking mechanism kicks in. I look over to the door, noticing that the door panel is red.

I then look up at Tali. "Tali?" I ask.

The quarian simply walks over to the bed, and then sits next to me. "Art," she says. "I... I have to ask you something."

I nod. "What is it?" I ask.

"Are you...?" she asks. She pauses. "Do you still love me?"

I blink. "What?" I ask. "What kind of question is-"

Tali immediately puts her hand to my mouth. "Please, answer it," she says.

Well... Huh, she hasn't nod silently. "I do," I say. "Of course I still love you, Tali."

The quarian simply shrinks back, her gaze remaining trained on the ground. "Are you telling me the truth?" she asks.

I look at Tali, blinking suddenly. "Of course I am," I say, placing a hand on her arm. "Look, Tali, if there's something you want to say..."

Tali shakes her head. "I just... I feel like a stranger in this room," she says. "You hardly ever talk to me anymore, you hardly ever really say anything to me... I just..." She shakes her head. "You're so distant now."

I look over at Tali sadly. "I just..." I say. "I never know what to say anymore, Tali. I don't... I don't want to hurt you."

"Hurt me?" she asks. She then turns to me. "Why would you hurt me?"

I look to her. Should I...? No, I have to say it now. If she thinks I'm distant from her... I have to tell her. I have to explain myself somehow. I can't... But what if it hurts her? I just...

Fuck.

"I..." I pause. "I know you're still thinking about... _the incident_..."

"The incident?" she asks.

"Yeah," I say. "You know... back at the Fleet..."

Tali freezes. Shit, I think I did hurt her. Well... I can't turn back now. "I just... I don't know, Tali," I say. "I don't want to hurt you if I say something that... you know..." I pause. "I don't want to hurt you."

Tali looks at me almost immediately. "And that's why you don't want to talk to me anymore?" she asks. Something in her tone is... angry? "Because you think I'm fragile?"

I shake my head, looking at her. "Tali, that's not it at all," I reply. "It's just... you've _changed _since then. You... You don't trust strangers anymore, you're a little aloof, and-"

"So it _is _me, then," she says. She then abruptly stands up, looking directly at me. "I'm the problem, is that it? I'm too weak!"

What? "Tali, that's not it at all," I say, standing up as well and holding my hands out in front of her. "You're getting it all wrong! It's not that your weak, I just don't want to say anything that could, you know, trigger something!"

"And you think that'll do anything?" she asks.

"You don't trust people you don't know anymore," I comment. "And... and you're afraid to even walk out! I don't know what I can say in front of you without triggering something!"

"That's not the point," Tali replies, the volume of her voice steadily increasing. "I lay there in bed each night these days, thinking about the things he did to me, and _you _just sit there saying nothing!" She places a hand on her breast. "I'm not as weak as you probably think I am!"

"And I guess I'm supposed to take it from the fact that you don't initiate conversations with me that you're all better and magically cured now?" I ask, pointing at the ground. "Because that's not the impression I got from the _numerous times _that you didn't start talking about things when I asked you what was wrong!"

"And you didn't think to talk to me anyway?" she asks.

"You kinda didn't speak to me either!" I comment. "You just sat there moping all the time! What the hell _am _I supposed to talk about when I know something like that is still on your mind!"

"You think it will ever leave my mind?" Tali immediately says. "Maybe I _won't _be able to stop thinking about it as my life goes on. Did you think of _that_?"_  
><em>

I pause. "Well... uh... no?" I ask. "That's not even-"

"Then I don't even know why we're having this conversation," says Tali. She shakes her head.

"I don't think we'd be having it _if you just told me how you really feel without hesitating every time I ask!_" I shout. "If I only knew how you _really _felt, maybe we'd be able to have a real conversation about things again!"

"Did it ever occur to you that there is more in my mind than that?" Tali shouts back. "I may not forget it, but there are other things to think about too!"

"You don't seem to _act _like there is whenever we're here!" I reply, raising my voice.

"Oh, so it's _my _fault that you can't talk to me, is it?" Tali asks.

"_I don't want to fucking hurt you, Tali!_" I yell, feeling my throat burn slightly from the force of the yell.

"We can't even _talk _anymore!" Tali shouts back. "Maybe the problem isn't me, after all! It's you that's got the problem here! You're too damn _weak _sometimes!"

"Tali, that's not what this is about!" I yell again. "You don't seem to-"

I suddenly feel a sharp stinging sensation on my cheek. I am shocked into silence, and then I slowly bring my hand up to the place where Tali slapped me. I don't get to react before Tali suddenly leaves the room without any ceremony whatsoever. I... Ow, that kind of stings... And... I...

Did she _seriously _just...? I... She did...

What the hell...? What was all that about? I mean... she has to understand that I don't want to... That I...

God motherfucking _damn _it!

I fall back onto the bed, looking up at the ceiling of the room as I lay there, wondering what that fight was all about.

* * *

><p>Several minutes later, I find myself sitting alone in the shuttle. Most people have gone off the ship by now. The only people still here are a skeleton crew and EDI, and that's about it. It's kind of quiet here, and... Honestly, there's something that's kinda nice about that. And now... jeez, this place is surprisingly good for trying to clear my head. Especially after... whatever it was that just happened between Tali and I. I sit right there at the controls, looking out to the Normandy's hangar bay. The hangar bay door is open right now, so I can see a little light from Khar'shan's sun as it pours into the room below me. I don't pay attention to it.<p>

Well, not too much, anyway. It's hard to do that when... well...

I place a hand on my face, wondering what... have I been _too _careful? That's gotta be it, but... but why would that be a bad thing? Tali went through something really horrible. I just don't want to make it worse.

I lean back, looking up. Why can't she see that?

I shake my head. Maybe there's something-

I'm startled by the sound of someone stepping into the shuttle. I jolt where I sit, looking behind me to see that...

Oh, dear.

"Well, it cannae get any weirder than this, mate."

I look to the window, shaking my head as Jenny walks in. "Oh hi Jenny," I say half-heartedly. "I see you're having a grand old time out there."

I look over to Jenny as she shrugs. "Eh, it isn't such a bad tip 'ere," she replies. "Batarians're actually kinda nice, I gotta say. They just got bad cess, is all." She looks at me. "What're ya doin' 'ere, mate?"

I sigh. "Thinking," I comment. "I just... it's a long story..."

"Still thinkin' o' Carhon?" Jenny asks.

I shake my head. "Not really, no," I comment. "It's... it's about Tali, actually."

Jenny raises her eyebrows at this. "And what 'appened there, mate?" she asks.

I sigh, looking out the window. "We... we got into a fight," I say. "I... I don't know, Jenny."

She nods, and then sits down next to me. She places a hand on her shoulder, and pats it comfortingly. "What 'appened?" she asks.

"Well... I woke up, right?" I say. "And then Tali comes in, and asks me if I still love her. Strange, very confusing question, you know? So then I told her that, and when I explained myself to her... it sort of just devolved into a shouting match." I then point to my cheek, turning to face her as I do this. "And then she slapped me pretty hard."

"Oooh, that looks like it _hurt_," says Jenny.

"I was more shocked at first," I say. "I just... I don't know, Jenny." I look out the window again, looking to where the engineering deck is. "It just came out of nowhere, really. She is all nervous and... well... aloof, as she was ever since everything on the Fleet happened, and then she just _exploded_. I'm still more confused than anything."

Jenny shrugs. "What'd she say?" she asks.

I sigh. "She said I thought she was weak," I comment. "She took my silence whenever we're together these days as a sign that... I don't know, Jenny. I just want to give her some space, because she's always brooding these days, and I know she's still thinking about what happened."

Jenny shakes her head. "Art, that's..."

"I know," I reply. "It's crazy. But she's still been very distant, and then this just happens out of asking if I still love her." I shake my head. "Of _course _I still love her, Jenny! What kind of question...?"

Jenny sighs. "Art, I dinnae know how ta say this t'ya," she says. "But... well..." She sighs. "Do ya think stuff like this just goes away?"

I blink in surprise. "I..." I pause. "I don't know, but she shouldn't be moping about it like this for so long."

Jenny shakes her head. "Art, somethin' like this doesn't just scram," she says. "Tali got... well, y'know. But somethin' like that _never _goes away."

I frown. "But Jenny, she's..." I shake my head. "When we were on the Citadel, and even after everything that happened in the Bahak system... she didn't like it when she had to go out into crowds. She's still thinking about what happened on some level!"

"And she'll be thinkin' of it for the rest of 'er life, mate," Jenny replies. "The crowd fear... that'll scram eventually. The fear o' bein' around others... that could go away too. But the memory o' what 'appened to 'er? That's gonna be with 'er 'til she's dead as a Jack in the box."

I raise one of my eyebrows in confusion. "Dead as a what now?" I ask.

"Jack in the box," Jenny replies. She then waves her hand. "That ain't the point. The point is, ya gotta stop worryin' about that kind o' shite. She ain't gonna stop thinkin' about what 'appened there. It's gonna be with 'er all 'er life." She shakes her head. "So you cannae worry about things like 'ow you're gonna hurt 'er with what ya say. I'd guess she's over that stage, if she yelled at ya." She then crosses her arms. "An' I'm bettin' ya were too busy worryin' about hurtin' her to notice."

I look to the floor of the shuttle. "I... I don't know," I comment. "I have been quiet, but I just don't know what to say to her, and whether or not it'll ruin her day."

"Sticks 'n' stones, Art," Jenny replies. "Sticks 'n' stones."

Sticks and stones? Sticks and stones may break my bones? Why the hell is she-?

...

Sticks and stones may break my bones...

...but _words will never harm me_...

Maybe... Maybe that's it! I've been too concerned about hurting Tali's feelings that I'm refusing to talk about anything, and except for that one time where I said it wasn't her fault I've never really addressed it. And maybe... maybe my reluctance to talk about that has meant that I'm too afraid to talk about other things. Maybe the fact that I'm clamming up is _worse_, and that it only reminds her about what happened in another way...

"I... I think I get it," I comment. I look outside, and then look back to Jenny. "Before I say anything, I have to ask: why were you here?"

"Oh, I just needed ta give this ol' panel a calibration or two," she says as she stands up. "Why?"

I nod, standing up. Before she can say anything, I pull her into a rather tight hug.

"I think that not only do you have the best timing ever, but you're also the best love coach a guy could ask for." I pull back, and then pat her on the shoulder. "Thanks, Jenny. I needed that." I then look at the panel, and notice the tool box that is laying right there in the corner of the cockpit. "I'll leave you to your calibrating, then. There are some things I need to take care of."

With this, I leave the cockpit of the shuttle, and begin climbing down the rope ladder. Damn, there's something I need to do within the next few days for Tali. There's something I need to do to show her that I care...

...and I think there is only one person on this damn ship who can help me get it going.

* * *

><p>I walk up to Sturge as he holds a datapad in his hand. He looks up at me as I walk up to the mess hall, and simply shrugs, placing the datapad down on the stove top. He then looks at me, and it's only then that I notice that there are crates around the mess hall. I maneuver past some of them, even as Sturge looks around.<p>

"Well, old timer," he says. "You're here at a strange time."

"I know," I say. "It's crazy when most of the crew is off, right?" I look around. "What're you doing?"

"Oh, just taking stock," Sturge replies. "I'm telling you, things about this place just get more and more interesting the more I see about them! Some of these meats I've got here... I've never heard of some of them. I'm going to have a lot of fun with this, let me tell you that."

"I see..." I say. "New food supplies, new stuff." I look right at Sturge, leaning against the counter. "Listen, Sturge, I need your help with something."

Sturge raises an eyebrow. "Oh?" he asks. "What sort of help?"

"Help with Tali," I say. "It's a long story, but let's just say that I need to apologize to her somehow, and there are a few things I'll need."

* * *

><p>I sit at the table in Life Support, looking towards the drive core. It's still oddly quiet, but now it has glowed blue again. I guess refueling finished sooner than I expected it to. That's always a good thing. And now, it's back to business as usual, as I've noticed some of the crew returning. It's been strange trying to get all my items together, but somehow I managed to do it. And now... now all that's left is for Sturge to convince Tali to come up here.<p>

I sit there, nervously tapping my foot against the ground. C'mon, Sturge, any day now please... Oh, God... I look up. What if she's still too mad to want to see me again? What if Sturge doesn't find her anywhere? What if she steps off the Normandy and decides... okay, that last one's a little stupid, but still! C'mon, Tali... Fuck...

I hope this doesn't fail. 'Cause if it does... if it does... well, it's really risky, and I'm not totally sure it'll work, but... If nothing else, it'll be a sign that I still care enough to stand by her. But if this doesn't... I don't know.

Maybe I should've thought this through a little better. I mean, hell, this is the best I could come up with? Damn it, Art, this is a _stupid _idea, this is a really, really stupid idea! I need to-

I hear the door open immediately. I then hear the footsteps from behind me as they slowly walk towards me. There's a brief pause where whoever is walking in there sees me, and I try not to turn my head back to look at whoever it is. It's silent for a few seconds, and then I hear the footsteps again.

And then, Tali walks into my view. She looks at me nervously, before sitting across from me at the opposite end of the table.

Well, Art, you're here now, and there's no getting out of this. You gotta do this all the way to the end. You still care about Tali, so... You'll do what you have to. And this... this is something you have to do.

I hear the door to life support close, and then Tali fidgets nervously.

"Art..." she says. "If this is about the slap, I-"

I immediately hold my hand up. This effectively interrupts her, and she blinks in surprise "No, it's not about that," I say. "It's just..." I sigh. "I've... well, you know." I sigh. "God, this is gonna be tough, but..."

I nod, gesturing to the object on the table. "I... brought you a little something." I then hold it up to her. I still can't believe that Sturge and I were able to find flowers here on Khar'shan, even after everything that's happened. It looks like a relatively nice one too, as it looks kind of large. Again, it's unlikely that it survived, but... I dunno.

Tali looks at it in surprise. "Art..." she says.

"One of your lines in the game mentioned that you couldn't smell flowers," I say. "I just... I dunno. I took it from that that you secretly kind of like flowers..."

"I... I do," Tali says. "But Art... I can't _really _smell this flower. Not for real, anyway. What good is a flower if you can't get outside of your suit to smell it?" She sighs. "I don't know, Art, but-"

The light sound of me placing an immunobooster interrupts her. Tali looks at it immediately, and she looks back at me. Her eyes widen a little bit, even as she looks at the flower. I can see her tense up slightly, but not enough that it looks like she's utterly terrified. It just looks like she's... extremely surprised. I look to her.

I then lean forward and grip her hand. I notice the hand sqeeze around mine. "If you want to smell it for real, the immuno-booster's right there," I say. "It's right there, and I'll be here too." I look at her. "And I'll be here, because I care about you, and I want to be by your side. I know it hasn't been easy, but I think that..." I nod to the immuno-booster. "I won't force you to smell it for real. If you don't want to, I'll understand. But if you do want to, then I'll be right here, and I won't leave or ignore you. No more fears. No more silence between us. No more separation. I promise you this."

Tali looks at me, but I can tell from the way she squeezes my hand that she's thinking about it. Her eyes dart up to me for a few seconds, and then back to the flower and the immuno-booster. Her gaze then turns to the ground, and I see her shoulders sink slightly. She then looks directly at me.

"I... _Keelah_." She sighs nervously. "Do you really mean this?"

I nod. "Of course," I say. "I'll be right here."

Tali nods, and then she picks up the immuno-booster. She looks down, placing that hand on the table.

"I... I'm not so sure I can do this," she admits. "I mean... I want to smell a flower for the first time, and I want to reveal my face again. I just... it's just... I've always wanted to do it. I'm revealing my face for the first time since... you know. And I don't know what will happen, because I remember that he took my suit off while I was conscious. And I'm scared, Art, I'm scared of what'll happen. I'm all alone in this world, and I don't know if I can trust anyone, and I just don't know if this is a good thing, or if I'll just think of _him _again. And you know how that always makes me talk too much, and I'm just so afraid of facing the world alone, and even if I've gotten over it on some level I don't know if people can be trusted again, and I-"

I grip her hand, holding it there. "It's okay, _querida_," I say. "You're not alone. I'm here."

Tali nods, gripping my hand tighter. She then brings the immuno-booster up to wherever she needs to and injects it into herself. Once she does this, she waits a few seconds. After this short wait, her free hand goes to her mask, and I hear the hiss as she removes it. As she sets the mask down on the table, I look at her to see her eyes shining. I see the residue of tears there, like thousands upon thousands of undried tears.

Instinctively, I bring my free hand up, brushing the tear stains with my thumb. I notice that her eyes glisten with new tears, and then I trail my thumb just beneath her eyes. I wipe the tear away, even as she brings her hand to the one that is touching her cheek. She pulls it closer to her, closing her eyes and feeling the difference of fingers between us.

Slowly, she lets go of the hand that gripped my hand, and then picks up the flower. Even as she brings it up to her nose, I can see her gaze remaining intent on mine. She sniffs the flower as soon as she brings it up there, and then I watch her eyes soften, tears once again threatening to spill out of her eyes.

"It's... _Keelah_," she says. "I've never..."

I nod. "Well..." I say. "I guess..."

I don't get much more warning before Tali suddenly crumples on the ground. She lets go of my hand and the flower, and then begins sobbing quietly there on the floor. I myself don't hesitate, and before I know it I'm on the ground next to her pulling her into a hug. She grips my shoulders, sobbing into them as I feel the tears stain my shirt. I don't really care, I can always wash them later. For now...

I pat her on the back. "It's all right, Tali," I comment. "I'm here..."

My lips find her forehead, kissing her tenderly as she cries against me. I hold her there, patting her back softly as she expends some tears. We stay like this for a few minutes, the flower remaining completely forgotten. I simply hold her against me like this, patting her back.

Finally, she looks up, leaning away from my shoulder. "I... I'm scared of walking around in public," she says. "I... I'm always afraid that someone is going to come around to remove my mask forcibly again... I can't wander around without a mask. I'm sorry."

I nod. "It's all right, Tali," I say as she and I look at each other. "It's fine. I just... I should've realized that talking to you wouldn't have come at the expense of hurting you. I was just so afraid that anything I'd say was going to hurt you that I just kept silent. And I promise... I promise I won't put you through that again. No more."

Tali nods. Before I can say anything else, she leans towards me, and gives me a kiss. I'm caught off guard by this kiss, but find myself falling backwards and deepening the kiss. We hold each other as I bring my arms behind her, and for a single solitary moment, everything feels all right.

And when we break the kiss, Tali simply holds me there. "If... If we survive this..." she says. "I... I want you with me. Wherever I go."

I bring my hand up to her cheeks. "Of course, _querida_," I say. "I'll be right here."

"Th... thank you," she says. "Thank you... my _hesh'alan_."

And with this, all feels right in the galaxy again.

* * *

><p>I walk back into my room next to life support. I notice that I haven't actually brought Orange with me, as the orange paperweight is still sitting on the night table. Still, it's given me time to think. And I think... I think I have my answer to her now.<p>

I sit on the bed, picking up Orange and holding her in my hand. All right, Orange, I've made up my mind.

"And what do you believe?" Orange asks.

I think that while it is a little unnerving that you had to do what you did, I accept why you did it. I don't think I'll ever accept the 'what' part of that equation, but I can live with why you did it since... well... you're not actually controlling my actions. I mean, if you did control my mind, I wouldn't be able to question your taking over my dreams, right?

"I do not believe so," Orange replies. "I am not the Reapers. I will never willingly take over your mind and force you to do things I know you would never do. That would be far too cruel."

Good. But once this is all done... well, I guess when you leave...

"Have you thought about my offer for the dreams?" she asks.

I have, now, and it took me something else to realize it. I... I think I'll decline the offer.

"You will decline it?" asks Orange. "Then you wish to live with the nightmares."

I can't run away from my own problems anymore. I mean... the thought that I'll have nightmares about certain things for most of the rest of my life is a terrifying thought, but it's something I think I'll live with. I refuse to run away anymore. Some things, I have to confront directly. And where better to start on confronting my problems than dealing with my own mind?

I hear Orange chuckle. "I am glad to hear it," she says. "To be honest, I would have been disappointed if you told me to leave someone to control your dreams."

I raise my eyebrows. Really, Orange?

"You still value your free will," she says to me. "Even with the problems that your free will can render unto you, you'd rather face those issues than take an easy solution to your problems. There is an admirable quality in someone who holds the freedom of their mind over their security."

I guess it runs in the family, then. Why do you think my parents came to America?

"Indeed, Keeper," she states. "On another level, however, it shows that you have grown as a person. You have developed into a man. I have no doubt that you will be able to deal with life now. I will stay until the Reapers are defeated, but once they are defeated, I will leave. I promise you this, by the River Styx."

I nod. I'll hold you to that, you know.

"I would not have it any other way," she replies.

I nod, placing Orange in my pocket. Well, that's that. The minute this war ends (if it ends), I'm going to have to deal with what I guess are PTSD nightmares for the rest of my life. But I can deal with that. I have to: from here on out, I can't simply ignore my problems. I can't pretend that if I don't talk about my issues they'll go away. Because in the end, they won't. And the only way to deal with them is to face them head-on.

Heh. If only my family could see me now.

* * *

><p>A couple of days pass, and everything seems to be going a little better. Carhon's family still hovers around the ship, even if they don't exactly have a reason to stay behind. I've seen M'yask enter James' quarters from time to time, and I think the two are actually becoming rather good friends. I don't know, it seems that way to me.<p>

I simply look in front of me in the mess hall, seeing Liselle standing off to the side. Hm... I haven't really seen that much from her since everything that went down on the Bahak system. She stands there, looking up at the ceiling of the mess hall. Eventually, she sighs, and I notice that she looks over in my direction. She shrugs, walking over to me and glancing to the med bay. She then sits down.

"I didn't think that Shepard would ever show up," she says. "And when she did, I didn't think there would be thousands of batarian refugees in their wake."

"Yeah, none of us were expecting that," I reply. "Welcome to the club."

Liselle looks behind her at the med-bay, before turning back to look at me. "I also wasn't expecting that kind of shift in command," she comments. "But... I dunno, things just seem to be going better, don't they?"

"You forgot the part where the Reapers invaded the entire galaxy," I reply. "That happened too."

Liselle shrugs. "Well, at least we'll get to go down fighting the most intense fight in the whole galaxy," she says. She then looks up. "I'm worried about mother, though. She has to defend that rock by herself now, and she can't be expecting any help in that regard."

I shrug. "Well, she won't be alone, even if she has to defend that rock with only what she's got within the Omega Nebula," I comment. "And hey, I didn't say anything about her going down without a fight, you know?"

"I guess so," Liselle shrugs, leaning forward, sighing. "I wish I had stayed on Omega. I thought going out into the galaxy was going to be adventurous: I thought I was going to have plenty of great tales to tell mother when I got back. I mean, I did get that, but the rest of the galaxy can just..." She sighs. "I miss Omega. It was dangerous, you could never predict what would happen on nights like the ones where I'd go... but the rest of the galaxy is honestly a little boring when it's not in the middle of a war."

"Some people prefer that," I reply.

"How do you manage to stand it?" she asks.

I shrug. "I just do," I say. "I wasn't raised in a crime den, so I wouldn't know about that. But where I was raised, everything seemed to fall into place just fine, you know?"

"I guess," says Liselle as she glances to the side. "When this is all over, I'm going back to Omega. My mother was right about this world in a way: it was cold, but not in the way I was expecting. Here, it's just so..." She shrugs. "I'm just used to being a bad girl."

I shrug. "Hey, whatever greases your wheel is fine by me," I comment. I just wonder..." I look behind Liselle...

What...? Dr. Chakwas looks...

I stand up immediately, looking into the med bay. I look over at Liselle as she turns to look there. I...

"I think the commander's waking up!" I say.

Liselle looks at the med bay, and at the same time we both see Dr. Chakwas walk over to the bed that Shepard is laying on. Yes... And then I see the Commander's hand rise up.

I immediately rush towards the med bay. I pay no attention to Liselle's reaction, and before I know it I'm at the door. My hand slams down on the control panel, and sure enough, I see Shepard laying there with her eyes open. She's gripping Dr. Chakwas' hand, and smiling as Dr. Chakwas looks directly at me. I step into the med bay, hearing footsteps from behind me. Immediately, I turn and see Kasumi walking in at the same time I do, though I have _no _idea where the hell she came from. Either way, we both walk up to Shepard, who looks at us and smiles.

"You're all right," Shepard says as she looks at the two of us. I nod, sitting down at a chair that I didn't even notice that Dr. Chakwas had pulled over.

"Yeah, we're fine," I say. I shake my head. "Those were some serious balls you had there, Commander. Uh... with all due respect, of course."

Shepard shrugs. "We wouldn't have survived any other way," she says. "Are the others all right?"

I sigh. "Well..." I look to Kasumi.

"Most of us got it out of that okay," says Kasumi. "It was _after _we landed that the Reaper killed one of us."

Shepard blinks. "Who?" she asks.

"Carhon," I reply. I look down at the ground. "It happened before any of us could react. One second, he was standing there, and then the very next one, the Leviathan just..." I bring my hands up, gesturing an explosion. "Boom. Or something like that."

Shepard nods. "I see..." she says, looking up at the ceiling. "And there was nothing anybody could have done?"

"No," I comment. "I mean, we probably could've gotten our bearings faster, but we were just so relieved that we survived a twenty-story fall that... you know."

"It's fine," Shepard replies. "Has the family been informed?"

"James took care of that," Kasumi replies. "They didn't take it well,"

"I wouldn't think they would," Shepard says. She nods, looking at us. "Well... I'm here. I think there's-"

"Not so fast, Commander," says Dr. Chakwas. She then walks up to the Commander. "You suffered extreme biotic exhaustion. I'm ordering you to stay in bed for at least a full day."

"But the Reapers-" Shepard begins.

"Doctor's orders," says Dr. Chakwas, pushing her hand onto the Commander's shoulder. "You need your rest, Commander. You'll only be out for a day at most. You can get back to worrying about everyone else then."

Shepard sighs, seeing that she won't win this battle. "Fine," she says begrudgingly. "But when I can leave, I need to leave. I can't sit by while the Reapers are in this galaxy. If they're not here already, they'll be here soon, and we need to organize a defense for when that happens."

"You'll get to that soon," I tell her. "Trust me on that, Commander." I then pat her shoulder. "We're glad to have you back with us, Commander."

"I'm not done yet," Shepard says. "If you think I'm going to sit on my ass now while the Reapers kill everyone, you've got another thing coming."

I smile, patting her on the shoulder. She simply returns the smile as Kasumi leans over, and we stay like this for a few seconds more.

* * *

><p>Several days pass after the commander gets out of bed. As expected, she doesn't take a single moment to rest. From the moment she's up, it's work, work, work for her again. And honestly, I can't say I blame her: we're now tasked with defending Khar'shan from future Reaper attacks as best we can. It's gonna be futile, but at this stage it's the only thing we can really do.<p>

We've had amazing luck in that regard, actually: there have been no Reapers that have come into the system yet, which has given us a much-needed break. It also gives Shepard some time to organize everyone that we probably wouldn't have otherwise. That has been a bigger help to us than anything else in this damn war. We've decided it's too dangerous to take the Normandy out of this system. I mean, it would be great if we could get to those coordinates by the Normandy, but that isn't exactly the case. When I talked to Shepard about it, she said that maybe if the rachni came she would be open to investigating those coordinates, see if they have a longer-term solution for the Reapers and then plan from there. But until then...

I sigh, standing up almost immediately. Well, I don't know if they're going to show up, but if they do... I better worry about that when they get here. For now, I think I should go downstairs to see Tali. After all, I kind of have to-

"_Mr. *********_."

I blink, noticing that EDI's avatar has popped up. I look over at the AI, frowning. "EDI?" I ask.

"_Ah, I believed you were here,_" EDI says. "_Your presence is required in the briefing room._"

I frown. "The briefing room?" I ask. "On Shepard's orders?"

"_Yes,_" says EDI. "_Something strange has come up. There is a ship in orbit outside of Khar'shan._"

"A ship?" Huh, that's unusual. "Is it a Reaper?"

"_Unlikely,_" EDI replies. "_If it were a Reaper, it would have opened fire by now. It is a ship with a signature my protocols do not recognize._"

"And what, the ship called for me as well?" I ask.

"_It did in fact request to speak to 'someone who helped us discover this',_" EDI replies. "_Isaac Clarke is in the briefing room as well, explaining to Shepard the design of the ship in question._"

Wait... Hold it. That ship... Isaac's explaining its design to Shepard? Then that means...

Holy fuck!

"I'll be right there, EDI," I say.

With this, I immediately exit the room, mashing the elevator's call button when I get in front of it. Shit, if that ship is already here, then that means... fuck!

* * *

><p>I walk into the briefing room rather quickly to see Shepard and Isaac both standing there. I see the little holographic projector for the comms which is up and running, giving off some wavy lines and stuff.<p>

I waste no time, walking right up to the two of them. Isaac nods as I move over there, and then I see that Shepard isn't looking angry. Good, that's a good thing. I think this is more along the lines of 'your presence is required here' more than it is anything else.

"EDI said you needed me," I say, looking at Shepard as I take my place next to Isaac.

Shepard nods, turning back to the hologram in the center of the table. "He's here," she says.

"_Ah. I believed I recognized his voice._"

...

"Rilara?" I ask, leaning forward. "Rilara, is that you?"

"_It is,_" she says. "_Your friend's ship... we constructed it. And we are here, hovering over the atmosphere of your planet._"_  
><em>

...

What?

"Okay, I call bullshit," I say. "How did you build it so quickly?"

"_You underestimate the rachni,_" she says. "_The rachni are tenacious builders, and exceedingly dedicated in all they do. You remembered that we were able to create a ship capable of relay travel in a short amount of time._"

"But that was two years!" I say. "Or, some time within the frame of two years! I don't know!"

"_We built our mass relay-capable ship in less time than you believe,_" Rilara replies. "_And we built it without much in the way of schematics. Your friend was _very _detailed in what this... 'ShockPoint Drive' was capable of, and it was of great aid. And of course, there was the quarian you left here..._"_  
><em>

I frown, looking at Isaac. "You mean that bitch Daro'Xen helped them construct that thing?" I ask.

"Hey, don't look at me," Isaac replies. "I wasn't the one who told her to help them."

I roll my eyes. "Was she actually helpful?" I ask.

"_Yes,_" says Rilara. "_Very much so, actually. She double-checked most of your friend's equations, made several suggestions on the design of the engine, and even personally helped us mine the element zero with which we fueled this ship for its maiden voyage. I doubt that we would have built this ship as reliably as we did without her insight._"

I frown. "She really did that?" I ask.

"_Yes,_" says Rilara. "_She is not here with us, if you must know. But the queen was able to come._"

"So she's here," I say.

"_Yes,_" Rilara replies. "_She operated the controls herself._"

"And this ship is the only ship of this design in existence," says Shepard.

"_Unfortunately,_" says Rilara. "_We built this ship as quickly as we could, and even then we could not test it. We essentially used this as a test-run._"

"So you made this a test-run," I say. "Ouch... that's a risky idea if there ever was one?"

"_With the Reapers inside the galaxy, there was little choice in the matter,_" Rilara replies. "_Time is of the essence in this war, and we cannot afford to wait. We h__ave no other ships, though the rachni are busy building. They build, though we cannot be certain how long it will be until this fleet is ready._"

"We'll have to see," says Shepard. "But for now..." She then looks at me. "There is something in those things you found on the Collector base that you had Liara look at. It was a set of coordinates...?"

I nod. "It was," I say. "Liara pointed them to a place that we can't access with the technology present in this galaxy. We had to build a completely new ship to even have a _chance _of accessing it."

"And that's why the rachni are here now," says Shepard. She then turns her attention back to the comms. "Are you willing to part with the ship for this purpose?"

"_Yes,_" says Rilara. "_We would like to return to where the rachni burrow, but we do not have the luxury of time on our hands. We will remain on the Normandy._"

I nod. "All right," I say. I look over to Shepard. "And she hasn't landed yet...?"_  
><em>

"The batarians don't believe our story," says Shepard. She shrugs. "I honestly can't blame them. This whole scenario is difficult for me to believe as well."

"Yeah, I was about to say the same thing," I comment. "I mean, completely new FTL tech? Yeah, I can see why they wouldn't believe us." I nod. "But they know that it's not a Reaper, right?"

"I think they know that by now," she says. "They just want to be sure that it is not a ship of indoctrinated people. It's not likely. "

"Fair enough," I say.

"_We shall wait above this planet,_" Rilara says. "_We will need more fuel soon, however. Please be certain that this does not take long._"_  
><em>

"I'll do my best," Shepard replies. "You stay safe there, Rilara."

With this, the comm line cuts out. I look over at Shepard, who simply stands there looking at me. I shrug. "Well... I guess that worked out."

"It seems like it," she says. "It looks like there was _something _you did that ended up helping everybody out." She then looks up. "What're at these coordinates?"

"I have no idea," I say. "Orange isn't able to find out, I get the feeling this is one of those things she'd want me to find out on my own even if she did find out what was there, I certainly don't know... but whatever it is, it's gotta be important."

"It must be, if it wound up in the Collector base in a handwriting very few people from back then could read," Shepard says. "How do we know this isn't a trap?"

"I don't think it is," I say. "Don't ask me how I know that, I just do. And besides, we could've not gone into that room, you know? Why would a Reaper order a minion to put a set of coordinates on a wall that the Reapers figure people probably aren't even going to see?"

"That is a fair point," says Shepard. "I guess we'll find out what exactly lies there."

"Indeed," I say.

And with this, I look to Isaac. The former CEC engineer shrugs. "I'm coming along, right?" he asks.

"Of course," Shepard says. "For all intents and purposes, you designed the ship. You know how to maneuver it, right?"

"I do," Isaac replies. "I can do it, though I'll need Ellie's help for some parts of the ShockPoint jump."

"Then she will be with us as well," says Shepard. "Since we don't know what else is out there, I'm also bringing a ground team over there. I'll gather that ground team on my own, plus you two and Ellie. I'll call you when the ship is on Khar'shan. Dismissed."

And with this, Isaac and I both look at each other, shrugging as we both exit the briefing room. I look behind at the briefing room, and then look to Isaac. "Well, looks like your schematics paid off," I say.

"I can't believe they did," Isaac comments. He shakes his head. "Ellie is probably going to think I was crazy for thinking that."

"Well, it helped save our asses no matter what, so..." I comment.

"I guess it did," he said. "I'll be down in Engineering, talking to Ellie. If you need anything, come on down."

I nod, smiling at Isaac. "I was gonna head down there to talk to Tali anyway," I say. "But I think we can take care of that."

And with this, we both walk through the tech lab, hoping to get to the elevator. We note that Mordin isn't there for whatever reason, but pay it no real mind as we keep moving. I mean, we got to see these guys build what we need to see these coordinates, right? So I guess this is some hope for all of us.

Who knows? Maybe what we'll find at these coordinates will be enough to save us all even after the Reapers took over the Citadel.

* * *

><p>It takes a little over an hour for the ship to finally land, and it takes even longer than that to refuel the ship. At first, most people were really freaked out about the fact that the rachni had apparently returned, as I'm sure they had every right to what with their reputation not being so great. But eventually (through some shouting and a lot of pointing weapons at the ground) we managed to convince the batarians that the rachni queen was in fact coming in peace. No doubt about it, though: Rilara helped in that regard.<p>

And now, we're getting ready to get off Khar'shan and investigate. Shepard's leaving Al in charge of things while we're gone, and is also bringing a ground team as she said she would. The ship we're on is actually quite small as Isaac suggested, so it's not an especially large one, from what I see. It's gonna be Shepard, Isaac, Ellie, and myself, and maybe three or four other people. Which is actually a little larger than what we normally bring into the field, but I don't know what we're gonna find there, so we'll see.

I check the sights on my assault rifle one more time, before placing it on my back. I'm not sure we'll need the weapons, but Shepard isn't taking that chance. We're all going in full armor and full weapons and all that, so... yeah. I'm not really sure who else is coming with us, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.

I walk outside the Normandy to see that Khar'shan is well on its way to being sufficiently armed. I see various other docks with ships that are being fitted with the latest that we have to outfit them with. Some of the engineers that the fleets that came with us are helping with that, and so far it looks like we're making relatively good progress with that.

I walk past most of these ships, seeing batarian crews working with aliens. I see various things, ranging from a batarian looking over some plans with a turian and a salarian to an asari sitting in the corner with both a batarian and a former quarian slave: I assume all three of them are on break, unlike the two batarians and the salarian hanging off of the side of the ship there doing whatever it is they're doing. All the people who were on Khar'shan before this attack seem to be cooperating quite well with the people that we brought over. Maybe when all this is over, the batarians will be in a better place. Maybe...

Maybe things aren't so hopeless after all. I mean, if we saved a homeworld, then that has to mean _something_...

I continue walking on, seeing the many things.

And eventually, I see the ship that the rachni queen came in on. It's a rather small ship, as the USG Kellion was. It's about twice the size of the shuttle, maybe even just a tad smaller than that. I see Shepard, Isaac, Ellie, and... is that Mordin? Yeah, that's Mordin, carrying the little dream briefcase. Huh. I wonder what convinced Mordin to bring that along. I walk up the ramp to the ship, the four of them turning and looking at me. I nod as I walk up to them, and then look to the salarian.

"What're you bringing that for?" I ask.

"Have hunch," Mordin replies. "May prove necessary to bring dream-share. No knowledge of what lies at coordinates, though coordinates likely have something... _Prothean _in nature. Only logical to bring Prothean tech." He then sniffs. "Worst case scenario, of course. Cannot suppose anything, but cannot be too prepared either."

"I guess that's true," I comment. I look to Shepard. "I guess we're all just going on, then."

"I believe we are," says Shepard. "I still didn't understand some of Mordin's theory behind how this whole thing works, but..."

"Trust me, it works," I comment. "And it works with other people as well. Trust me, I'd know, he shared a dream with Rael and I once."

"Yes," Mordin confirms. "Was interesting dream. Went to strange place, laws of physics nonexistant, met Prothean..." He crosses his arms. "Interesting mind."

"Well... I'll hold you to that," the Commander says. "But if we do have to use it, then I'm going to be surprised." She then looks at Isaac and Ellie. "I take it you two don't need a refresher course?"

"I designed the ship, ma'am," Isaac replies. "And even if I hadn't, I know the sequence like the back of my hand. As should Ellie, right?"

Ellie nods. "We'll be ready when the time comes, Commander," she says.

Shepard nods. "Good," she says. "I wouldn't have accepted anything less." She then turns to the rest of the docking bay where we are. "Now we just need to wait for the others to get here and we'll be good to go."

I nod, looking down the ramp. I see someone turn the corner, and as he walks up to us... hey!

"Kaidan," I say, pushing off the railing. "I guess you're here too."

The Staff Commander walks up to us with a nod. "The Commander asked me to come," he says.

"I kinda figured that," I say, crossing my arms. "And I guess this means that you two are on good terms again?"

"We are," he says.

"Yes," Shepard confirms with a shrug. "He actually ended up testifying on my behalf during the trial. I expect you two to be nice to each other."

"I don't think you'll have to tell us _that_, Shepard," I say. "We sort of made up on our own time."

"Oh." The Commander looks pretty pleased by this. "I'm glad you did."

"Yeah," I say. "So while we're off on this ship, we should be good." I then look over to Isaac. "I'm guessing now that you know something about me, you learned a little something about Isaac, too."

"Of the sort," Kaidan. He then turns to Isaac. "The Commander told me about your... _true _backstory. I can't say I believe all of it, but... if it's all true, I'm sorry. That must've been rough to go through, and especially with a lot of people backstabbing you."

Isaac sighs. "It was," he says. "But I'm not going to dwell on the past. We've got bigger problems right now."

"True enough," Kaidan replies. "Still, if there's anything you need, just let us know."

The former CEC engineer chuckles. "Trust me, I think I've got that covered," Isaac replies.

I nod. "Well, we're all getting along marvelously," I comment. "So who's rounding out the party?"

"Oh, they're coming in soon," says Shepard. She then looks past Kaidan down the end of the ramp. "Actually, they're both here."

Both? Huh. I guess it was four other people after all. Well, it'll be a pretty large group, I guess, but that can only lead to good things. So... And they're here. Huh, lemme see who-

...

Whoah. Okay.

I stand up, looking at the two people that are coming up to them. One of them is Kal'Reegar, all bedecked with his weapons and all. He simply nods at Shepard as he walks up the ramp towards us, and I suspect that he's nodding at Ellie like the gentleman he is. So he walks up, and bows his head to the Commander.

But it's the second person that causes me to...

I walk forward, looking at her in surprise. Right as she gets up to us, I walk up to her, taking her hands in mine.

"Tali..." I say in surprise. "You're here..."

Tali simply looks at me, and I know she's looking at me. "You're surprised?" she asks.

"I... yes," I say. "I just... This is definitely something."

"It is," Tali says. "Is there...?"

"I don't know," I say. "It just seems a little sudden, you being here and all that."

"Shepard only asked me an hour ago," Tali replies. "And even when she did ask, I had to think about it for a little bit." She looks down, even as she rubs my hands with her thumb. "In the end, you can thank Kasumi for why I'm here. She talked me into it." She shakes her head. "I have no idea how, but... I guess I just have to confront some things."

I nod. "I guess there is room for that yet," I say. "Well, if there's anything you need, I'll be right here, _querida_."

I can sense that Tali is smiling for the first time in ages. "That's good to know, my _hesh'alan,_" she replies, even as we drop hands.

I then look to Shepard, shrugging. I notice that Kaidan's eyebrows are raised in surprise, but he doesn't really say anything more as we look directly at the ship in question. I glance over to Isaac, and cross my arms as I turn my attention back to the ship itself. Shepard looks up to it, glancing at a particular part.

"Well, we're all here," she says. "But there's one thing we need to do about this ship before we leave. This ship... it needs a name."

"I thought it might get confusing just referring to this thing as 'the ship'," Kaidan supplies. "And it really doesn't have a name?"

"Not that the rachni queen gave me, anyway," says Shepard. "So this ship needs a name."

I look at the ship intensely as Shepard finishes saying this. I'm wondering why she only brings this up now. But that doesn't matter. What does matter, is that we need to name this ship something. And this ship is going to take us somewhere unknown, and it was built with technology that came from another universe. And on top of that, this is just... Hm...

I raise my hand, pointing at the ship. "I think I've got _just _the thing," I say.

* * *

><p>An hour and forty-five minutes later, we're in orbit over Khar'shan. Ellie and Isaac are already working the controls, with Shepard standing by. Kaidan stands by her, and I simply sit on a chair further back in this ship. I glance over to Tali from where she's standing off to the side, looking over some of the ship's design with Mordin. Kal is sitting in the other chair, though, and still looking in wonder at the ship we're in. Yeah, it's one thing to play Isaac walking into the USG Kellion, but to actually step into an expy of it... that's something else entirely. And it feels crazy, even if it's only an imitation of what could have been.<p>

If there's one thing I had to complain about though... jeez, talk about uncomfortable seats! I mean, really, they couldn't find any padding from any crashed ships or anything like that? That's... yeah.

I look forward, though, as Isaac steps out of a chair that he was occupying. Shepard immediately sits in this chair, and looks right outside. I watch her press a button, and then find myself standing and walking forward a little bit. Everyone's attention is then turned to Shepard as she begins talking.

"Joker, this is Shepard," she says. "Do you copy?"

"_I copy, Commander,_" Joker's voice says. "_You sure about this, Shepard? I mean, you're going into an unknown place with only some guy's dreams to say 'oh, hey, that's gonna be important'. I dunno, but I wouldn't trust things like that._"

"I know it sounds crazy," Shepard says. "But it's more than how you put it. Some prothean put a lot of willpower into etching those coordinates out for us to find. If that's the case, this has to be important."

"_I guess so,_" says Joker. "_Just get your ass back to Khar'shan when you're done, okay?_"

"You better believe we'll be back," says Shepard. "And when we come back, maybe we'll let you pilot this baby all by yourself."_  
><em>

"_Sure, you tell yourself that,_" says Joker. "_The Normandy's the only baby I need._"

"Right," says Shepard. She shakes her head. "Back to business, Joker. We're taking the _SSV Satie _on its not-quite-maiden voyage. Shepard out."

And with this, Shepard cuts the comm line. As soon as she finishes saying this, she stands up, and Isaac takes the controls again. "All right," Isaac says. "The ShockPoint Jump is almost ready. Now, we just need to do this-" he said as his hands manipulated the controls of the _SSV Satie__, _"-and..."

Immediately after Isaac says this, I hear a whirring sound coming from the engine. It's very faint, though, and it's barely audible around everything else. And almost instantly, the lights outside the window of the ship morph in a very strange way. Before I know what has happened, the outside of our ship is surrounded by what looks like numerous rings of gray light that just pass around us every three seconds. The ambience is grey all around, and the rings... it's like we're flying through smoke here...

I step forward as Isaac and Ellie stand up. "Well, the ShockPoint drive went off without a hitch," says Isaac. "I almost expected it to end badly, honestly."

"I can't say I blame you," says Shepard. "Being constructed by people who weren't familiar with the technology... I'll say there must've been some guessing involved." She then looks at Isaac and Ellie. "So we're on our way."

"Yes," says Ellie. "Our ETA is about three hours."

Shepard nods. "All right," she says. "I expect all of you to be ready after three hours. We don't know what we'll find on the other side, but we'll find out soon enough."

We all nod and/or salute the Commander, and then I find myself sitting back in the chair, looking out the window at the grey rings that the _SSV Satie _passes through on its way to whatever the protheans wanted us to find.


	36. Chapter 35

_A/N: Okay. Now, here we go with another chapter in the next part of the Mass Vexations saga. We already know one thing about these coordinates, but... well, you'll find things out about what is actually there. Just know that this will actually take some time before we really know what's happened there._

_So yeah. I actually have to thank ValentineDiverseOptics once again for providing some much-needed plot doctoring. It actually also helped shape the direction of the next few chapters, so for that, you'll be seeing quite a few things. As to what goes down? Well..._

_Let's get going with it, shall we?_

* * *

><p>Chapter 35: The Unknown Part 1: Respighi: Three Botticelli Pictures<p>

In the three hours it takes the ShockPoint jump to get us to our destination, we end up just killing a lot of time as best we can. We end up just talking amongst ourselves in the small space, even as Ellie and Isaac remain at the controls. I look outside the window every so often, wondering exactly how fast we're going in this small little craft. I mean... it's FTL travel, sure, but I can't imagine how quick it is. I know that with most relay travel it's instantaneous, but when it's not instantaneous like this...

I sometimes wonder about that, I really do. And then... my thoughts turn to Madison, Garrus, and the others on the Citadel. I don't know... I don't know if they're okay. I doubt most of 'em are, I mean... Fuck. The Reapers have probably overtaken the Citadel by now, and now they're just playing cat and mouse with the citizens of the Citadel. Oh... I doubt they're alive, but if they are... God help 'em all.

And what about Earth? I don't... what if the Reapers have already gone there? I mean... They probably have, and they're just starting the harvest there. I just... Oh, God... Shit, this is gonna be hard. I mean, we have to free an entire galaxy. I just hope that whatever is here will do it. 'Cause if it doesn't...

I hear a beep, looking up from my brooding as Isaac and Ellie both look ahead. "All right," says Ellie. "We're nearly at the destination."

Shepard stands from where she was sitting, walking right up to Isaac and Ellie. Shepard's game of Skyllian Five with Kaidan and Kal is immediately forgotten, and we all stand up. Eventually, we walk right over to the cockpit, Tali, Mordin, Kal, and I all standing back to give Isaac and Ellie a bit of space. We all look at Isaac and Ellie as they begin moving around to some control mechanism.

"How soon do you think we'll get there?" asks Shepard.

"Less than a minute," says Isaac as he punches up a screen. I then watch as the screen that comes up gives a countdown... "According to this, we'll leave the ShockPoint jump in about fifteen seconds. Fourteen."

I look ahead. "Oh, boy," I say. "What do you guys think is going to be here?" I ask.

"I don't know," says Kal. "I'm not gonna guess that just yet."

"Could be anything," says Mordin.

"Well, we're about to find out," says Ellie. "I would hang on to something if I were you. ShockPoint exits are not always clean." She then grips the control mechanism, as does Isaac. They both look at the screen as the countdown decreases. "All right, we exit the ShockPoint jump in five..."

I notice that everyone seems to realize that we need to brace something. I simply take a step or two back, bracing against the chair. I notice that Tali has done the same thing, and that Mordin and Kal are also gripping another chair.

"Four... three..." Ellie continues.

And that's when the craft begins to shake a little bit. It's not too bad, though, because it doesn't feel like this ship will disintegrate. That is a good thing.

"Two... one..."

Here it comes...

After a very brief shake, the light of the ShockPoint jump suddenly dissipates, and now there is no grayness around us anymore. The shaking quiets down, and I'm relieved to find that we're still in one piece here. I look out the window, and...

...

"Holy fuck..." I say, walking towards the window.

Nobody else says anything as we behold what's in front of us. I... what the hell is that? That looks...

That looks like a giant ship... Whoah... I can see what little lighting there is around us outline a massive shape in the distance, a shape that looks something like a massive dreadnaught that would make the _Destiny Ascension _look like a damn tugboat. I just... holy crap... And it looks _ancient_. As we get closer to it, I see that the small amount of light does in fact shine on the ship, revealing that the ship is rather plain-looking in design. Still, the sheer size of it...

"Keelah," Tali says. "That ship..."

I simply see Isaac shake his head. "Great," he says. "We're going right to a large derelict ship in the middle of nowhere to begin searching it for something we need." His hand clenches into a fist as he leans forward. "There is no way that this can end well."

"What, and you really think that there's gonna be a zombie apocalypse on a ship that's likely fifty thousand years old?" Ellie asks. "It's a large ship. I think we're going to be more annoyed searching through it."

"That we are," Shepard comments. She looks the ship up and down. "The protheans really constructed a dreadnought of this size? And they were able to get it here?"

Tali looks at the ship. "Hm..." she says. "I don't know, Shepard... Not even the _Rayya _is this big. This ship could easily dwarf the largest ships of every fleet in the galaxy..." I look to her as she shakes her head. "Obviously, this ship is some kind of an anomaly. I may not be an expert on the protheans, but to construct a vessel this size with the resources they must have had during the Reaper wars..."

"And what does it have in there?" Kaidan asks. "If they spent that many resources to build a ship of that size, it _must _be important..."

"Either way, I think we know just how important whatever is in there is," I comment. "Or else they wouldn't have expended as many resources as they did creating a ship this size. I have to ask how the hell it got out so far that it can't be accessed with the mass relay network, though. I mean..."

"I think there are two possible theories at play here," says Tali. "The first is that the protheans somehow found their _own _alternate manner of FTL flight. And it would make sense for why this ship is here."

"Unlikely," says Mordin. "Prothean scientists likely not concentrated on alternate FTL drives. Most efforts sought different purpose."

"And besides, if I know the history of the ShockPoint Drive, the protheans probably might've had some issues with vessel size even if they _had _tried," Isaac comments. "So if they were discovering something similar to the ShockPoint Drive, I doubt we'd see the drive get used in a ship that's this size."

"Which leaves the other theory," says Tali. "And I can't confirm it until I see how this ship dealt with the static discharge that occurs when a mass effect field is used for FTL travel."

"You mean there's a theory behind how they could get this ship this far away from the mass relay network without inventing a new FTL drive?" asks Kal'Reegar.

"Yes," says Tali. "But it would likely be unwieldy due to the nature of mass effect fields. I would have to see the set-up this ship has, but if we had tried the set-up I think the protheans might have used it likely would have taken us _many _years to get this far, even without accounting for the time it would take to build a ship this size. Again, I would have to see the ship itself."

"And to figure out what set-up that is, we have to get in," says Shepard. "Ellie, Isaac, bring us in. And start circling around the ship. We need to find a way in."

"You got it, ma'am," says Ellie.

With this, Isaac and Ellie steer the ship around this massive dreadnought. Isaac leans over, and immediately turns on the scanners on this ship. When he does this, a screen comes up, and we all look as we approach the ship.

* * *

><p>It takes a while, but we find an airlock right there on the outside of the ship. Thankfully, everyone took helmets andor a breathing apparatus, so we ended up docking right next to the airlock in question. We were able to open the airlock from the outside, and now we're sort of just standing in the airlock, with Tali pulling Kal into it. Shepard and Kaidan yank Mordin in, and then I turn to Ellie and Isaac.

"I thought I might be able to hack into the airlock," Tali says as she finishes pulling Kal into the airlock.

I simply shake my head. "Why is it that the airlock is _always _the only functional part of a derelict ship, even when there's no power?" I ask.

"It just happens that way," says Isaac. "We wouldn't be able to go into the ship, would we?" Isaac looks up. "I don't even know how a ship still has power after 50,000 years."

Mordin's feet touch the floor of the airlock, and then the door of the airlock closes behind us. "The protheans built this ship," says Shepard. "They built things to last."

I nod at Isaac. "Trust me, she'd know," I comment. "We actually talked to a 50,000 year old prothean AI once."

I can't tell if Isaac blinks from under his helmet, but he still looks rather surprised. "You did?" he asks. He then looks up. "Well, in that case..."

"It's not a bad point, though," I comment. "I mean, this is a ship out in the middle of nowhere. It's not like Ilos where it was potentially a resource-rich planet, you know?"

"This dreadnought is large enough that they probably did have room to store lots of element zero in here," Kaidan points out. "I'm still trying to figure out how they got this ship in the first place."

"Well, we'll need to find the engine room for that," says Tali as the decontamination cycle begins. "Maybe we could attempt to turn the power back on while we're at it."

"But where exactly is the engine?" Kal asks.

I shrug as the decontamination cycle ends. I look right at the male quarian, my hands coming to my helmet. "Probably in the back of the ship somewhere," I comment. "That's if I know my ship design around here especially well."

"Not bad place to begin looking," says Mordin. "Restoring power should be top priority. Could open parts of ship, reveal more information... Possibilities endless."

"You heard the doctor," Shepard says immediately. "We're going to look for the engine room. Keep your helmets on: we don't know if there are any hull breaches on this ship." We all approach the opposite door as it opens to... blackness.

I open my omni-tool almost immediately. "Yeah, this definitely looks like back-up power to me," I comment, turning my flashlight on and shining it into the ship. "No ship in existence should ever be this dark."

I hear a sardonic chuckle from behind me. "You don't have to tell me twice," Isaac replies as he steps forward. He picks up his plasma cutter, and then aims the thing down the hall. A second light shines, and then several more join in as light shines down the hallway. Hm... well, it looks relatively empty. I point my flashlight down at the ground, seeing that it's stable there. I take a tentative step.

And immediately, a rather small plume of dust shoots up from the floor, all around my foot. I blink in surprise as I see this, and I think everyone noticed it too for soon everyone else is looking at the ludicrous amount of dust here.

I blink. "Well, I'm sure glad I'm not taking my helmet off in here," I comment.

"Curious," says Mordin. "Large amount of dust, could be absurd amount of dust. Either way, amount of dust illogical. No maintenance in this hallway? Unused parts of ship?"

Tali looks at the rest of us. "Unused parts of ship..." she comments. "Hm..." She shakes her head. "No, it's not enough."

"You'll need more to figure out what happened here," says Shepard.

"Yes," says Tali.

Shepard nods. "I'm glad we brought you along," she says. "Your knowledge of engineering could come in handy here."

"We'll see," says Tali.

"Come on," says Shepard. "Let's find out what else is here."

And with this, Shepard leads the rest of us down the hall. We soon follow along, shining our omni-tool flashlights at the walls around us as we walk through the dark hallways.

* * *

><p>Several minutes later, the interior of the ship hasn't changed much. We simply move around in empty hallways that are incredibly dark. Occasionally, we'll see a colored light that looks a little different. I'm assuming they're door controls since they're hovering right in front of what I assume would be doors, but it doesn't look like any door control I know. Actually, they don't look like they're functioning all that well, either. I see them flicker in and out of existence, with a noticeable preference for being out of commission. I simply walk on with the others, walking down the hallway.<p>

Eventually, we get to a dead end, though we see a doorway there, given that the light is there again. It flickers like the others do, but this one seems to actually be working, since it's actually lit more than it is not. I see the only light we've come across so far, but it looks like it's been broken. Now, three or four sparks fall to the floor from the light fixture, which illuminates the door in front of us in a faint light. I blink, noticing that the door looks like it's been sealed shut.

Shepard steps closer to the door, looking at it. "Damn," she says. "It's a dead end."

"Not quite," says Tali. "There's a door here. Maybe if I could hack into it..."

"It's not a hacking issue," Isaac points out. "It looks like a hardware issue. The power seems to be malfunctioning here."

"Hm." Mordin walks forward. "Odd pattern of light fixture, presence of sparks sparks even in power outage notable... Possible hull breach nearby?"

"It didn't look like there were any hull breaches when we approached," Kaidan points out.

"In that lighting?" Ellie asks. "I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't see a hull breach or two on the way in."

"And besides, it's hard to tell if there are hull breeches from a certain distance," Isaac comments. "Trust me on that. There were several hull breaches on the Ishimura, and I didn't actually see any of them until I had to fight my way out of the ship."

I nod. "Sounds familiar," I comment. I frown, looking at the door. "Well, it's the only way to the back of the ship, so we need to get this door open."

Shepard walks forward. "Hm..." She looks down at the flickering door control. "Well, there's still power being routed to it, so it can open..." She then opens her omni-tool. "I wonder..."

She then manipulates a few menus, and then touches the flickering door control with her omni-tool hand. The door jerks open just a little bit, shifting slightly there as we all watch some more sparks fall from the ceiling.

And then, one end of the door completely flies off. I feel my armor's magnetic boots kick in as suddenly, the door blows out. I see the vacuum in front of me right as the air gets sucked out of the hallway. I glance over to Isaac, seeing that he's hanging on to Ellie as they both hold on to the ship. I look out into the vacuum, feeling the last few pieces of air rush past me. I look at everyone else, noticing that they all look just a little surprised at what just happened.

As for me, I simply take a step forward. I look out into the vast vacuum before us, looking at the ship's hull. Wow, that is one messed up looking hull... I see outcroppings that at one point must have been walls and windows, and they all look twisted. Then there are the bits of debris just floating there: shards of glass and pieces of metal and glass that is bent in unnatural ways. Everyone else gets close to the door, and we see the way the hull has been twisted and burned. And not only that, it stretches down as far as we can see. The hull of the ship around us looks as if it's been absolutely _decimated_, with holes just about everywhere. I see a few lights flickering beneath us, and I can sense that those are doors as well. Literally, it's like someone gutted this ship with a giant hook hand, except that all the metal looks like it was super-heated and twisted. And some parts of the bulkhead... some parts of it look like they were fused together. Either way...

"Well... this confirms one part of my theory," Tali immediately comments. "This ship _definitely _used a conventional mass effect based FTL drive to get here. It was built to completely ignore the mass relay network, and to go distances that would be unsafe for a ship that is even slightly smaller."

"And without going through any atmospheres," Kaidan adds as he looks outside. "The static discharge definitely would have caused damage like this to the hull." Kaidan turns to Tali. "If the hull got destroyed by the static discharge, then why do you still need to see how they dealt with it?"

"Parts of the hull are still intact," says Tali. "If they had left the static discharge alone, then it could likely have destroyed the ship in a way that nothing would be left. I think there may be something else they did to keep the ship from being completely destroyed."

"Size should be sufficient to keep ship from disintegrating," Mordin points out. "Potential grounding points also possible. But lack of completely disintegrated hull, puzzling. Unless..." Mordin sniffs, suddenly realizing something. "Ah. Potential theory obvious. Surprised I didn't see it earlier."

"Yes," says Tali. "They could have grounded some of the static discharge to attempt to draw some power from it."

"Wait, wait," says Ellie. "So the size of the ship isn't because it has something huge on it?"

"At this stage, that's not likely," says Tali. "What's more likely is that the ship was huge to account for the static electrical charge that is left over from conventional FTL, and that the payload of this ship is actually much smaller than any of us might think. The protheans must have known that there would be nothing at these coordinates, so they built this ship in this size to account for the static build-up being discharged into the hull."

I frown. "Small payload..." I say. "Do you think...?"

"What we need might be in the direct center of the ship," says Tali.

"That... yeah," Shepard comments. "If the ship's size was to account for hull damage caused by the static discharge, then it would make sense to keep what we need as far away from the hull as possible; where better than the center of the ship? They'd probably have to take a few precautions to make sure that the static discharge didn't affect the very center of the ship, but since there are parts of the hull that are intact..." She shakes her head. "We still have to head to the engine room, though: the power might not be on in the center of the ship, and whatever solution is waiting there is useless if we can't get to it. Restoring power is still our top priority."

"If we can," says Tali. "If the engine was located close enough to the very back of this ship, it's likely we may not be able to power it back up."

"Let's also assume that any other electronics we find are fried," Kaidan adds. "The static discharge would likely have fried all the electronics closest to the hull. The fact that the doors are still functioning this close to the hull is a miracle."

"Right," I say. "So... we're still looking for the engine room."

"And now we need to find an area of this ship that _hasn't _been affected by this static discharge," Isaac comments. "I don't know about you, but the air supply in my suit is not limitless.

I chuckle, briefly remembering the zero-g bit with the asteroids on the Ishimura. "It's not limitless for us, either," I comment. "Come on. Let's go find the next part of the ship that isn't hanging out in a vacuum."

With this, we begin to file through the door, making sure we stay glued to the ground. As I do, I look out of the hull breach, seeing the stars off in the distance and getting a better picture of just how extensive the damage on the ship really is.

* * *

><p>I climb along the debris, looking to the stars occasionally as I carefully traverse the debris. I look around us, seeing the vacuum of space surrounding us. I look at a nearby hole, gripping the wall as... damn it, no, there's another dead end there. I swear I can see that the quality of metal changes as I begin to move away, but... no, that can't really be real. That's gotta be my eyes playing tricks on me.<p>

I climb away from this hole, looking out to the others. We've spread out a bit to see if we can find this thing faster. I can see Kaidan shimmering along above me, with Kal'Reegar climbing down the side of the ship close to where I am. I look above me, to see Isaac floating around there. I'm almost jealous of him, really: those thrusters he's got in his suit make life really easy for him, and he can just apply force if he gets too far from the ship. I shake my head, climbing across the ruined hull and being careful not to accidentally push myself away from the ship.

As I climb across, I hear a little something in my headset. "Hey Art," says Isaac.

I raise my eyebrow. "Isaac?" I ask. "What're you doing on a private channel?"

"I just... it's weird seeing you all crawling along the ship like ants," he says.

I roll my eyes. "Believe me, Isaac, I'm sure we're all _really _jealous of you right now," I reply. "If we only had your thrusters, this would go a lot quicker." I frown. "Uh... you _are _searching, right?"

"Yeah," says Isaac. I see him look into the ship. "I haven't had any luck so far."

"Well, we need to keep at it," I say. "Maybe we'll find something eventually."

I can feel that Isaac nods from the other end of the line. "I..." he pauses. "It's actually weird, that I'm not just being sent alone out here. I'm actually working with people here."

I shake my head. "Of course," I comment. "You're not just some kind of guinea pig, you know. You're a friend."

"I've never had someone say that to me when I was on the Ishimura," I comment. "Even my hallucination of Nicole had me do things. I guess it's just nice to finally be part of a group of people who aren't just using me."

I nod. "The Ishimura and the Sprawl were tough times for you, weren't they?" I ask.

"They were," Isaac comments. "These are actually harder if you ask me, but... I don't feel so alone anymore. I've got you guys watching my back." He pauses, and I can see him hovering in front of another part of the hull. "Thanks."

I blink. "For what?" I ask.

"For bringing me to the Brotherhood," Isaac replies. "I know it's fractured by now, but... After years of being in the mess I was in, it was the best thing anyone could have done for me. Thank you, Art."

I nod. "Hey, you just needed someone to trust," I comment. "I think you've found that."

"That I have," Isaac says. He pauses. "Hm... I think... no, there's no door on the other end. It just stops, too..."

"Keep looking," I say, approaching another hole in the hull that looks... _Damn _it, there's no way we can go deeper in that hole either. "We'll find something eventually."

With this, Isaac cuts the channel. I shake my head, climbing on the hull again. Come on, where _is _there a way into this ship?

* * *

><p>Eventually, we find a door that's miraculously still working, and not a moment too soon, either. As soon as the door closes behind us, Isaac and Ellie are able to take in a very deep breath as the air returns to us. I look at them as they shake their heads, looking around there.<p>

"Damn," Isaac says. "It's too bad the protheans didn't think to leave air canisters for us."

"Air canisters?" Kaidan asks. "I guess that's another thing that exists in your universe?"

"Yes," Isaac replies. "Normally, they're left floating around in space. If we need air, we just go up to it and breathe in." He shakes his head. "We can't worry about that now. We have to find the engine room."

Shepard shakes her head. "We've moved around the outside of this ship, and there's still no sign of it," says Shepard. "Well, at least we know to avoid the very back of the ship. There's no way anything survived that."

"We can agree on that," I say, turning my omni-tool's flashlight to the hall. "But if we managed to find an open-able door here, then that has to mean..."

Tali walks forward, shining her flashlight. Almost immediately, we see something that looks like a blast door. Tali walks up to it, shining her light as everybody else looks at it. I blink in surprise, shining a light down somewhere.

"Huh..." says Tali. "Well, this looks like a blast chamber of some sort."

I look up at the blast doors, blinking in surprise. I place a hand on it, looking at it as the others approach. "You think this might have been proofed for static discharges?" I ask.

"It's likely," says Tali. She then gestures to the door. "See? The door panel has power, and it looks like it's functioning perfectly. It's the only door that's been functioning perfectly since we got here."

"Which means that we've hit the area with our payload," says Kaidan. "So we're making some progress here." He looks up. "We just need to enter through this door here."

"This door which is quite possibly the only thing that houses what we need," Shepard comments. "Tali, can you hack into it?"

"I can try," says Tali. "I may be a bit out of practice, though, what with not having done this in a while."

"Out of practice? You?" I kneel next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, _querida_, you can do it. Believe me."

Tali nods, opening the suite. "I guess it's possible, if I've hacked into Collector firewalls," she says. She then walks next to the door panel, and I look over to the others as she begins to work. Isaac, Ellie, and Mordin all walk forward, with Mordin taking the briefcase off of his back. He then holds it with one arm, and nods.

Kal looks up around us. "Well, I have to say, ma'am, I didn't think I'd step onto a prothean ship," he says, looking at Shepard.

"Neither did I, Kal," Shepard replies. She places a hand on a wall. "I wonder what must have been going through their heads when they built this. I mean, this looks like it was completed quickly."

"Possible," says Mordin. "Most ships don't disintegrate from discharge. Bulkheads fused. Must have been made in haste."

"I'm getting that feeling too," Shepard comments. "I wonder what must have happened for this ship to be the solution they thought would help a future cycle. And when was this ship made? It just seems weird..." She sighs. "If only Liara was here. She'd have this place figured out almost immediately."

"I wish she was here too," Kaidan says. "I imagine she would've appreciated seeing something like this with her own eyes."

"How could you not?" asks Ellie. "This is a fifty thousand year old vessel. This has probably been the longest a vessel like this has ever existed."

"Not in one piece, though," I comment. "You saw the hull as we explored it just now."

"Still, a part of it is intact," Ellie points out. "I've yet to see a derelict vessel in such good shape." She then looks back at Isaac. "And hey, nothing has jumped out trying to kill us _just _yet."

"I guess not," says Isaac. He looks up. "It could still happen, though. I'm not putting it past anything, especially if there's anything alive on this ship."

I glance at Isaac. "Isaac, this ship is fifty thousand years old," I reply. "If there was anything living on it when we came in, they're all probably _dead _by now."

"So were the people on the Ishimura," he comments.

"And I highly doubt we have a strange alien artifact that turns people into zombies on this ship," Kaidan says. "If _that _was their solution to beating the Reapers, I'd seriously have to question the protheans as a people."

"We all would, Kaidan," I comment. I cross my arms. "Well, so far, we haven't found what we came here to find yet, but I wonder if-"

I then hear a gear move from where the door is. I look over, seeing the door begin to move. Tali stands up, closing her omni-tool and looking at the rest of us. I notice the way her eyes glint from behind the mask that she's feeling pretty triumphant. Which means...

The door behind her opens immediately. Once there, we see Tali shrug. "You were right, Art," she says. "I could do it."

I smile as Shepard walks past her. "Well, we're about to go into the important part of the ship," I comment. I look behind Tali. "I wonder what..."

I pause immediately, with Tali looking behind her instantly. All of us just walk forward, and... no, there's no way this is real... This is... what? What the hell is...

"Holy shit," I hear Shepard say as we walk into the area of the ship where things are actually contained. There's no way... this can't be possible!

As we walk inside, we see that this part of the ship... There are certainly dark patches, sure, but it's actually not that badly lit. Honestly, it's kind of like the Hydroponics deck of the Ishimura, only just a little brighter. The terminals are still on, too, and they actually shine green. I look around, seeing the walls that are colored a deep shade of red... it looks like several parts of the walls have rusted over. I'm not sure how it's keeping the vacuum out, but I won't concentrate on that, because if we can still breathe in here... Jesus Christ, this is incredible! I look at Shepard as she looks at the terminals. She approaches one in surprise, her fingers gracing the physical object before she begins manipulating it a little.

"Jesus Christ on a pikestaff, how the hell is this ship still functional?" I ask.

"I... this isn't possible," Ellie comments.

"Tell me about it, ma'am," Kal replies. "How the hell...?"

Tali looks around us as Shepard walks up to one of the terminals. "I don't know," says Tali. "But if this part of the ship is powered... it could confirm what we postulated earlier."

I look over at Shepard, watching as she approaches a terminal. Isaac immediately turns to her. His helmet peels away, and I see that he's looking at her in surprise. He blinks, and then nods after half a minute has passed.

"I think it's safe to breathe in here," he comments.

I shrug, bringing my hands to my own helmet and moving to remove it. "Indeed," I say, removing it a few seconds after. Hm... the air smells a little _too _sterile in here, but it's better than being in poisonous gas. "The power's on, _and _there's relatively fresh air in here."

"Who would think that such a combination would appear in a derelict ship thousands of years old?" Kaidan asks as he walks in, his own helmet in his hands.

"Potential limitless," Mordin comments as he pulls off his own breathing apparatus. "Possible that static discharge used to power ship. Fascinating. Unknown variables, must study! Perhaps Tali'Zorah's original proposition correct. Must know-"

"Relax, Mordin," I hear Shepard say. She's actually standing at one of the consoles there. "I think... yes, Tali was right. It mentions it in one of the logs here." She then brings up a green screen that forms right there at the terminal. We get close, crowding around the terminal as... wait...

Oh, hell, these are Prothean characters! And they're... what the hell?

Isaac leans forward. "Shepard, I don't recognize this," he says. "How do you read it?"

Kaidan steps forward. "It has to be the Cipher," he comments.

"The Cipher?" Ellie asks.

"Long story," I comment. "Let's just say that it's a little something she's got in her head that allows her to think like a prothean."

"We do not understand it completely, but it is useful, so we don't question it." Kaidan then turns to Shepard. "You can understand all this, right, Shepard?"

"I can," says Shepard. "I can read all this." She takes a few seconds to actually read the information in front of her. "It mentions things about the schematics of this ship, about how it was built quickly... about how most of the crew didn't expect to get this far into space alive."

I blink. "Really?" I ask. "Ship schematics?"

Tali walks forward. "Do they have anything specific in there?" she asked.

"Hm..." Shepard's fingers begin flying all around the keyboard. She concentrates, and I see Mordin, Kaidan, and Ellie hover around her shoulders. Kal, Tali, Isaac, and I all sort of hang back, looking at the Commander as she navigates menus. She looks at each one, taking a second to read it, and then going over to the next one. She takes a minute or two to do this, and then looks up at us, nodding.

"Well..." She then selects something, and I see something come up on my terminal as well as hers. It's written in the prothean language again, but this time I see a diagram come up. I watch as the diagram comes apart in front of us. "There's that," she says. I look at Tali as she leans forward. "Had to do a bit of digging, but..."

"Yes..." says Tali. "I can see that." She looks at it. "I don't understand the text, but the graphics they have here... They actually look pretty detailed." She then leans forward, bringing her fingers into it. To our surprise, it responds to her touch, and then she nods. "Yes." She then zooms in, and I see... what the hell is that weird little rod-like thing that's visible there? It goes out, and... "Ah..." Tali nods. "So my theory was correct. They attempted to draw some power from the static discharge."

"Did it work?" asks Ellie.

"I don't believe so," Shepard says. "It says here that the rod was fried." She shakes her head.

"Then the alternative is that they had a stockpile of eezo here," Kaidan comments.

"That could also be true," says Tali. "But that would mean there would have to be a crew on this ship."

"I dunno, Tali," Kal mentions. "It looks like this place was designed to host a crew."

I nod. "It looks like it," I comment. I then look back to Shepard. "Well, we have some idea how the ship got this far, and we know that it's still running. Now what?"

Shepard rubs her chin, and then begins scrolling through more objects on this terminal. "We still don't know what's actually _in _here," she comments. "For all this speculation of _how _it got here, we keep forgetting about _what _is in here that's so damn important in the first place."

"So now the next step is to find out what we need, and go on with that," Kaidan comments.

"Exactly," Shepard replies. "The Protheans went through a lot of trouble to try to get this ship this far away from the rest of the galaxy. We can't leave until we know what we're supposed to take with us. If there's anything to take with us at all, anyway."

"Small payload," Mordin points out. "Likely that package can be moved onto _Satie_ with reasonable success. Take it with us."

"And then there's the matter of what we do with it," Shepard says. "Maybe there's something on this terminal that..."

She then pauses, her hand hovering over the screen. She looks down at it, and then reads something on it. I blink... wait, why'd she stop...?

"Shepard?" Kaidan asks. We all lean closer to her.

She blinks, looking at us all. She then takes off her helmet (wait, her helmet was still on?), and it's then that I see the shocked expression on her face. She... she literally looks like she just saw a ghost here... She simply looks at us, and...

"You're not going to believe this," she says.

"Believe what, ma'am?" Kal asks.

She looks down at the terminal. "According to this, there were stasis pods positioned in the center of the ship," she says. She then looks down at the terminal. "According to this screen..." She blinks, her expression still shocked. "According to this... some of these pods are still fully operational."

...

Say,_ **what!?**_

I lean forward. "You mean we've got a live prothean in there?" I ask.

"Maybe more than one," says Shepard. She looks at there. "There were twenty-two stasis pods active when the ship first came here. There... Most of them have powered down. According to this, it says seventeen of the pods had to power down permanently to save power." She shakes her head. "I get the feeling that whatever was in those seventeen pods is dead..."

"Five still alive," says Mordin. "Remarkable even still. Five beings from prothean era..." He pauses, looking there in thought.

"That's... that's incredible," says Tali. "If only Liara were here. She would be thrilled."

I look over. "So... yeah," I say. "How _do _we get to these stasis pods, anyway?"

"They're in the center of the ship," Shepard comments. "But according to this terminal, the power to the central chamber's entrance had to be rerouted to preserve power. So we can't get in."

"So we find the engine room and reroute the power," says Isaac. "Unless there's something else here?"

"Not that I checked," says Shepard. "I suspect there might be an AI on this ship if the power was rerouted from the central chamber."

"You suspect?" asks Kal. "How do you know that?"

"The same thing happened on Ilos," Kaidan comments. "Except that on Ilos, there was nobody left alive to tell any tales." He looks at Shepard. "Here, though..."

"Wait, if there's an AI here, why hasn't it made itself known?" Ellie asks.

"It's likely that it's trying to save power," Shepard comments. "Or it could be that the AI is monitoring our communications the way Vigil did on Ilos. It would be pretty dumb to talk to a group of people when they can't understand you, you know? We need to get to the engine room." Shepard opens her omni-tool, and looks at it. "The terminal came with a map. It says that we need to take an elevator down to the next level. It's close."

I nod. "Then let's get going before any more of those pods go off-line," I comment.

Shepard nods. "The elevators are this way."

With this, we follow the commander to a set of doors on the far side of the room. I look over at Tali, who's looking quite pleased with herself. I shrug, following Shepard as we all get over to the elevator.

* * *

><p>When we step off the elevator, we find ourselves in a hallway. We quickly walk through this hallway, noticing that everything looks sort of... well, reddish, really. We continue to walk down the hallway, eventually coming to a door. Shepard opens the door, and almost immediately we walk into what looks like the engine room. Hm... This engine actually looks pretty similar to the Normandy SR-1's engine. Actually, the whole room looks similar to the engine room on the Normandy SR-1<p>

Isaac simply looks up. "Why does this look like the Normandy's engine?" he asks.

"Probably because most people in this galaxy got their technology off the protheans," I comment. "Some people probably still believed that the Protheans created the mass relay network right before the Reapers came in."

"We can't worry about that now," says Shepard, gesturing to Tali. "Besides... we have to reroute the power." She then brings up a menu, all done with prothean text. She then looks at Tali. "I'm not an expert," Shepard continues. "Tali?"

The quarian walks forward, looking at the menu. "Well, I can't read it," she says. "But if this is similar to how a drive core would work..."

Shepard nods, and then the commander and the quarian both get to work on it. I simply look up at the engine, leaning over the railing.

Ellie is the one who then walks up to me. "Is this really safe?" she asks.

"The original Normandy had something similar to this," I reply. "It's nothing new, believe me. And as long as we don't get too close, we should be okay." I frown. "I wonder when our Vigil expy will show its face."

"Hopefully before we have to manually reroute the power," Ellie comments. "I don't know how AIs work in this galaxy, but back home..."

"Well, that's a poor point of comparison, since most AIs in this place aren't really treated all that well." I shrug. "Anyway, if I knew Vigil, it's just monitoring our conversations so it knows how to talk to us."

"Let's hope it doesn't go any further," Ellie comments.

"_It has not._"

The voice interrupts all of us, and suddenly we look right at the central terminal in the room. There, we see some holographic thing that appears, and it causes Tali and Shepard to look up from where they're standing at the terminal. I blink in shock, stepping closer to that terminal. I look at it, and then glance at the geometric shape that is hovering right there.

And from there, the room is filled with a very pregnant silence. We simply look at the AI in shock for what feels like a very long time. It simply hovers there above us, the light of the drive core tinting the otherwise orange vessel so that it looks like a shade of brown. I look over at the others, before turning my attention back to what I can only assume is the prothean AI.

Finally, Shepard steps forward. "I'm guessing there was a reason you didn't appear earlier," she says.

"_There is,_" says the AI. "_I was monitoring your communications. It would be foolish to attempt to communicate with a species when they cannot understand you._ _There are many things that I must say. Many things, indeed, that I know about. But, if you assume I am an artificial intelligence... yes, that is correct. My behavioral patterns are based off of one Thurn Tarkaris._" It pauses. "_Some people in my time knew him as the Oracle of Mars._"_  
><em>

"The Oracle of Mars?" I ask. "How'd that happen?"

"_This vessel was constructed on Mars, many, many years after the Citadel had been taken,_" the AI continues. "_This is not important. You may simply call me 'Nuh'_."

"Nuh?" Kaidan looks up at the AI. "What name is that?"

"_It is a name,_" Nuh replies. "_Names are only trivial in the small scheme of things. I__ was created to watch over this vessel, and to ensure its operation upon your arrival._" I hear the AI... sigh in relief? "_It is fortunate that some of the crew still draws breath even now. Perhaps you will be able to ensure their survival._"_  
><em>

"Of course," says Shepard. "You let people die, though."

The AI's tint changes, and now it's very blue, which is not helped by the backlighting from the drive core. "_I had very little choice in the matter,_" Nuh says solemnly. "_The large number of stasis pods made powering the ship difficult. The entire crew boarded this ship knowing that many of them would not survive the full fifty thousand years. Even if I were to keep all power off and concentrate my power on the pods, I would only go for a thousand years before I would need to refuel the ship which rests in the middle of nowhere. And sometimes... I had no power to allow them to return to the stasis pods without killing the rest of the crew before your arrival._"

Shepard looks down. "So they starved to death..." she says. "And you let them die in here."

"Not likely," says Mordin. "Not many died on ship. Would have seen corpses. Also, smell." He sniffs quite loudly. "Smell, _very _unpleasant."

"_He speaks the truth,_" Nuh adds."_Many preferred not to face such a slow, painful death._ _Many chose to give themselves to the vacuum. I allowed them: I had no resources of my own to give them. Even military rations spoiled after a thousand years being stored in vacuumed spaces._" The AI's hue changes again. "_Aside from that, keeping food cold would have eaten at my resources. I only allowed enough food to last the journey to here._"

"Wait: did you kept all the doors running?" Kaidan asks. "Doesn't that sound counter-intuitive?"

"_I returned power to some of the ship's functions when the ship's scanner sensed the energy signature from your vessel,_" says the AI. "_Before then, I kept power running only to allow the pods to_ _run, and to allow the scanner to scan the area immediately surrounding this ship_." The AI pauses._ "__The amount of energy released from your vessel... I have never seen anything like it. Nothing in my calculations could have predicted such a method of travel. It was just as Thurn predicted... A group of sentient beings would come to this last testament to the prothean empire to save their own cycle. I cannot help but think he would be most pleased to see you here._"

Shepard shrugs, turning towards Isaac. "Well, you can thank this guy here for that," she says. "He imported a different FTL drive from somewhere else."

"_Somewhere else?_" Nuh asks. "_The Oracle mentioned that it might come from a different reality altogether..._"

"It was," Isaac comments. "It was from a reality where there were no mass relays." He shakes his head. "What does any of this have to do with anything?"

"_I apologize,_" Nuh replies, and I see it turn a shade of green. "_I am afraid I am lost in the wonder of the moment._" The AI then turns back to its original orange color. "_It... It is quite lonely here. And I fear that I shall be left alone when your inevitable departure comes._"

"You're not going to try to keep us here, are you?" Tali asks.

"_There is too much at stake,_" says the AI. "_I may wish to maintain company, but... I am but the last remaining fragment of a great race that has been torn to pieces._" The AI pauses at this again, before changing colors._ "__You seek to reroute the power to the door leading to the stasis pods. I will do this myself. But before you go, there is information I must tell you. The stasis pods..._"

"What about the stasis pods?" Shepard asks.

"_It has been many thousands of years,_" Nuh replies. "_Nearly all of the stasis pods have been kept closed, but... it will take the occupants many hours to get acclimated to the ship. Some of them have been in there for longer than ten thousand years._"_  
><em>

"I see..." says the commander. She then looks at Kal. "Kaidan, we have rations on the _Satie_, right?"

"We packed them just in case, Shepard," Kaidan replies. "I don't know if there's enough for five other people, but..."

"We'll go hungry for a day or two," I reply, waving it off.

"What the serviceman said," Shepard replies. "Kaidan, go back to the _Satie _with Ellie. You should get the rations."

Kaidan nods, saluting. "Of course, Commander," he says. He nods to Ellie. "We'll be back as soon as we can get back here."

"And for us..." I say, looking at Nuh. "Where do we go?"

"_The stasis pods are on this floor,_" he states. "_Though I feel the Commander knows the way._"

"I do," says Shepard. "Follow me."

And with this, we follow the commander. Ellie and Kaidan break off at the elevator, and we go through a door that had previously been powered down. With this, we walk through it, and begin walking down a pretty narrow hallway.

* * *

><p>Eventually, we reach a door. I notice that there's a small little box by this door, and before long I see Nuh appear before it. The door opens of its own accord, and then we all look at the artificial intelligence.<p>

"_There are the stasis pods,_" says Nuh. "_They will have much to tell you. Once I have woken up the remaining survivors, I will have enough power on this ship to run for another day according to the prothean calendar._"

"And how long is that?" asks Shepard.

"_Twenty__ hours,_" says Nuh. "_Prothean days are... relatively short, compared to the day cycles of some other species._"

I blink. "Well, twenty hours is still relatively long," I comment. "I mean, in the grand scheme of things it's not that big, but still..."

"_That is true,_" says Nuh. "_But time is so fleeting when we are at the end of existence. Tell me: do I dream, though I am not organic?_"

I pause, looking at the AI. It's Tali who steps forward, looking at the AI. "I..." Tali looks down. "I don't know if anyone can answer that question. But for what it's worth? I believe it's possible... Anything is possible..."_  
><em>

"_I hope so..._" says Nuh. "_In any event, I shall know soon when I lose power, never to be reactivated. But... this must be done._" The AI pauses. "_The sequence to wake them up should not take long. Even now, I have begun the initiation to wake them up. Hopefully, they will be with you soon._"

Shepard nods. "Thank you, Nuh," she replies. "We'll go from here."

And with this, Nuh simply falls silent. We look at the open door, and one by one we all file through it. I feel my heart rate climb just a little bit as we enter the room. I wonder what...

...

Whoah...

As soon as I enter, I look at the room around me. There are numerous strange things that lay all around us in a circle. I can sense that they were definitely meant to hold bodies in them, but... Jesus. Most of them are powered off, and they stand there like black coffins standing upright in a green haze. But there are some that are powered on, and I just see strange designs on these things. There is a white light that shines along various lines on these stasis pods, and I notice that one of them is slowly powering down in a most unusual way. I step close to this pod, glancing up and down at the pod. This is...

"Well," I hear Kal say as he approaches. "I didn't expect this."

"Join the club," Isaac comments as he too looks at another stasis pod. All of the stasis pods together just seem to power down immediately, and we all walk up to the stasis pods that were functional.

And then, at the same time, we hear a collective hiss from all five pods. Their doors open outwards, like a coffin would, and then we see the beings there in the position they must have been in when they first went to sleep. Their arms are crossed, and they all sort of look a little perturbed. Four of the beings I actually recognize, because they look quite a bit like Orange. Hell, one of them even has that slight feminine tilt to her head that I recognize from Orange. The fifth person, though... I don't recognize what species it's from, though it's odd that he has horns that are kind of like a ram's horns, only not as curvy. He looks remarkably mammalian, too, especially with that white hair that flows over the back of his head. Certainly, it's quite different from the protheans in the room, but...

I step forward, looking at the prothean in the stasis pod in front of me. He... I'm assuming it's a he anyway... he groans softly, and I look at him as his eyes open. It looks like it takes real effort for him just to open his eyes, but after several seconds, he eventually has his eyes half open. He then moves his body, slowly taking a step out.

And that's when he falls over. I quickly rush towards him, catching him just in time as I sling his arm over my shoulder. He groans tiredly, and I can feel that the feeling of his limbs returning to him must be an odd sensation for him indeed. It takes several more seconds for him to fully open his eyes, but when he does he looks directly at me almost immediately.

"W... what...?" he asks, his voice incredibly raspy. "What...?"

I nod, looking at him. "Don't worry," I say. "You just woke up. It's been... well, fifty thousand years..."

The prothean I'm holding simply blinks in surprise. "We... did not..." He pauses, blinking heavily.

I nod. "We'll explain soon," I comment. I then look at the others. I see that everyone else is supporting one of these beings, with Tali and Mordin both doubling up on one of them. "You've been asleep for a long time."

"I am... aware of that..." the prothean says to me. "The empire... Nuh..."

Nuh's avatar appears at a terminal right next to one of the stasis pods. "_I am here, Varkano_," Nuh replies. "_The empire... it is gone._"

"Long gone," I add. "Look, let's get you somewhere where you can sit down, okay? We can talk about everything that happened there.

The prothean nods weakly, and then we all look to Nuh. The avatar changes color. "_There was a seating area close to this room,_" says the AI. "_Allow me to redirect the power in that direction._"

We nod. "Thanks," Shepard says. There's a door on the other side that then opens, and then Shepard nods as she slings the strange horned guy's arm over her shoulder. "Come on, let's get these guys refreshed."

And with this, we all file out of the room, getting our new friends out of this place. I look to the prothean I'm supporting... wow, I can't believe I'm actually supporting a prothean. I just... wow. I can't believe I didn't realize this earlier...

I shake my head, simply coming to a room where there are various chairs at empty tables. I seat my prothean there, at which time he simply leans over his legs, looking down at the floor as he catches his breath.


	37. Chapter 36

_A/N: Okay. And we are back! This time... well, we are going to put our discovery of crazy Prothean artifact things on hold, 'cause for now, we actually have to advance the main subplot. And what are we gonna do with this subplot? Oh, you'll see._

_So without further ado, here's the next B Story chapter._

* * *

><p>Chapter 36: B Story: Journey to the Center of the Citadel, Part 1<p>

I lean against the wall of the general store we've just stepped into. It's a rather simple store, actually: a few novelty items, a few convenience items, and plenty of processed food to go around. I didn't even think that processed snack foods were a thing in the future, but here we are. And I actually don't think I can get enough of it anytime soon. It's also a rather simple set-up: it's at the base of a building, with a few windows looking outside and a few items we can take cover behind in case those turian husks show up. Either way, Bailey and Kolyat set up a barricade with which to defend ourselves in case things go south.

And now... well, it's just making sure we can hold out for a while. Everyone else is busy looking around the store searching for supplies, with Liara even pitching in to help with that. I simply stand back with Garrus, looking outside again. I don't know if we should go out there and try to find this tunnel, but at the same time this is one of those rare opportunities.

I shrug, looking to Garrus as he uncrosses his arms. "Well, this has been... wild," I comment.

"That it has," I comment. I look around. "At least we're all still in one piece."

"I don't know," says Garrus. "We've taken injuries..."

I pause, thinking about the close call where one of those turian husks managed to get Oriana in the leg. Thankfully, we were able to treat that, but if something like that happens again...

"We're still alive," I comment. "That has to count for something."

"We're alive now," Garrus adds. "But we're outnumbered, supplies could run out at any moment, and a lot of these things are really hard to kill." He looks up. "Unless we can find that thing you saw in your dream, we're effectively delaying the inevitable."

I sigh. "I know you're just being realistic, but..." I say. I pause, looking at him. "That's your cue to get us to keep looking for this hole, isn't it?"

"Yes," says Garrus.

I look behind at us. "I don't know," I say. "I don't want to leave them behind just yet... We've gotten through so much, but that's less guns for them. I mean, they know we'll have to break off at some point, and I know that too, but I don't know..."

"I don't think you should worry too much about us."

As someone finishes saying this, I hear footsteps coming towards us. I look behind Garrus and I to see Miranda walking towards us. She shrugs, holding a bag of processed snack food in her hand. She walks to the window of the store, and then turns to face me.

"We can handle ourselves," she says.

I blink, looking at Miranda. She seems to be all right, though she glances back at Oriana where she sits chatting it up with Kolyat. "But we're already taking four guns and a biotic with us if we leave," I say. "You need the extra protection, don't you?"

"Garrus is correct," Miranda replies. "Extra protection means nothing if there isn't a chance that we can survive this at all. You need to find whatever is there. And if it's there, then it may help us all."

"Will you just make sure they live?" I ask. "I know you can probably defend them, but... if we fail..."

"I have confidence that you won't," says Miranda. "You're right that I can defend them. I will do my best in your absence." She then looks behind her. "I'll go get Liara and Brendan for you. Last I heard, they wanted to join you."

I nod. "Thank you, Miranda," I say. "I guess I just need motivation sometimes."

"In these times, we all do," says Miranda. She then turns to the store itself and walks to where Liara and Brendan are.

I sigh, looking at Garrus. "You wouldn't think she'd be the one to say those kinds of things," I comment.

"She's got something to fight for," Garrus comments. "That's probably changed her completely by this point."

"I guess so," I say, looking to Miranda as she talks to Liara and Brendan. I shrug, turning my attention to the turian. "Well, I guess we continue looking for this thing."

"Yeah," says Garrus. "I guess it's time for us to go looking for this hole again.

* * *

><p>Around an hour or so later, we are still searching, and we have had no luck at all finding anything. By now, our search has widened beyond the general store's immediate vicinity, though we do return every so often to check back in with the other survivors. Nothing's attacked them so far, though we have had to shoot down the occasional husk at various points. Fortunately, we don't get very overwhelmed at all, as we continue searching. I feel my hope dimming every so often, though Garrus and Liara are still searching dilligently. Brendan...<p>

"Well, here we are again," says Brendan. He sighs. "Maybe Bailey was right. Maybe we're just chasing down a blind hope here."

Liara looks at us. "No, it has to be around here," Liara says. "We have to keep looking."

Brendan simply shrugged. "I just don't know, Broker," he comments. "I mean, what've we got to prove this. Two really similar-looking dreams?"

"That's exactly what it is," Liara comments. "There's no way that it's a coincidence." She nods. "Now come on. You said you were going to come in with us." Liara then turns to us. "If we find anything, we'll message you. The extranet still works."

"And how do you know that?" I ask.

"Because I answered her e-mail that way," Brendan replies. "I guess... well, if we're going to find this non-existent hole, we better get going." The operative nods, and then we all go around. We begin to look into various alleyways, looking for this large hole that we're supposed to find in the Kithoi Ward.

We've followed the same routine for quite some time since Garrus and I began looking for what was mentioned in the dream. We haven't had any luck, but we've kept searching relentlessly even as the others take a break. Damn it, that hole has to be somewhere... And if we're ever going to get out of this mess, I have the feeling that whatever is down there is going to help us get out of it. But it's no good if we can't get there first.

I look at Garrus as we continue looking in various alleyways. I sigh, walking up to an alleyway and seeing that this one leads to another dead end as well. I pause, leaning back against the wall I'm looking at. Garrus notices this, and walks over to me. When he's right next to me, he puts a hand on my shoulder, and I find myself looking into his eyes.

"You sure we should be doing this?" Garrus asks. "We've been searching everywhere we go, but we can't find this thing."

I sigh. "I dunno, Garrus," I comment. "I'm not about to give up hope. I'm damn close to it, but I'm not about to give up just yet. We either need to keep moving until we find this hole, or we make sure that it's not true. I don't know..." I sigh.

Garrus simply nods. "You know I trust your instincts on this, right?" Garrus says. "I wouldn't be looking for this thing with you if I didn't."

I look right at Garrus, sighing. "Look, Garrus..." I say. "If you think I'm being an idiot with this hole, you can just tell me. I won't hold it against you."

"You say that like it would make a difference," says Garrus.

"Well... I'd at least appreciate some honesty," I reply.

"Trust me, I'm being honest," says Garrus. "Besides, you might be right. I know you. You wouldn't be doing this unless you felt you had a good reason to. And I'm with you to the end."

I... well... I don't know. He's right in that I think we might actually get some good out of this if we keep on this track. I mean... I can remember that dream even now like I was just going through it in real life. That's not normal for dreams... It just isn't... We can't seem to find this hole anywhere. Maybe it's a false hope, but I'm not about to give up. I need to verify it. I need to see what is happening. And I'm pretty sure that it's not false, considering the circumstances surrounding this.

I nod. "I guess..." I pause. "Thanks, Garrus. I needed that."

The turian simply smiles. "Any time, Madison," he says. "Now... let's get going. We have quite a bit more of this area to look over."

He takes my hand, and then we continue looking for this large hole into the keeper tunnels.

* * *

><p>Eventually, Garrus and I get to an alleyway. This one curves in a little bit, so the two of us enter, keeping our weapons at the ready just in case something decides to ambush us there. We move around the curve, and... wait...<p>

Garrus and I exchange a look as we get closer to the end. Huh... Wait a second... I kneel down, looking at the ground. There are a few markings on the ground that I don't recognize. I don't recognize these markings, but... But that's a good thing. I look down the alley, seeing that it goes down some distance, before... okay, I don't think there are any alleys that normally just slope down. That would just be counterproductive, especially since the Citadel has no real basement.

I look to Garrus. "Well, I guess here is one place we use that program," I comment.

"Yes," he says, opening his omni-tool. "I wonder what Viran might say to this."

I shrug. "He'd probably just go on about how bad the situation is," I comment. "He was a great ally on the field, but I'll be damned if he wasn't a major killjoy."

"True," he said. "But in a perfect world, we'd have Nogond here to tell us to look on the bright side." He then nods, looking down at the omni-tool before moving his hand as if he is hitting a table.

I open my omni-tool almost immediately, going to my program just as the circle finishes forming around us. I look there as a marker is given to us, and it looks like it's magnifying everything... Hm...

I walk forward, grabbing the marker with my omni-tool hand. I see some information come up. Okay, let's see... Okay, girl, this looks... Wait.

"That's odd," says Garrus. "Keepers don't leave marks like this."

"Of course it's not the keepers," I comment, reading the information. "The markings are really deep. There's no way a keeper could have caused that." I shake my head, standing up and walking up to the alley wall. "Whatever caused these scratches was carrying something heavy, or was heavy and just dragging its feet along."

I nod, looking up at the walls around us. Hm... I flick my hand in the air, watching as a marker comes out over the wall further down the passage. I walk over to the wall, catching the marker and reading it. "And it looks like there's more things here," I comment. "The program detected evidence of a biotic impact. Just a standard one, but I don't think you'd get an impact in an alley like this unless there was something important happening."

Garrus nods, walking down a little further. It's then that I notice that the scratches keep going down the alley. He nods, looking along. I notice he's changed to his flashlight, and is walking a little further down the alley as it slopes down. I blink, following him further into the alley We move further along, and I start to notice... holy fuck...

I look at the wall, seeing a dead asari laying there in a pool of her own blood. The smell is incredible, and I see that the corpse...

Garrus walks up to the corpse, quickly changing the omni-tool program back to Viran's program and flicking his wrist. I see the circle appear, and then I see some information. The turian grabs the marker with this information, and then I find myself walking up to him. Even as the smell comes in... I try to ignore it, but her body just looks so _mangled_. Limbs are bent at odd angles, her skull looks like it was caved in, and she just looks... wow...

"I think I know what did _this_," I comment.

"It's obvious," says Garrus. He looks at the information he caught. "According to this, this woman died a few hours ago. The corpse is pretty fresh..."

Garrus looks down at the body, and then I look down and notice something odd. There's a trail of blood that leads away from this body. It's also then that I notice that the asari's legs are missing. It just goes off into the darkness, and...

"Do you think maybe the hole down there is less obvious?" I ask.

"Probably," says Garrus. "It might be dangerous to just go down there with only two of us, though. If it _was _in fact one of those huge husks that caused this, we'll be fighting it in a narrow corridor. And that wouldn't be a good idea."

"That it would not," I comment. I then close Viran's program and begin looking through the menus... Okay... "I'll go ahead and send Liara the message."

"All right," says Garrus. "Let's hope the Reapers can't detect us through the extranet."

I shrug, and simply begin typing out a brief message to Liara.

* * *

><p>It takes Liara and Brendan more than a few minutes to find us. When they do finally find us, we simply bring them up to speed on what we noticed, and they seem to take it in.<p>

It's then when Liara looks into the darkness where the blood trail went. "So you think we might find our hole in this direction?" she asks.

"Possibly," says Garrus. "We also called you over here because we don't want to deal with this creature alone."

Brendan shrugs. "Well, it's closer than we've gotten so far," he comments. "And if this brute isn't inside the keeper tunnels?"

"We'll see," I say. "Hopefully we won't get cornered by it." I walk forward, turning my omni-tool's flashlight on and pointing it at where the trail of blood goes into the darkness. "Well... come on. We won't find out what's in the darkness by just standing here."

I lead the way into the darkness, everyone else coming in behind me. Soon enough, I see other lights shining the way into the darkness. With this, I continue walking forward, glancing back at the others.

I keep my flashlight directed on the trail of blood as we advance further down the alley. The others keep flashing their flashlights above us, and after a while I notice that the area above us has a ceiling. It's a very plain ceiling, though I actually see that the metal has both rusted over, and it doesn't look particularly smooth. I guess the keepers must not have expected anyone to come this way. And really, who's to say they were entirely wrong?

I simply keep walking, hearing the footsteps behind me. Eventually, as we walk down the corridor, our footsteps begin to echo slightly. I subconsciously start treading much more lightly on the ground, but this doesn't really do much to stop the footsteps of everyone behind me from echoing. I find myself glancing back at them, sighing in relief as they keep walking forward. At least I've still got people at my back... I just hope they don't get whisked out from behind.

After a while, I lose the trail of blood. It just slowly began to build up, and I realize that the asari corpse must have been taken _out_ rather than taken in. And eventually, I see blood that curves out as if the body had started there. I pause, looking down at it and feeling myself gulp. This... This must be where the asari actually died... and maybe there is no brute in there after all... right? Those bloodied pawprints there can't be it...

I keep going. It's hard not to, with darkness like this. It almost calls over to us. I slowly start to feel my free hand shake, but I suppress it. C'mon, girl, you've been in worse situations than this, you can handle an exorbitantly dark alleyway that seems to go on forever... Yeah, you can take it.

Though... why does it feel like the walls are closing in on us? With every step we take, they just seem to go in a little bit... It's like they're trying to seal us in, except that they're coming in from the wrong direction. But they seem to be getting closer... This isn't...

Eventually, I start flashing my flashlight onto pieces of debris. When I look up and shine my light on the walls, I see that large pieces seem to have been hit out of them. The fact that this is rusted metal... Something had to have come through here. I get the feeling that whatever it was... Shit... I've got a really bad feeling about this...

I continue forward anyway.

Eventually, though, I hear a loud sort of strange breathing sound coming from behind us. And that breathing is also accompanied by large footsteps and... Wait... behind... right where we just...

I look back at the others in the darkness, seeing that they're still there. However, in the faint lighting from their omni-tools' flashlights, I can see that there's something _else _here with us. It looks large, plodding, unfamiliar... and I can tell it's there even though it's at least thirty feet away...

Holy fuck, that's not...

I shine my flashlight back down the alley. And sure enough, I see one of those massive _things _again, looking directly at us. It looks like it was just ducking under the wall, and when I flash my light on it, it immediately looks towards us.

Oh my god!

I let out a gasp of shock, and that's all the warning the others get before they turn around and flash their lights on the brute.

And then, it roars, and begins running straight for us.

"Shit!" Garrus shouts! "Come on! Move!"

I don't wait for him to start shouting this, as by the time he tells us to move my feet are already carrying me as fast as they can down the rest of the alleyway.

The brute lets out another roar, and then I find myself narrowly ducking under a piece of the wall. I look behind me, flashing my flashlight there to see Liara and Brendan clear it. Garrus clears it just as the brute runs up to it, and I see the brute hit the wall. I immediately turn around, ducking just in time as my head narrowly misses a beam that's come out of nowhere. What the...? I glance back, seeing that there's a beam right there in the middle. I turn around to look at my surroundings, just as I hear a loud burst and an incredibly loud hissing of the air. The brute roars again as we continue running down this alley... tunnel...? I don't know anymore.

"Shit!" I hear Brendan shout. "And we had to get chased by one of those futtari things!"

I hear someone throw a warp, and look back to see that there's a little blue light... Liara. "Let's not worry about that," she says. "How do we get this thing off of our-?"

I hear a loud crash from behind us, followed by a loud yell. I look behind me to see that Brendan is scrambling to get up from the ground, with the Brute looking like it just slammed its hand there. Liara has turned to help him up, and she... oh shit!

The Brute slams its hand down on where Liara is. Thankfully, she rolls out of the way just in time to avoid getting crushed by the creature's claw, but she ends up letting go of Brendan to do so. Shit, we've gotta-!

Without thinking, I run right for Brendan, grabbing his arm and pulling him away as fast as I can... Oh, thank God, he looks unhurt. But Liara... I look at Liara as she dodges another claw attack. I look immediately at Brendan, who's looking up at the Brute.

I then pat Brendan on the shoulder. "Go," I say. "I got this!"

He looks at me in confusion, but before he can reply I'm drawing my hand canon. "Are you-?"

"I need to get it off Liara," I say. "Go!"

Brendan only looks at me for a second more, and I take a couple of steps back. With this, I fire at the brute just as Liara has jumped towards us. The brute notices Liara first, but as I fire my gun at it, it looks directly at me. I then see it roar in frustration, and then I grab Liara's wrist and we both immediately make a break for it. I feel the brute slam the ground where I was a few seconds ago, but by then I only feel a light tremor as we continue running.

Liara and I catch up to Brendan and Garrus almost immediately, and then we continue running. The brute lets out a loud yell again, as we keep running. Somehow, the ceiling begins to bear down on us, and I find myself ducking under quite a bit more of the ceiling. I hear plenty of loud crashes behind us, no doubt because the brute is beating away at all the low ceiling.

Eventually, we end up getting slowed quite a bit by the lowered ceiling, as soon the ground begins to behave oddly as well. I take the opportunity to look behind us at the brute as it begins beating away at the tunnel that has started to form around us. I feel my heart rate climb a little bit, though I continue moving into the tunnel.

Damn it... at this rate... oh, fuck, this goes to a dead end, doesn't it? We just followed all this way, and now there's one of those things in our way... No, keep it together, girl, you've got this. Keep it to-

I then hear a loud crash, and suddenly the brute is directly in front of my face. It lets out a loud roar, though I can't see its claws anywhere. I let out a loud shout as I feel it's harsh breath on my face. Oh God... No, no, no-

I feel Garrus' talon grab my wrist, and I feel myself get yanked back. The brute slowly claws its way forward through the constricting corridor, and my feet eventually begin to obey my mind as I scramble in after Garrus. Crap, crap... I find myself crawling now, with the brute right at my feet... C'mon... crap, girl, move your feet...

And then, I get yanked in through a hole. It takes me a few seconds to realize that it's a hole that was too small for the brute to get through. Thus, I watch as the brute tries to claw its way through, but is ultimately unsuccessful. I only then realize that my breathing is very heavy, and look back at the brute to see it roar in frustration. Shit...

I only realize after a bit that I'm still sitting on the ground. I look behind me, slowly moving to stand up. I notice that Liara and Brandon are both brushing their clothes off, with Garrus looking at me with a look of great relief. I eventually get to my feet, breathing out as the brute roars once more.

"Futtar, that was a close one," Brendan comments.

I find myself taking a relieved breath. "I know!" I say. I shake my head. "Well, at least we know that Brutes can't get past that point."

"I guess," says Liara. "But... well, there's also the fact that we're stuck here in... in..." She pauses, looking around us. "Where are we, anyway?"

I turn my flashlight back on (wait, it turned off?), and then look all around us. When I do, I see that the area feels much more constricted now. The walls and ceiling are a little close, such that there's only enough shoulder room for two of us. And the ceiling... I notice that Garrus has to crouch slightly, and even then he's got one hand on the ceiling, as if he's trying to make sure he doesn't bump his head against the ceiling. I myself hold my hand up, and find I can touch the ceiling with my arm still bent. Hm...

"I think we've found our keeper tunnel," I comment.

"It certainly looks like it," Garrus comments, his other hand waving his flaslight around. "C-SEC officers don't normally see the inside of the keeper tunnels, but I've heard stories from duct rats. This sounds like what they would talk about."

"Well, I guess we're one step closer," I comment. I shrug, looking at Liara. "And it turns out that we were right about this after all." She shoots a glance at Brendan.

"Well, to be fair, Liara, I can see why he'd be skeptical," Garrus points out.

"Yeah," says Brendan. "And besides, we haven't even started trying to find where this _thing _is..."

"That too," Garrus adds. "So really, we've only just started. We have to start moving now, getting to the center of all this."

I nod. "That we do," I say. "We have to keep going. We have to follow this tunnel to wherever it leads."

The Shadow Broker agent shakes his head. "I don't know why I'm here anymore," he says. "But... whatever." He shakes his head. "Well, if there even _is_ anything there... I guess we keep going."

"That we do," I comment, looking around as we begin to move further into the tunnel. "Come on."

With this, we begin to go further into the tunnel.

* * *

><p>We continue moving down the tunnel slowly, finding that it doesn't get any broader for a while. Sure, it does twist around a little bit, but this area looks like nothing more than an introductory hallway. It's also really dark, meaning we can't really see anything. I imagine the Keepers must have some of the best eyesight in the world to account for this darkness. Seriously, it's crazy when your only light source is... well... our flashlights. I can barely see anything except for what the flashlights show. Well... we have to keep going...<p>

I simply reach forward, keeping a hold of Garrus' hand. As long as that's there... I follow Garrus, my eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. I look at Liara and Brendan as they continue down the hallway. I wonder what waits down there...

And is there anything else further down the tunnel? I mean... there was the brute there, but... what'll we find. I know the occupational hazards in the tunnels, but... what if there are other threats waiting down there? What if the Reapers anticipated this and sent some soldiers down there. I just... No, girl, keep your head straight. That's all you can do around here. Just keep your head straight, hold on to Garrus' hand, and keep going...

I then hear footsteps right in front of us. Almost instantly, all of us point our flashlights forward. I don't know what that was, but it definitely didn't sound like a keeper to me. I hear someone position their gun, and see a light blue shimmer where Liara is standing. She must be preparing to use her biotics or something. We point forward, and then we see that there's someone there... well, that his foot is peeking out of a section of the wall, anyway. Actually... now that I think about it, I see _two _sets of feet there.

I frown, stepping forward and looking ahead. "Who's there?" I ask loudly.

I hear one of the feet shift almost immediately. "Madison?"

... Wait, I know that voice!

"Jarel?" I ask, stepping forward. "Jarel, is that you?"

"It's me!" he shouts. "I've got a drell with me."

Garrus points his flashlight at the ground in front of him. "Come out, then!" says Garrus.

Immediately, I see two people round the corner. One of them is a drell that... wait.

"Nadeire?" I ask.

"Madison?" he asks, looking at us. "So you survived!"

"We did," I say. "I didn't think we would either." I frown. "Where's will?"

"I honestly do not know," said Nadeire. "We were in different parts of the Citadel when the attack began. When I tried to contact him..." he shakes his head. "It's only thanks to my salarian friend here that I was able to stay alive this long at all..."

I blink, looking at the reddish brown salarian as he comes out from behind the wall. I nod, looking as he approaches us. "Jarel..." I blink, walking towards him as he moves to meet us. "Jarel, of all the places..."

"I know!" he says. "And you're here too!"

Garrus nods, shrugging as he looks at Jarel. "We're looking for something here," he says. "But you..."

"We were hiding," says Jarel. He shakes his head, looking past us. "That brutish thing is still there, isn't it?"

"Well, it chased us in here, so yes, it is," Brendan comments.

"Damn." I look to Nadeire as he shakes his head. "That is..." He shakes his head. "Well, that is just _wonderful_. We are stranded in the keeper tunnels with no way out."

"I did warn you," Jarel comments. "I did say we might get trapped here."

I shake my head. "That's not important now," I say.

"She's right," says Jarel. He looks up at us. "I get the feeling you came here intentionally."

I nod. "It's not much to go off on, but..." I glance to the side. "Let's just say I have reason to believe there might be a way to end all this further down the tunnel."

Jarel blinks. "If I didn't know the Normandy as well as I do, I'd say you were crazy," he comments.

"Wait, you want to go _deeper _into these things?" Nadeire asks. "Why would you even think there might be anything the-"

"A dream told 'em," Brendan interjects. "Trust me, I don't think it's very solid grounds either."

A drell looks up at us. "So you expect us to go along with you to find something that I do not have very good reason to believe even exists," he says. "Do we even have an option?"

"Not unless you like getting ripped in half by something that shouldn't exist," Garrus immediately comments.

"I don't know either," says Jarel. He then looks at the drell. "But trust me on this. I know these people. They wouldn't be doing this unless they felt they had good reason to. Seeing as how we have no choice, it looks like you're going to have to deal with this, Nadeire."

I frown. "Look, Nadeire," I say. "I had the exact same dream as someone else did about this."

Nadeire frowns. "Exact same?" he asks.

"Mostly," Liara comments. "We met the same hooded figure who said the exact same thing..."

I nod. "Exactly," I say. "If this had been any other circumstance, I would've been skeptical. But the fact that I had the same dream someone else did... That is uncanny. And I don't think it's a coincidence." I look behind Nadeire, into the tunnel behind him. "Look, if you help us look for this thing, I promise you that I'll help you find Will. And even if we don't live through this, we need to find it. The rest of the Citadel needs it, and it could save Will." I say this as I grip his shoulders. "If we get out of this alive, I promise you I'll help you find Will."

"You make a very tempting offer," Nadeire replies. "Can you guarantee that we will come out?"

"I can't," I say. "The keeper tunnels are a dangerous place, even if they are larger than I hear they normally are." I sigh. "But if we get out of this alive..."

Nadeire nods. "I suppose that will have to be enough," he says. He nods, looking directly at me. "Well... I guess either way I do not have a choice."

"I don't think so," says Jarel. He then looks at us. "I'm in either way. You look like you could use an extra gun, really."

"Extra guns are always nice," Garrus comments. He then looks at me. "I think we've spent enough time here, Madison."

"I do too," I comment, nodding to everyone else. "There's going to be something at the end of this tunnel. We need to find out what that thing is, and what we have to do with it."

"Then let's get going," says Brendan.

Nobody else says a word as we begin moving again, Jarel and Nadeire shifting around us and bringing us around the corner that they had been hiding behind barely a few seconds later. I see that the tunnel doesn't expand outwards in any way at all, so we simply continue forward, feeling a little cramped in here due to the size of the tunnel.

* * *

><p>The tunnel doesn't expand. If anything, it actually contracts first. Now, we're only moving in single file, with me bringing up the front and Nadeire bringing up the rear. Or, I think he is, anyway. It's hard to see in this darkness, and especially when we're all in a straight line. I've just gathered that from inference, and how we sort of formed when we all got into this stretch of the tunnel.<p>

Another thing I notice, too, is that gravity is beginning to act a little strangely. We're still grounded there, but we're now feeling much more of a sideways motion. It's not noticeable enough to throw us off balance, but it definitely does feel strange to be walking in a straight line. I myself place my hands on the walls around us from time to time to steady myself just a little bit. We don't say much, however, and we simply keep moving.

"Does this open out at any point?" Nadeire asks.

"I doubt it," says Garrus. "And if it does, it probably won't get very big."

"We'll see about that," says Jarel. "We've been able to get in this far without having to turn back. Maybe our luck will hold."

"Perhaps," I say, flashing my flashlight on the walls. They look like rusted metal. "I take it the keepers don't really maintain their own tunnels..."

"That strikes me as odd," Liara comments. "When they have nothing else to do, you think they would go into their tunnels and maintain them."

"People don't really use 'em, though," Brendan comments. "Maybe they just don't see the need for this."

I frown. "Maybe," I comment. "That's the only explanation we've got so far." We continue on. Well, if it's unkempt-

"Wait!"

I hear Liara exclaim this pretty loudly, even as Garrus tugs the back of my jacket. I glance behind me, turning my flashlight in what little lighting there is to see that Liara is looking at a small section of the tunnel wall. I shine my own light on it, noticing that Garrus is straining to stay out of the way of my light. I look at the speck of wall...

I frown. "How's that different from the rest of the...?"

My question trails off when I see that there's a relatively deep scratch there. It's a relatively deep scratch, which actually looks a little younger than the rest of the wall. And it doesn't look that much younger: the only reason I can see that there is because it seems less rusted over than the entire rest of the wall. Hm...

I shine my flashlight on the rest of the... holy crap girl... "There are more of those things over here," I say, moving forward and pointing my flashlight at the wall. I start moving forward, and then see that the rest of the tunnel looks like it was dug out. Huh... That's strange...

"You think the keepers did this?" asks Jarel.

"I don't know," says Liara. "It's not likely if the rest of the wall is there. But if they did dig this tunnel up, and they did it recently..." Liara's hand trails along one of the scratches. "One thing's for sure, though. The rust here is less than the rust anywhere else. It's not very recent, but it's recent enough that these scratches could have been made just after the prothean invasion."

"Do you have a way to confirm that?" Nadeire asks.

"Not without some very expensive equipment," Liara comments. "As it is, though, we can only guess. This could be the keepers that left it there, but given the consistency of the rest of the tunnel I don't think that's the case. It could be..."

"So if that's true, then the Protheans _did _leave something here after all," Brendan says. "Futar, but this is crazy."

I roll my eyes. "You have no idea," I comment. "Well, if they did leave something, I doubt we're going to find it by standing around in this tunnel." I begin walking forward again. "We should keep-"

And then, I step forward. I realize too late, however, that my foot doesn't step onto anything even resembling solid ground. And so, I find myself falling a brief distance, letting out the beginnings of a scream.

Thankfully, however, Garrus grabs my arm just in time, and so I simply collide against the wall, the impact silencing me. I notice that the tunnel is a little brighter now, and when I look down I see a glowing yellow circle beneath me. That's strange, it's almost like it's glowing... And why is it that it's a little hotter in here?

I look up at Garrus, who looks like he's straining to lift me up. I glance at the wall that's right there, planting my feet against it as best I can. I continue looking up as Garrus begins to pull, and I end up walking up the wall with his assistance. I look down at the bright yellow circle again, blinking and shaking my head as I then come back so I'm level with everyone else. I blink, looking at that place I just left...

"Madison? Are you all right?" Liara peeks her head out, having just asked these questions.

I look back to the hole, shining my flashlight and... wow, that's a relatively narrow hole. I could step over it easily. "I'm fine," I say. "Just jostled is all." I frown. "What the heck is that hole doing there?"

"I don't know," says Brendan. "What was down there?"

"Some kind of yellow circle," I comment. "And it got a bit hot."

"Well, we're not going down there," says Garrus. "You just saw one of the keepers' protein vats."

Jarel blinks. "Oh dear..." he says. "And the keeper tunnels have more protein vats than are usually seen on the Citadel." He pauses. "To think that they can just sneak up on you like that..."

"Yeah," I comment, looking back there. "I mean, falling into a vat of superheated protein? I don't know if I want to go like that..."

"I don't think any of us does," Brendan comments.

"Yeah." I look forward again. "Well, let's keep flashlights pointed at the ground at all times, then. I don't think we can really fall into one of those things again..."

Garrus nods, and I feel his taloned hand resting on my shoulder. "Let's keep going," he says. "We still have no idea what we're supposed to be looking for, but at least we know we're on the right track."

And with this, we all begin to move again. I step over the hole I had previously fallen into, and then we continue our trek deeper into the bowls of the Citadel.


	38. Chapter 37

_A/N: All right! We are back with more MV3. Sorry the updates have been coming a bit slowly, but life is getting really busy for me. Stay calm, though, 'cause hopefully my life will unclutter itself soon!_

_Anyhow, I do actually have to thank one person for stuff: I would like to extend thanks to StellarStateLogic on DeviantArt for allowing me to use her concept art of the oravores, her race that also was around during the Prothean era. You'll find out which one is the odd one out as you read the chapter, so for now, stay with me here._

_Again, I don't really have much else to say here, so I'll just give you the chapter._

_Behold!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 37: The Unknown Part 2: Ravel: Gaspard de la Nuit<p>

Around two hours pass while the protheans and the one horned guy catch their breath, getting used to this environment again. Kaidan and Ellie came back with rations pretty quickly, and I can sense that these guys were _hungry_, since they dived right in without regard for proper manners. I can't say I blame them, really: being cooped up in a tight space for over fifty thousand years probably makes you really hungry. I simply stand next to Tali and Isaac, watching with everyone else as our new prothean friends eat.

I notice that all of these protheans have rather dark green skin tones, except for one that looks a little more feminine than the others. She looks like someone dumped bleach on her, and I notice that her eyes are red. I'm not sure if 'skin' is the right thing to say these guys have: they look more insect-like in nature. Maybe it's 'carapace' or something? I dunno. And as for the horned guy... well, he kinda looks like some aged mythological beast that can stand upright. And I mean that: even sitting, this guy is _huge_. If he were standing, he would be at least three heads taller than the tallest one of us here. Also, the fact that he's covered in fur doesn't help, but the way his face is structured makes him approachable, so...

Eventually, the horned guy looks at us, setting his finished meal on the table. "So... how did you find this place?" he asked.

I glance to the side, pulling Orange out and placing her on the table. "It's a long story," I comment. "But let's just say that I found this thing, and through a lot of complicated things I was eventually led to this point. The Fade is an odd place..."

"So that is what the primitives call it," says one of the other protheans mid-bite.

"Primitives?" Shepard asks.

"Yes, primitives," says the same prothean. "We saw you as you were an evolving species. Our base hovered very close to your homeworld. We were... _curious_ about the development of primitive weapons."

"You realize that it's fifty thousand years in the past, right?" Ellie asks.

"I think they do," the horned guy mentions. "It has been two hours, and we do not yet know who you are."

"Spent getting bearings," Mordin comments. "Lack of conversation understandable. Warranted, in this case. Introductions necessary soon."

"Mordin's right," Shepard says. She points to herself. "I am Commander Jocelyn Shepard of the Alliance navy. These are the people I have had the pleasure to fight with."

"Soldiers," a prothean... _lady_ asks, apparently. Yes, I was _right_! "A very honorable caste to come. And is there a scientist?"

"You could say we have two scientists, actually," Shepard says. "Mordin Solus and Isaac Clarke." She gestures to the two people in question. "Isaac actually designed the ship we took to get here."

"It does not take one person to drive a dreadnought here," a third prothean points out.

"It's not a dreadnaught," says Isaac. "It's a ship with an entirely new FTL drive."

"A new FTL drive?" The first prothean pauses, showing genuine shock at this.

"Yes," says Isaac. "And we had it built in record time, believe it or not."

All is silent in there for a few seconds before the main prothean places his ration down. "Perhaps you are not so primitive after all." He then stands up. "I am Captain Verek. I was the captain of this vessel. These are my crew members." He first points to the female prothean. "Vala was our navigations officer." He then gestured to the third prothean that spoke. "Mubuk was similarly a navigations officer, though he also prepared the stasis pods." The captain then gestures to the silent one. "This is Konkwo. Do not mind him: he does not speak very often." Konkwo nods his head in agreement as the captain moves on. "And the only other person here is our AI specialist, Servero." The horned guy nods in acknowledgement.

"Only specialists?" asks Shepard. "I see..."

"You are the dominant race of this cycle?" asks Verek.

"No, actually," says Shepard. "That would be the asari. Us humans are actually relatively new on the galactic scene."

"But they've become very important players, sir," Kal comments. "They're one of four races with a seat on the Council."

Verek blinks in surprise. "Your Council is not governed by one race?" he asks in genuine surprise.

I blink. "No," I comment. "The asari came to the Citadel first, and then a bunch of other races joined in. The turians and the salarians also have seats on the Council." I shrug. "What's so odd about working with other races towards a common good?"

"I just..." Verek pauses, glancing away. "Never mind."

I frown, looking at the prothean captain. "Are you telling us that the prothean Council was all prothean?" Tali asks.

"It was an Empire," Vala corrects. "Not a Council. The other races were our loyal subjects." She pauses, looking up at us. "And yet you mean to tell me that other races can cooperate?"

I glance to the side. "Yes," says Shepard. "We cooperate. We aren't ruled by any one race."

"And you have not had conflicts?" asks Mubuk.

Shepard frowns. "Well, yes, but-!"

"Then your system is flawed," Verek replies. "It would be better to dominate them all."

I glance to the side, looking at everyone around us. "Well, _this _is gonna be interesting," I comment.

"Tell me about it," Ellie comments. She then looks at the protheans. "How did you build this ship?"

"Quickly, and in secret," says Verek. "We conscripted every available man, woman, and child on the colony of... what you might call Mars to build this ship. We had already been battered extensively by the Reapers: it is a miracle they did not discover our ship."

"That may be because we built it underground," Servero comments. "Our ship was housed in a deep bunker under the surface of Mars."

"We waited until the Reapers had stopped battering our planet," says Vala. "When the Reapers arrived, we took every precaution to make sure our ship was not sabotaged."

"Wait, you abandoned _civilians _there?" I ask.

"We could not risk an indoctrinated civilian undoing _everything _we worked for," Mubuk comments. "At the point at which we began construction, we knew that less than two million protheans were left in the entire galaxy, and most of Mars . According to Thurn Tarkaris, our homeworld had already fallen to the Reapers, and there were no colonies left. As well, we had very limited resources: we had no trade, and nobody was coming to bring more supplies than those we had already stockpiled on what you may call 'Mars'."

"So the Reapers saved Mars for last?" Shepard asks.

"Yes," Verek adds. "When we first encountered Thurn Tarkaris, however, indoctrinated slaves were beginning to create chaos on the colony. They were planting the seeds of discontent which would eventually undo the colony. The Reapers were softening us up first, before coming to reap the colony themselves. They wanted us to be completely helpless."

"We were lucky that we encountered Thurn Tarkaris when we did," Mubuk adds. "He was attended to by a good many civilian survivors. He said he had a vision, and was gathering as many as he could to realize this vision. It turned out that this vision was one of how to help future cycles against the Reapers. The rest of the Prothean Empire could not be saved: our final option was to help the next cycle." Mubuk frowns. "We could not risk our last option to stop the Reapers to save the lives of a few civilians that were unfortunate to meet the Oracle too late. We did what we had to."

I look down. "I... I guess you did," I say, stepping back. "Sorry."

Mubuk simply nods, and I see Konkwo regard me with a look that I _swear _is telling me some variety of "_seriously, Art_", before I glance to the side. "How did you get all the way here, anyway?" I ask.

"We travelled," says Verek. "Or, more specifically, we made our escape just before the Reapers came." He then look up. "We did not enter our sleep until we had arrived at the coordinates specified by Thurn Tarkaris. And by then, we knew that it was dangerous."

"Being on a ship that is suffering a severe static discharge is _not _a very pleasant feeling, even when you know that the area where you are is protected with the most advanced technology available," Vala comments. "Even we were not certain our static proofing would work. And indeed, there was still some static that worked into our part of the ship. But this... I imagine Nuh was able to repurpose it into usable electricity."

"Nuh." Mubuk snorts. "I still do not understand why we worked with an AI."

I then look off to the side as Nuh's avatar appear. "_It was a final way to ensure your safety, sir,_" the AI replies. "_You did take precautions, though..._"

"Let me guess," Shepard says. "You put some restrictions on what the ship could access."

Verek looks right at us. "How did you know that?" Verek asks.

"Educated guess, no doubt," Tali comments. "We all served on a ship that had a very similar AI on it."

"Had, 'cause then those restrictions had to be removed," I comment.

"You did _what_?" asks Vala as she stands up. I notice that Konkwo's look is very perturbed, and he grips his rations just a little harder.

"Unshackled AI, yes," Mordin says. "Could not be helped. Ship was under attack, very large boarding party. Had to flush ship to save it. Could only do it with AI: enemy virus restricted access to ship's systems, could only activate requisite systems from within Normandy."

"And EDI hasn't betrayed us yet," says Shepard. "She's been very reliable, and a valuable part of our crew."

"You consider the AI a being?" asks Mubuk. I can tell from his tone that he's having a hard time trying to hide his disgust.

"_I should be quick to remind you that I am here,_" Nuh comments.

"Yes, please be mindful of that, Mubuk," Servero adds. "He has been _extraordinarily _helpful to us throughout all of this. And he has seen us to the meeting of our objective. I believe your reservations ring a little false."

"And it is impossible to deny that Nuh was a very sociable companion on our journey," Vala says. "I would almost say that we were wrong to say AIs could not coexist peacefully with organics."

Tali nods, looking at Servero and Vala. "I have a feeling you two would get along _very _well with EDI," she says.

Kal chuckles. "That depends on how much they like immature humor, ma-Tali," he replies. "And I don't know what their tolerance is."

"_It is very low, sir,_" Nuh says without missing a beat._  
><em>

"Well, then I guess that's that," I comment. I look to Shepard. "You know, we still haven't introduced ourselves."

Konkwo nods, tilting his head as Vala sighs. "I am glad to know that such thoughts were mutual amongst at least one of you," Vala says.

"Well, I guess we better fix that," says Shepard.

With this, she then introduces us to the crew of this vessel... which I still don't know the name of.

* * *

><p>The introductions would have taken a few seconds at most. But, like most people would probably be, the protheans were curious about the aliens we brought with us. Thankfully, we had Tali, Kal, and Mordin to provide a first taste of all that alien stuff. And this means that we got to find out stuff about the protheans, too: apparently, they knew most of the species that are around here. Well, except for the salarians. Apparently, the salarians hadn't evolved yet.<p>

And apparently, they guessed at the other species too. It seems they knew the asari quite well, though for whatever reason isn't really important right now since they don't really talk about how they knew the asari. I guess it's better not to ask in this place anyway. In a few hours, there won't be any power at all.

And with that in mind, I see Konkwo stand up immediately, looking at the rest of the protheans with a rather pointed glance. I see the others stand up, Captain Verek nodding.

"I understand, Konkwo," says Verek. "There are matters we must attend to."

"I figured there was," says Shepard. "What solution lies on this ship?"

"It is... complicated," says Verek. "I assume the Reapers have arrived."

I nod. "They did," I say. "Even despite our best efforts to make sure it didn't happen, they still came in." I growl. "I have no idea how we're going to-"

"Actually, that works to our advantage," Vala replies. "For our solution to work, we needed to have all the Reapers in this galaxy."

"They need to come in and trigger the invasion," says Shepard. "Because then it is within the range of the weapon."

"And as we all know, not even a superweapon can go outside of the galaxy and hit our target reliably," Kaidan adds.

"Precisely," Vala comments. "Our plan was to attempt the closest thing we could: destroying an entire star system."

"Wait, what?" I ask. I look around. "How do you plan on doing that?"

"We built a superweapon," Mubuk comments.

"A classic, if overdone, way of approaching it, but it is efficient," Verek continues. "Thurn told us of a team on Ilos. He said they were working on a solution to buy more time. It seems that this solution has worked, if this is any indication. Indeed, his plan hinged on the success of Ilos." He finally looks at the orange paperweight on the table. "I assume that this holds the Oracle of Feros."

"It does," I reply. "She helped us find these coordinates."

"Then I believe that the group on Ilos did what they must," Verek replies. "It was very risky, but it paid off." He then picks up the paperweight, and looks at it. "I do not understand it myself, for I do not understand the Fade in a way that may illuminate what occurred there." He shakes his head. "That does not matter. What does matter, is that it is vital to understand our weapon."

"Which is...?" Shepard asks.

Verek nods. "I assume you used the Conduit already," he says. "I will tell you now that the Conduit was not the only project they produced on Ilos."

Kaidan starts. "It isn't?" he asks. "Then why didn't Vigil allude to it?"

"It was not yet time for him to do so," says Vala. "On some level, I believe that... _Vigil_, they called it?" She pauses, frowning. "It is an odd, yet quite appropriate, name." She blinked, and immediately shifted her posture. "Anyhow, it was not yet time for the intelligence posted at Ilos to speak of it. It would have spoken of it if Sovereign had been successful. I gather from your presence here that it was not."_  
><em>

"No," says Shepard. "But others came after Sovereign, and they succeeded where Sovereign failed."

"There is a weapon deep within Ilos," says Verek. "According to Thurn, he... um... used his dreams to travel there I know not how it works, but-."

I blink. "Wait," I say, stepping forward. "You mean they did that... _thing _you do in the Fade where you get others to chant something and you can then show up in another person's consciousness for a limited amount of time?"

"Yes," says Verek. He then leans forward, crossing his arms. "You have done it, then?"

"I have," I reply. "I won't say with who, because _nobody _in this room would believe me." I shrug. "Well, that, and it's complicated. It's _very _complicated."

"Still, you know what I speak of," says Verek. "Thurn Tarkaris planned it with the lead researcher of Ilos in this way. It was a weapon which could destroy a star system by accelerating the star's aging process." Verek looks up. "It requires very precise firing, and it requires a direct path to the sun. If anything were to get in the way, it would not cause the reaction we desire. It is also large, and not very easily moved."

"Well, I'm guessing you don't have it in here," Isaac comments.

"We do not," says Verek.

"Wait, hang on," says Ellie. "This 'Thurn Tarkaris' had you build this massive ship, and then sent you away in this ship for us to find you, just so you could tell us about a super weapon?"

"And on a planet we've already visited, no less!" Kaidan adds. "Why not just hide you deep within Mars?"

"Because this weapon was built with two parts," says Verek. He nods, and then walks to the door. "Nuh, is the compartment still intact?"

"_It is, Verek_," he says. "_That chamber is safe._"

"Yes, the Ilos team's designs as relayed by Thurn Tarkaris did prove to be sufficient," he says. He nods at us. "As I said, the weapon was built with two parts. Without both parts, the weapon cannot function, and there are numerous fail-safes on the part of the weapon on Ilos that would render it unusable if the Reapers attempted to reverse engineer the second part of this weapon." Verek looks at us. "Essentially, this vessel holds the key."

"And you came out all this way in case the Reapers invaded, or something else happened," Shepard says. "So your hope was to keep the Reapers from using this weapon by going into a part of space that nobody could get to."

"It was the only way to ensure that the weapon would not be accessed by anyone who may have had the Reaper taint," says Verek. "The Reapers... they leave many artifacts on important homeworlds."

I frown. "Like on Palaven..." I comment.

"What's there?" Shepard asks.

I shrug. "A little bird that lives in my mind told me that there was some Reaper artifact on Palaven." I glance to the side.

"And there are many others scattered around the galaxy," Verek replies. "We could not risk any indoctrinated beings finding the key, so we made our exodus out to here." He pauses, looking at us. "This vessel holds the second part of this weapon. And the second half of this weapon requires transportation."

"I imagine it's not big?" Shepard asks.

"No," says Verek. He looks at Isaac. "Is this vessel large enough to transport the item?"

"I have no way of knowing that since I haven't seen this item yet," Isaac comments.

"Then let us not waste any time," Servero says as he stands up. "The object is below us. Come."

Nuh's avatar appears again. "_Allow me to open the way there, sirs,_" he says immediately.

The lights shift within the room, and suddenly a door on the far end opens. I look to Shepard as the four protheans and the horned guy exit. I frown...

"Say," I say. "I don't think we know what the one non-prothean here is."

"I am an oravores," Servero states immediately. "And I shall ask that all questions remain quiet until we leave this place."

I nod. "Okay then," I say. "Oravores it is." I shrug. "At least I won't have to call you 'the horned guy' anymore."

Servero glares at me. "And if you believe that was funny, you are sorely mistaken," he says. We then file in behind the five. "Come. We still have a key to take with us."

And with this, we begin walking down the dimly-lit corridor, Shepard and the others walking in step with me.

* * *

><p>It takes a bit to get down to wherever this item is, and we have to do it in near-darkness most of the time. Thankfully, my eyesight adjusts. Not enough that I can see perfectly, mind, but I should be okay. It actually kind of makes me wonder about prothean night vision. If they're able to get around without stumbling in the dark like this, I imagine that they've got excellent night vision. I briefly notice that Servero is also sort of needs his hand held as we walk along the corridors, and I notice that Shepard... Hm, did Cerberus improve her night vision or something?<p>

Anyway, we continue walking along, only seeing the occasional emergency light. That doesn't make much of a dent, however, so we simply keep moving forward.

After a while, we see that there is a single solitary door panel hovering right there on a door just in front of us. I think it's a door, at least, it's tough to tell in the darkness. But there's a panel there, so... I step forward, watching as Verek walks up to the panel and opens the door. I look at everyone else as the door opens.

Immediately, the emergency lighting out in the hall dies on us, and then I see lights turn on in the room that we have just walked into. I find myself having to close my eyes... Ow, how the heck is this room so damn _bright_...? I hold my hand in front of my eyes, slowly opening them as my eyes adjust to the sudden burst of light. I open them fully eventually, and then look at the room.

The room we're in looks like it was whitewashed with some kind of marble dust or something. Either way, it is a bit reflective, and I can see Shepard brush her hands against the substance through her hand. Hm... it looks like some kind of dust. The protheans in the room simply glance around, and I figure they must be thinking of what was in this room. It's also not a very large room, and I sense that even as we begin to move in that perhaps there are too many people in here.

My attention then turns to what lies in the center of the room. And right there in the center is some kind of pedestal, about three feet tall and rather long, I guess. On this pedestal, I see something thick. It kind of looks like a Jesus-type cross, actually, if it were a little smaller. That doesn't really say that much, actually, because the object on the pedestal is quite long, and looks to be made of a strange black metal. For the most part, it looks to be in pristine condition, and it's then that I notice that there seems to be a glass covering over it. Perhaps it's there to keep the air out? I don't know. Either way, it sits there, kind of like the cross waiting for someone to pick it up or something. I briefly notice that there are some clamp-looking things at the end of the shorter stick on this metal cross, and then notice that said clamps look to be made of silicon or something like that. I look at the other protheans in the room, looking to Servero as he steps in front of a terminal on the far side of the room from where I am. He looks like he's manipulating the controls, so...

With a hiss, I see the glass part over the object in question. Verek and Vala walk down, and I see Shepard do much the same thing. Verek's hand trails against the black metal of this cross, and I see him nod in satisfaction.

"It is intact," Verek comments. "Even fifty thousand years later, it still shines like it was just created."

"I assume you created this here?" Shepard asks.

"It was one of a very small amount of resources we took," says Verek. "We were planning to construct it on Mars, but the Reapers forced our hand. We took our materials and Thurn Tarkaris' design for this key, and constructed it when we arrived at our destination." He then pats the pedestal. "To ensure its functionality, we put it in an air-tight container and flushed the air out."

I nod. "So you created a vacuum there," I say. "Well, it's still in one piece..."

"That it is," says Verek. He then looks up at us. "Is it possible to transport this into your vessel?"

"It certainly looks like it," Isaac comments. "It's a small vessel, but something this size should fit in there."

"The question is how do we get it there," Kal comments.

All the protheans in the room immediately look at the quarian in disbelief. I blink, watching as they look at him... _condescendingly_? Konkwo certainly looks like he's looking at Kal in that manner, anyway, and I can tell that the others are all on the same boat.

"We carry it," says Mubuk. "Why? Did you have some _other _way to transport it?"

"Well, isn't it a bad thing if it breaks?" I ask. "I mean, even if we carry it, it can't be a good thing since this damn thing is probably heavy. Right?"

"It is heavy, yes," says Verek. "And it is also quite delicate. We would need to move it with care." He shrugs. "But we can handle that."

With this, Verek glows green, and then I notice that the cross is green as well. I blink, noticing that then the cross is lifted carefully, and then turned in a very peculiar direction.

...

"Biotics," says Mordin. "Strange color of biotics. Green, not blue. Possibly different genetics...?"

"And we have great control over it," Vala adds. She looks to Verek. "Especially him. He was considered a master biotic in the prothean era. His biotics shall help us transport this item."

I nod. "Well, that'll make our lives easier," I comment.

"I imagine so," says Kaidan. "I think we should return to the shuttle, Shepard. Unless there's anything else here, we're done."

"Perhaps there is not," says Servero. "Nuh will... die once we leave. I would rather not leave him here if I can help it."

"So you want us to help you get him out of here," says Shepard.

"_It seems that way,_" Nuh says as his avatar appears. "_My blackbox is in the path to the nearest airlock of the ship. I would appreciate being brought out of here, but it is not necessary._"

I look at Shepard. "Do you think EDI would think of something?"

"If not EDI, the geth might be able to do something with it," Shepard replies.

"The geth?" asks Verek. "I assume from the context that there is an entire race of synthetic beings?"

"Yes," says Tali. "And they can coexist with organics."

"We waste time with this," Shepard comments. "We should move. Our ship is actually some distance away from this point, and-"

"_Verek!_" says Nuh. His avatar appears immediately, and he sounds... distressed? I didn't think an AI could sound distressed, but... "_I have detected another energy signature beyond this ship!_"

I blink. "Another energy signature?" Shepard asks. "But I thought the rachni queen was on the Normandy."

"And why would anyone come here?" I ask. "I didn't tell anyone about these coordinates apart from the people who needed to know. So really, there shouldn't be anyone-"

I'm suddenly interrupted by a massive amount of shaking within the dreadnaught. It knocks me off my feet, and then I fall to the ground with Tali landing on top of me. I grunt as she falls on top, and then I notice that only the protheans and Shepard are still standing completely upright, and they're only doing so by grabbing the railing. Verek himself is concentrating on making sure the key is kept in mid-air, and... what the fuck is...?

The shaking subsides after a few seconds. I quickly pull myself up, looking at the others. "What the hell was _that_!?" I hear Ellie shout.

"_It came from the source of the energy signature_," Nuh says. "_It seems as if this energy signature is... firing at us_."

Verek pauses. "Firing at us?" He glances to the side, his eyes widening in shock. "No..."

I blink. "You don't think..." Isaac says.

"The Reapers?" asks Verek. He nods immediately. "But I do not understand. How is this possible?"

"This defies logic!" Vala says. She then looks to us. "They found the coordinates and came here. Which is odd, since the coordinates were in a place that the Reapers could not reach. Or did the Reapers get to Mars earlier than we expected?"

I frown. "Wait, what?" I ask. "We didn't get these coordinates from Mars!"

All four protheans and the oravore look right at us. "What do you mean?" asks Mubuk. "The Oracle stayed behind when we lifted off. He was to leave the coordinates on Mars for whoever came across it to find it!"

I look to Shepard, before looking right at the protheans. "What the hell are you talking about?" Shepard asks.

"He was supposed to seal himself within a chamber and write all he knew," says Verek. "He had built a chamber for that purpose, and hoped that the next cycle would find what was written in there."

...

Oh no... Oh fuck... We didn't get it from there, but we got it from the place where... Oh, no..

I shake my head, looking at the protheans. "We... we didn't get these coordinates from Mars," I say.

Vala looks at us. "No..." she says. "The Reapers..."

"As far as I know, there was no chamber discovered on Mars with markings on it," I say. I shake my head. "We found that chamber somewhere else, though." I pause. "We found it at a base in the center of the galaxy. It..." I shake my head. "It was a base held by what was left of the prothean people after the Reapers turned them into their servants..."

The protheans look at us, and I can see from the way the shock is slowly showing on their faces that they are not happy. "He... he was taken by the Reapers...?" says Vala.

"I'm afraid so," I say. "He spent his last days frantically writing what he could. By the time he reached the end, I'm pretty sure that he was fighting a losing battle with indoctrination. I guess... I guess the Reapers found out directly from him." I look down. "I'm sorry."

We feel the dreadnaught shake around us yet again. I grasp the railing this time, gripping it hard as the rocking goes on. This rocking subsides after a few seconds, and this time nobody is caught off guard that they fall to the floor. During that time, Verek's shocked expression has shifted to an expression of complete resignation.

"No..." says Verek. "That means... that means they know of the solution!" He looks around. "All of this has been for _nothing_!"

"Not yet it hasn't!"

I blink at the forceful voice, and then all eyes fall on Shepard. She's looking at us seeming even _more _determined than before. She looks directly at Verek, and I see her frown at the prothean. "The Reapers might have known about this, but we got here first. We know what we need to do now, and we have both the key and you to help us defeat the Reapers. Even if we lose the part of the weapon on Ilos, you can still reproduce it for us, right?"

"We... Well, Konkwo would be able to, yes," Servero admits.

"Exactly," Shepard nods. "The Reapers may be on the same page we are, but we're still one step ahead of them. Now we just need to keep ourselves ahead of the Reapers for as long as it takes to defeat them." She looks at all of us. "We've come this far, and there's still a chance, however slim, that we can get through this. And I'll be damned if we're going to waste that sitting here moping about how the Reapers know about the Oracle's solution as well." She looks to us. "Now we're all going to shape up and get our asses out of here. You got that?"

...

Well damn, Shepard, when you put it _that _way...

I nod. "You're right, Commander," I say. "If the Reapers know about it, it doesn't matter. We're here, we can stop them, and we're going to do our best to do that."

Verek nods, and I see his old pride return. "And we shall do our part to stop this menace," he says.

"Whatever you need, we'll be there, Commander," says Kaidan.

"Good." Shepard nods, looking at the rest of us. "Now, we're going to get off this vessel. Hopefully, they haven't targeted the _Satie_."

Isaac shakes his head. "We can't go back the way we came, though," he comments. "It's going to take us too long."

"Then how do we get back to the ship?" Kal asks. "Because unless we move quickly, then-"

"_I may be able to suggest a way,_" Nuh immediately pipes up, his avatar appearing again.

I hear a blast, and the ship shakes again. I grab on to the guard rail, looking up above us as sparks fly from the roof. I look around to the others, breathing in and out.

"Then suggest it, Nuh," Servero says immediately. "We do not have much time before this ship is torn asunder."

I then look at the door on the far end. The lights go out immediately, and then I see the emergency lighting appear again. "_You must follow the electricity,_" Nuh says. "_Please remember, however, that this path leads directly to a vacuum. You will find helmets there._"

I nod, grabbing my own helmet. "Well, what're we waiting for?" I ask. "We need to get our asses out of here!"

"Yes," says Shepard as she places her own helmet on her head. I do the same for myself, and then clasp the helmet there. "Helmets on, everyone! I don't want anyone suffocating to death if a Reaper blast sends us into a vacuum!"

I look to Tali as she looks at the protheans. "And what about you?" she asks.

"We shall be prepared," Vala states. "Do not worry for us."

I nod, looking to Verek as he brings the key around. "Then let us depart. We have tarried long enough."

"Yeah," says Shepard. "Let's get out of here. We've got a key to transport."

* * *

><p>We get to a small chamber after a minute or so of walking. It is here that the protheans and our oravore friend manage to find their helmets. Severo, Vala, and Konkwo have just finished fixing theirs on their heads, with Mubuk helping Verek get his helmet on. I stand there with Kal ready to catch the thing in the event that Verek loses his biotic grip on our key.<p>

Fortunately, Mubuk clasps the helmet closed, and then he quickly grabs his own helmet and clasps it on. I nod at them, and then turn to Shepard. "Well, we should be ready now," I comment.

"Great," says Shepard. She then looks to Nuh's avatar. "Nuh?"

"_The way out will take you through an elevator shaft_," says Nuh. "_The elevator is non-operational: however, it will bring you closest to the part of the hull where my sensors indicate that-_"

I immediately hear an explosion somewhere above us. A muffled explosion, actually, as I can actually hear it through the walls. As soon as this explosion is heard, however, I see the power flicker in and out. Fortunately, it remains on, though I notice... hey, was the shaking just a bit stronger there?

I look to Nuh's avatar. "_It seems they have discovered our location,_" the AI says. "_You must make haste._" It blinks out, and then I see an elevator shaft open its door. There's no elevator inside, which must mean that we can probably... "_You must make your way to the top floor through here. I cannot help you beyond that point._"

"Thank you for everything, Nuh," says Servero. "I only regret that we could not save your blackbox with time to spare."

"_I understand, Servero_," says Nuh. "_Go. There is not much time._"

"Right," says Shepard. She nods to us. "No time. We've got to get moving."

"Yeah, but how do we go-?"

I immediately hear another explosion, and before long I feel myself floating in the air a little. I look around, suddenly noticing that some of us are floating in the air. Wait... Oh, fuck, that wasn't...

"_Artificial gravity is off,_" Nuh adds.

"Well, this just got interesting," Kal says as he starts floating in the air in front of us. He looks to Shepard as he does this, and shrugs. "And if I know our situation, I think I might know what we can do with it, ma'am."

"You read my mind, Kal'Reegar," Shepard says. "Into the elevator shaft. Now!"

With this, Verek goes in first. I look up as the shaking around us starts to increase. They're really bringing it on now, I guess, but they haven't broken our little sphere just yet. I shake my head as I follow Shepard into the elevator shaft, with Tali grabbing hold of my hand as we float into the elevator shaft.

From there, I find myself crawling up the elevator shaft very slowly. I try not to get ahead of Verek, or indeed in front of the key that is so vitally important for this weapon. It's slow going, and it's not made any better by the now incessant shaking of the area around us. Thankfully we're in zero g so it doesn't affect us all that much, but still...

Eventually, we manage to work our way up to the top of the elevator shaft without too much incident. The others are behind us to some extent, but I vaguely see Vala there at the bottom. I think she talks to Nuh once we're up, because I then see the elevator door open directly in front of us. Verek nods, and then he travels through the portal. I follow behind as the ship around us is shaken again. I see Shepard pass through the portal, and Verek follows pretty soon after.

It's right after I've passed through the elevator doors that suddenly hear a loud explosion go off beneath us. However, before I can figure out what it is, I feel an immensely strong wind pulling back at me. It pulls me right back into the elevator shaft, and it's only because I manage to grab on to the edge just before I fly out that I don't go flying out. It's when I feel Tali grab at me that... shit... don't tell me...

I look down immediately, and see the endings of the Reaper's death ray right there. I blink in shock as the suction continues...

Shit, that means...

I look to Shepard. "Hull breach!" I shout as loud as I can.

I then glance up at Verek, turning my attention to the prothean. He is gripping the key with his hands now, desperately hanging on to a console within. I see Shepard bring her hand forward, keeping them in place with her biotics as best she can. I glance down, seeing some of my other friends get sucked out. I breathe in and out, barely noticing when my suit's oxygen supply kicks in.

And eventually, the pull is no longer felt, and we are in a vacuum once more. I look in front of me as all goes silent around me. I... Holy fuck...

I hear my comm sputter to life. "_Art? Shepard? Anyone?_" Isaac asks. I glance around and briefly notice that Isaac isn't there. "_Is anybody else here?_"

I sigh in relief, bringing my fingers to the side of my helmet. "I'm okay!" I say. "Is everyone else okay?"

"_Barely_," I hear Kaidan say. A brief look confirms that Shepard, Verek, Tali, and I are the only people at the top of the elevator. "_We would've been ejected from the craft if not for Vala_."

I nod, looking to Shepard. "_Well, they breached the thing,_" Shepard comments. "_Let's get a move on, people. We don't have much time!_"

I reply by hauling myself back inside. I hear another sputter of the comms, and then look to Nuh's avatar. "_Is this a comm frequency anyone is using?_" the AI asks.

"It is," I reply. "What do we do now?"

"_I cannot get you back together the way you are now,_" says Nuh. "_At any event, you are closest to your vessel. I would return and pilot it back to the others_."_  
><em>

"_Great,_" says Tali. "_Now how do we deal with the fact that our pilot is separated from us?_"

"_I'm already moving towards the Satie!_" says Isaac over the comms. "_I'm the only one who can get there quickly from here. __I'll be there as fast as I can!_"

"_We'll meet up with you there,_" says Shepard. She nods to us. "_Come on._"

I nod as we begin to move again. I look around, noticing that we are still in a vacuum. I guess Nuh isn't closing any doors in a vacuum. Can't say I blame him: if what just happened were to happen again, that would not be a good thing. I simply find myself pulling forward by grabbing onto whatever I can and using it to propel myself forward.

Come on... we've got to get moving... we've got to... I look up to Verek, Tali, and Shepard as they pull themselves forward. Verek looks as if he's ditching the biotics entirely, and is now holding the key close to his body. I see him get close to a door which Nuh seems to have already opened. Hm, I guess-

Ah! What the-?

I feel a burst of heat from behind me, and then turn back to see that the Reaper death-laser is boring through the hallway we were travelling behind. Ack! I scramble briefly, and in my fright I push off perhaps a little too quickly. It's not until I'm already flying forward that I realize I'm in a direct collision course with Verek, who has had the same thought I did. Oh, crap, this is not going to-

Fortunately, before I can collide into him, I feel biotics suddenly act on me. I'm then thrown into the adjoining hallway, bouncing off of glass (which thankfully doesn't shatter under the force of my back hitting it) and spinning around inside. I manage to grab a hold of a floating desk, the desk slowing me down enough that I can see Verek glowing green. I look at him, nodding and... actually, I don't feel too injured. I manage to grab the wall to steady myself right as I see some explosions go out further down the hall.

I nod to Verek as he pushes himself into the hall. We're all floating in the air by now... or rather, lack of, and I see just around the corner that there is a door there that Nuh has seen it fit to open. Thank you, Nuh, for being a pretty awesome AI so far!

I begin to push myself towards the door, Shepard and Tali coming up behind Verek and myself. I breathe in and out uncertainly, looking around as the ship seems to shake around us again. We simply push forward, doing my best to keep calm. I just... what the hell? These Reapers found out about this from the Oracle? It all makes sense, and yet I can't wrap my mind around that... Maybe part of their plan was to come here and rip this place to shreds in the hope that we would miss out on that... Yeah, that would make sense... Keep us from using the one thing we can think of that can stop them, and we fall to pieces...

I shake my head, expelling the thought out of my head as I get to the next open doorway. Immediately, however, I see that the next open doorway leads back out into the twisted, dilapidated hull.

I look to the others, and then begin the process of climbing outside of the safe zone. From here, I don't think Nuh can help us, so we have to move quickly. I know that we were up somewhere, and that we were there. I look back to Verek, who looks like he is trying his best not to break the key even as he moves among the mostly-mangled hull around us. I nod, and then I begin climbing my way out.

From the way it looks, it seems as if Nuh deposited us right here at a point where we can climb out, 'cause the hull here is considerably more twisty than it was where we entered. I simply begin clawing along, throwing myself along as we attempt to get out. The silence is eerie, especially when I feel shaking under my hands after grabbing at some parts of the ship. I simply keep at it, glancing back to Verek, Tali, and Shepard as they move along as well.

It takes some digging, but finally I see a window whose glass seems to have shattered or melted off. Either way, there's no glass. I move towards that porthole, eventually using it to exit the ship. I do so, and grab on to the edge. I peer pack into it to look at Shepard, Tali, and Verek as they both push forward. Okay... Maybe we'll be able to fit the key through this window. After all, we-

Wait... why are they suddenly looking shocked. And why is Tali pointing...?

I turn back, and immediately see... that red light that's beginning to blossom right at the mouth of a Reaper...

Holy fuck!

I pull myself up with all my might, releasing the window so that I'm propelled up by the force. Thankfully, I do so just in time, for then I see the death-ray penetrate the hull just above the window. I watch, the red beam maintaining an eerie silence in the environment around us. I ascend quickly, watching as the beam follows me, cutting through the side of the ship. I look around, seeing if there's anything I can push off of to... yes! I see something jut out of the ship, it looks like a piece of twisted metal.

I grab it, and then push off as quickly as I can. The beam follows, but shortly after, it dissipates. I move forward at a constant speed, colliding into a wall. I glance at the Reaper that's right there, and...

Holy fuck... It's right next to the ship... And it looks like it's turning back and giving itself more room with which to fire... Oh, damn it, damn it, damn it..._  
><em>

I bring my hand up to my head. "Shepard?" I ask. "Verek?"

I hear a fizzle. "_We are safe_," says Verek. "_And so is the key_."_  
><em>

Oh, thank Jesus... I don't know...

I see the Reaper charge its death beam again, and this time it's still aiming right at me...

Oh, you've got to be kidding me...

"Verek, take the thing and go!" I shout. "I think this Reaper is latching on to me!"

And without any further prompting, I push off against the wall. A split second later, the Reaper's laser impacts against the wall I was just resting against, and I find myself floating through the area around the hull again. True to form, the laser seems to follow my move, though it doesn't dissipate when I get a new foothold. I find myself having to push myself up, finding that I'm still barely over the top of the dreadnaught. The beam changes course accordingly, so I find myself gasping as I collide with a piece of the hull.

I'm still floating there when the beam stops... Well, it's good that it stopped there, but I'm kind of dead in the water at the moment... Shit, and there's nothing for me to grab onto... And right now, I'm just slowly floating in a random direction... Damn it... I look above me... ahead of me? No, ahead. I look ahead of me, and then I briefly catch a glimpse of Verek, Tali, and Shepard making their way up the hull quickly. I look above them to see... Wait, is that...

I then see the beam appear again, but it's not headed for me this time. This time, it's headed for whatever that small speck is that's moving around. I see the speck turn, and... Holy shit...

It's Isaac, isn't it?

I feel myself bump into another item, though this time my arms latch on around it. I look up in shock, watching as the beam follows it around. This time, though, the beam looks like it's moving more fluidly. It's not really moving in a straight line... Wait, shit...

"Isaac?" I shout, immediately bringing my hand up to the helmet. "Isaac, what's going on?"

"_It's the Reaper!_" Isaac immediately replies. "_I think it's latching on to me!_" I hear Isaac swear under his breath. "_Get over to the _Satie_, I'll catch up!_"

I nod, looking up. "Get to the _Satie_," I whisper. "Right." I look around me to the dreadnought that is there. I don't... God damn it, why is there so little lighting around here? Where the hell is it...? I glance to the side a little-aha! There it is!

It's just a hop and a step over there. Right. Just get to the Satie... But how to-

I immediately feel the debris shake underneath me, and I look back to see that the Reaper has fired its death ray at me again.

Ack! Holy mother of-

I quickly jump away without thinking, barely escaping the beam. However, I end up going right back into the dreadnaught in front of me, crashing up against the edge of a wall and ricocheting off of it back into the ship. Almost without thinking, I find myself pushing further, barely noting the twisted nature here as I move as quickly as I can. Damn it, where the hell is the outside... Yes, just keep climbing up. Keep climbing up, do it quickly... I glance back once, and find myself climbing ever more frantically. C'mon, get up there!

The death beam is right at my heels when I manage to climb out of the ship, though fortunately it has dissipated by then. Right... find the _Satie_. Somehow... I look up, and- yes, there it is!

I waste no time, pushing myself off and moving straight for the _Satie_. If the beam is started... Oh, no, I think it's hovering around Isaac again... Or something. I don't know. Either way, it's not following me, and it's not hitting the _Satie_ just yet. As I move, I briefly notice I may have shot a little above it, but thankfully this is easily rectified by the fact that... Yeah, I think I can... I stretch my hand out, looking right at the _Satie_... C'mon, just a bit...

I then grab at the top of the _Satie_, and feel myself flop just a little, my torso lightly hitting the top of the vessel.

Okay! I'm now holding on to the _Satie_. I look beneath the ship, seeing Verek, Tali, and Shepard all just getting over there. The key is right in front of Verek, and he's now holding it there biotically... Okay, good, the key got here in one piece, we got here in one piece... All we need is to get Isaac out of there and we'll be all set...

I see Shepard open her omni-tool immediately, and then the _Satie__'_s door opens. I immediately move forward, reaching my hand out to Tali. She grabs it and then pulls me in, with Verek and the key entering the small craft almost immediately after I get through. Shepard is the last to come in, and then the artificial gravity kicks in. I feel some slight dizziness, and then Shepard closes the door right behind her.

I look to Shepard as she stands there. "Well?" I ask. "What now?"

Shepard walks forward. "We don't have time to waste," she said immediately. "Keep the helmets on. We need to get the others ASAP."

"You know how to pilot this vessel?" Verek asks as he carefully sets the key against the wall.

"No," Shepard replies as she walks forward. "But if I can get to Ellie, she might be able to help us maneuver it." With this, she immediately takes a seat. "Ellie?"

"_Shepard!_" Ellie shouts. "_Are you on the Satie?_"

"I am," says Shepard. "But I'm afraid Isaac's not here with us."

"_I can see him dodging that Reaper,_" says Ellie. "_I don't think he'll be able to get to us from here._"

"I don't know, Commander," I say, walking forward. "If the Reaper sees us move, I think he'll realize what this is and gun straight for us."

"That could provide a diversion, yes," said Shepard. "But that means we'd need to constantly move around." She nods. "Ellie, how do you drive this thing?"

I blink. "Wait, you?" I ask. "Drive _this_?" I shake my head. "Uh, Commander, no offense, but I don't know if that's a good idea. I mean, I-"

"Do you have any _better _ideas?" Shepard immediately asks me pointedly.

I... Well... I glance to Verek and Tali, and then think to Isaac outside. He's the only one who can pilot the ship, but... If we want to do it _quickly_...

"No," I say, glancing to the side.

Shepard nods. "That's what I thought," she said. "Ellie?"

"_Right_," says Ellie. I then hear a small plink, and... Damn it, Ellie switched to a private channel, didn't she? I look back to Tali as Shepard begins talking to Ellie through the link. I watch as Shepard's hands flit across the interface, and I take a step back and look to the quarian.

"I hope this doesn't go disastrously wrong," I comment. I look to the key, and then back to Verek. "You might want to hold that, Verek. Shepard isn't known to be a smooth driver."

Verek crosses his arms. "And you would know this...?" he asks.

"Trust me, if she's just learning how to drive this vehicle, then-"

And then the ship lurches forward a little bit. It catches me off guard, but from the grinding sound I hear I don't think we're in entirely good hands. I thank whatever stars there are that there are no windows in the back of the vessel, and I grip the walls to steady myself. Tali does so immediately, while Verek immediately grabs the key with his biotics. I look to the prothean as the _Satie _moves, and I nod.

"Yeah," I say. "It's going to be a _very _bumpy ride."

I then look ahead as Shepard begins maneuvering the _Satie_. "Indeed," Verek says. We then watch as Shepard pilots the Satie down across the side of the ship. I see her obviously faltering with the controls, though, and so I jolt a little bit when I feel the ship hit against something else in the area. I don't quite know what it is she scraped against, but I'm not about to look out to find out the hard way.

I simply grip the side of the _Satie _as Shepard pilots the ship just a bit too close to the dreadnaught. I look through the viewport above, even as Shepard begins strafing to the side. We bump into another part of the large dreadnaught almost immediately, such that we actually come to a stop. I look at Shepard wildly... Uh, Shepard, in case you forgot, we've got a _Reaper_ on our asses?

I look to the Commander as she seems to realize this. Her hands move over the controls. "Damn it!" she shouts. "We're stuck!"

I hear Ellie shout some more technobabbly stuff from within her headpiece, and I notice that out of the viewport I can see the Reaper's mouth thing. Or eye. I don't know, it's hard to tell what the hell those things are anyway. I notice that Shepard sees it too, and she's now scrambling with the controls.

And then the eye thing shines red again. Holy fuck... My eyes widen, and then I look back to Shepard as she begins working at the controls again. C'mon, Shepard, the Reaper's about to fire its laser death ray right at us! Damn it, damn it...

I immediately look to Verek as he steels himself for the ultimate impact. However, before he can do anything, the ship rocks slightly, bringing us off balance. Before long, the ship moves again, though with a slight burst of speed this time. I hear something clamp on to the deck above us, and then I look up at the Reaper to see that it has fired its laser beam at a point just behind us. The beam seems to be following us of course, but a second later it dissipates. I note that the eye is still glowing red however, and it seems to be redirecting its aim...

It redirects its aim below us, so that then when the beam reappears it's heading up towards us.

I let out a loud yell as the craft lurches off to the side. I squeeze my eyes shut as I feel the shuttle move a little bit, and... Nothing else seems to happen. It is quiet for a few seconds, and then I open my eyes to find that we're all still in one piece. Shepard has the controls, and I look at Tali and Verek with something approaching relief showing in my face.

Before I can say anything else, though, my comm unit dances to life. "_Art! Answer me, damn it!_"

I jolt upon hearing Isaac's voice. I bring my hand up. "Isaac?" I ask.

"_I'm on the Satie_!" he shouts. "_Get me in there!_"_  
><em>

I hear a bang from the ceiling shortly afterwards, and then I find myself looking up. Wait, that's... Shit!

I rush over to the spacecraft's door immediately. "Yeah, hang in there!" I shout as I open my omni-tool. "It's about to get rather-"

And then Shepard turns directly to the side. This sends me crashing right into the rather small door of the craft, my omni-tool hand already up against the door. The door opens immediately before I can react, and then I find myself gripping the edge of the craft as all the air inside is expelled. I see Verek and Tali grip the inside of the craft, with Shepard gripping the edges of her chair to make sure she's not flying out. The key is safely behind between Verek and the wall, and... Okay, that's good. Hopefully it'll stay that way.

I look up immediately, seeing Isaac hanging on to the hull. The CEC engineer looks right at me, before crawling ever so slowly towards me. His jet boosters are a bit helpful there, but he's still moving slowly so that he is not separated from the _Satie _at any point. I nod, looking up to him as he gets right to the door and-

Whoah! I bring my legs in immediately upon seeing the Reaper's death-ray impact the side of the dreadnaught immediately where my feet are. Shepard lurches the craft to the right, and one of my hands immediately slips. I blink in shock, looking up at Isaac as he uses the opportunity to flip over the edge, his little jet thingies kicking in. He immediately grabs my free hand, and before long we're both back inside the Satie.

As the door closes behind us and we regain our bearings, I find myself realizing... Shit, I never turned on my magnetic boots... I should probably get to that in the near future.

I look at Isaac as he immediately runs over to where Shepard is. "I'm here, Shepard," he says. "I'll take over from here."

Shepard nods. "We've got to go get the others," she says. "They're still down there somewhere."

Isaac sits at the controls, Shepard getting out of the chair as the CEC engineer begins to work at the control. "We might have to make multiple passes," Isaac says. "With that Reaper firing at us the way it is, I don't think we can afford to stay still for more than ten seconds at most!"

"Their group isn't that large, though," Shepard says. "If they bundle together..."

"Even then, we might have to circle around and go back," says Isaac. "Either way, I'll keep coming around until we've got absolutely _everyone _on board!"

Shepard nods. "You do that," says Shepard. "I'll be ready to help them in." She immediately walks to the door, opening her omni-tool. I notice a very faint change in the way she steps, and I assume that this means that she's engaged her magnetic boots. I nod, standing up and taking a place on the opposite end of the door from her. Okay... let's do this...

Isaac nods, and then the _Satie _moves forward. I see Isaac dodge the various Reaper death rays with relative ease, and I see that he seems to be moving down a little to the side. I guess that's to make sure he can get out of the way faster if he has to outrun the laser death-ray, so I refrain from saying anything and just let him do his thing. It seems to take a while, though, and every so often I feel the craft jerk from either an impact or Isaac trying to move out of the way of something with remarkable speed.

Whatever the case, it takes about a minute or so before the craft comes to a stop. The door opens, and then I look outside to see that Ellie and many of the others are all gathered together.

Okay! I reach forward, grabbing Ellie's hand immediately. I yank her on board, noticing that Vala is sort of piggybacking off of her. The two women board immediately, and then I turn my attention to the next people there. I see that Kal is next with Konkwo piggybacking off of him. Wait, they're all piggybacking off each other...?

Oh. I think I see what they're getting at here. I simply reach forward, grabbing Kal's hand as he leaps off of the dreadnaught.

And that's when the shuttle shakes and moves. My eyes widen as we move, and I dare not release Kal from my grip. I Immediately, I feel other hands on mine, and see that Vala and Ellie are both helping me keep it in, with Vala's biotics flaring. I glance back at Isaac and briefly take stock that Mubuk and Kaidan are both on-board. Kaidan is helping Shepard pull Servero and Mordin in, though Shepard is having some time of pulling Servero in. I blink, but before I can say anything else Servero seems to swing in. I move my head quickly at the last second, Servero's feet narrowly hitting my head as oravore and salarian are both deposited into the ship. I hear a crash as they do this, however, and glance back to see that Verek had to let go of the key to make sure Mordin and Servero didn't hit it by accident.

And with this, I feel the _Satie_ continue to move forward, the vessel picking up speed rather quickly.

...

"What the hell, Isaac?" I ask. "Why would-?"

And then I look outside.

...

Oh. Yeah, the laser death ray shining there that is creeping towards us _might _explain it.

I simply squeeze my eyes shut, watching as we get further from the ship. I feel my feet peel off of the floor slightly as the vessel we're in speeds away from the massive dreadnaught we're leaving behind. C'mon... Vala, I hope your biotics are working because it's getting a little hard to pull them in. I squeeze, feeling the load only get more heavy. C'mon, c'mon... Just a little more... C'mon, don't let go now, Art, whatever you do don't fucking let go...

I feel the load lighten significantly a short time afterwards, and then I manage to pull both Kal and Konkwo into the vessel. I breathe a sigh of relief as the _Satie's_ doors close, and...

"Are we all accounted for?" I ask.

Shepard takes her helmet off. "Looks like it," she says. "You all bunched together?"

"We thought it might be easier on you if we did," Ellie comments. "It turns out we were right."

"Logical solution," Mordin ads as he removes his breathing apparatus. "Quick evacuation necessary, not possible if stepped in individually. Lack of gravity made decision easier."

"What he said," Servero says. I pull my own helmet off, breathing in and out. "I only regret that we could not save Nuh..." He looks downcast at this.

I nod, watching as Tali helps Servero to his feet. "He did what was right," I say. "Take comfort in that."

Servero silently bows his head. Before we can say anything more, though, the vessel rocks slightly. When this rocking is felt, we all look right at Isaac, who has been joined by Ellie at the controls.

"Okay," says Isaac. "Now that that's been taken care of, we need to get _out _of here," he says. "I don't know about you, but I'm not staying around waiting to get shot down by a Reaper."

"And neither are we," says Shepard. She then walks right up to the chair where Isaac is seated. "Get us out of here!"

"Can do!" Isaac immediately turns to us. "It'll take some time to get the ShockPoint Jump to full capacity, though. In the meantime, we need to-"

"Look out!"

Kaidan shouts this immediately as we see the read beam come up from underneath us. I let out a loud yell as Isaac and Ellie swerve to the side. The beam seems to pass underneath us, but the Reaper seems to have learned to compensate by now, for then we feel a very bad rocking on one corner of the ship. I glance up in shock, watching as the ship rocks a little more.

It's when we stabilize that Ellie's hands are immediately flying across the display. "Diagnostic!" she shouts. "What happened to our ship?"

Isaac looks at the quick diagnostics report that is done, and then frowns. "We just took some exterior damage," Isaac says. "Not a good thing."

"Why?" asks Verek. "The ship is still intact, is it not?"

"It is, but that's not what I'm worried about," says Isaac. "If I activate the ShockPoint Jump, the damage to the hull could mean that we won't be able to make the jump intact, or that at the very least the ship's integrity could be compromised when we leave the jump. Either way, this ship is toast the second we have to make a jump."

"So what do we do?" asks Shepard.

"Well, frankly Commander, I'm doing the jump anyway," Isaac says. "Unless you've got any other bright ideas on just how we're supposed to cross several thousand light years in a few hours, that's what we're going to have to go with."

"So make the jump and hope for the best?" I hear Tali say behind us. "I hope we do get the best."

"We'll see in a second," says Ellie. "On a larger vessel, this wouldn't be that big an issue, but since this is the _Satie_..."

I see the Reapers' death ray appear just out of our view. This time, Isaac is able to maneuver the Satie so we can get off. "And where are we going?" I ask.

"Away," says Isaac. He frowns, inputting coordinates. "I'm plotting a course for the world the rachni are on. With any luck, we-"

"The rachni?" Verek immediately steps forward. "They still exist?"

... Wait, what? "They were around in your cycle too?" I ask.

"We had to fight them off repeatedly," Mubuk comments. "And now you are allied with them as well?"

"As of _very _recent events, yes," Isaac replies as the ship turns. I see the outline of the dreadnaught there. "That's not important." He looks up. "Okay, the ShockPoint Drive is warmed up..." He glances up at where I think the beam might've hit. "C'mon, girl, hold together..."

I see the Reaper look directly at us. Oh, shit, why do I get the feeling that it's going to...

"All right," says Ellie. "Brace yourselves. We're entering the jump inthree..."

The Reaper's attention is on us, and I see its eye shine red with that foreboding light.

"Two..."

The red light intensifies, and I feel myself gripping the bulkhead, my breathing intensifying just a little bit.

"One..."

The beam begins to rush right towards us.

However, before it can strike true, the grey ring of light begins to form around us. The craft shakes rather heavily, and I swear I hear Isaac curse over the noise. I squeeze my eyes shut, biting on my lower lip... Shit, this is where it ends, isn't it? Damn, hold together, hold together...

And then, there is silence.

...

Holy shit, are we...?

I open my eyes to find that everyone around me is still alive. We're still in the _Satie_, we're still alive, and I can clearly see the grey rings outside of the ship as we go through the ShockPoint jump.

I sigh in relief, letting go of the bulkhead and slumping against the wall. Everyone else does something similar, though not all of us slide down the wall in our relief.

"Phew," Ellie says. "It held together."

"Yes, but we won't be so lucky once we leave the jump," Isaac replies. "We've got three hours until we exit the jump. I suggest you guys prepare your helmets for when we exit the jump. If it held together during the start of the jump, it'll hold together for a few seconds at the end of the jump. It won't last any longer than that, though..."

"Well, with any luck we won't be launched at a planet at the speed of light," I comment.

"Hopefully it won't come to that," says Isaac. He then leans back against the chair. "So... we have what we came for."

"Indeed you do," says Verek. "And when the opportunity presents itself, we must make haste for Ilos."

"That we should," says Shepard. She then looks to all of us. "Great work, everyone. We're still one step ahead of the Reapers. When we get back, let's make sure we _keep _it that way."

"Can do, Commander," I say. Everyone else chimes in with variations on that almost immediately, and then a strange kind of peace settles over the people on the _Satie_.


	39. Chapter 38

_A/N: All right! Sorry for the delays, guys, but IRL and a bunch of other things are catching up to me and making my life difficult. It's crazy, I know._

_Anyhow, here we are with a new chapter of MV3. This time, we go back to the Citadel, and keep track of a few things with Madison and the gang. What'll happen this time?_

_Well, let's find out, shall we?_

* * *

><p>Chapter 38: B Story: Journey to the Center of the Citadel, Part 2<p>

We are moving forward carefully through the tunnel when I hear a loud footstep. I wouldn't be so concerned if not for the fact that I hear this footstep coming from directly in front of me. I hear a few more footsteps after this one, all coming from ahead.

Instinctively, I raise my gun, stopping in place as I look ahead. This causes the line to stop, and I end up shifting my posture slightly as I look ahead.

"Madison?" Garrus asks.

"I thought I heard something," she says.

"That sound like a footstep?" Jarel asks from behind. "I heard it too."

I nod, taking the time to step forward. If there's a footstep here... "Hello?" I ask rather loudly. "Who's there?"

Immediately, the footsteps stop. I pause, holding my gun up just in case something were to happen. Behind me, I hear Garrus ready his own assault rifle, and I note that even now the tunnel remains mostly silent. I feel my heart-rate spike as I look ahead...

Keep it together, girl. You've got this.

I hear another footstep, and this time it's enough that I see something into the light being given off by my pistol. It looks like an armored unit, but... Wait a second, I've seen that white-ish armor before. The arrangement is also familiar, too. And the last time I saw that armor...

And then, this person turns to face us. And the face mask...

"_Cerberus!_" I immediately shout. I waste absolutely no time opening fire on the Cerberus unit. Garrus opens fire as well, and it takes very little time before that Cerberus soldier goes down. The gunfire echoes in the tunnel long after we've fired the guns, but then the dead silence that follows says all we need to know.

I frown, holstering my pistol and walking right up to the Cerberus trooper. I kneel next to the body, everybody else following behind quickly. I look at the body, frowning. I feel Garrus put his talons on my shoulder, but I pay this no mind.

What...?

"What's he doing here?" I ask out loud.

"Is there...?" Jarel frowns. "No, there couldn't be. Keeper tunnels aren't known to have multiple openings like this."

"Then why the hell didn't we run into any Cerberus troopers until now?" asks Brendan. "What're they even _doing _in here in the first place?" He pauses, and then I hear his foot shift. "Unless... what if they got here before we did?"

I frown, looking up. Wait... "If Cerberus came here before us, and they're now servants of the Reapers..." I say, looking up. "Then that means..."

It slowly dawns on all of us. "There _is _something important down there," says Garrus.

I nod. "And the Reapers don't want anyone to touch it, so they sent Cerberus down here to make sure nobody could use it," I continue. "Maybe they're even sabotaging it as we speak..."

I glance behind to the others, looking at Brendan as he rubs the back of his head. "Well, I'll be damned," he comments. "There _is _something down there."

"It certainly seems that way now," says Liara. "Perhaps they entered this tunnel ahead of time, hoping to find it."

"And if we're seeing troopers now, we can't be that far behind," I comment. I stand up, raising my pistol again and pointing it down the hall. "And if we're not that far behind, we're... We have to catch up to them. Our solution will be pointless if they manage to sabotage the damn thing first." I gesture with my free hand. "Come on. If we follow this tunnel, we might be able to go to where this trooper came from."

"And what if he was going back to the base camp?" Nadeire asks.

I pause. "Hm... that's a good point," I comment. I frown, looking down at the trooper and... well, hang on a second...

I immediately kneel by his side, opening my omni-tool. The trooper's omni-tool opens immediately. "Maybe they've mapped this place out or something," I comment.

"Why would they do that?" asks Nadeire.

"It could be they took a force with them," says Jarel. "Perhaps they did that, with the expectation that they'd be able to split up to find this place faster. If they mapped it in real time..."

I look through what I can see, seeing if there are any files. "Hold on for just a second..." I frown, concentrating on the omni-tool as I search through it. Okay, where is it... where is it...?

Aha! There it is! I open it from my omni-tool, and see a half-completed map there. I open it, looking behind at the others before turning my attention to the map. Okay, it's in 3D, it looks like it's still being completed as we go... It looks like there's a large open area just ahead of us with several passages going out of it. And in the passageway immediately to my left... Oh. Hm. According to the map, it looks like it leads to a dead end. I mean, I see that the end of that passage looks like a closed tube rather than an arrow that continues moving forward. Since it's also not expanding at any regular intervals, I guess...

I nod. "You were right, Jarel," I say. "This guy was scouting in that tunnel. At least, I think so."

"So we keep moving forward," Garrus comments.

"Yes," I say, standing up. "If the Cerberus guys don't find it first, we can always use this map to help plan our route."

"And that will save us a lot of valuable time," Liara says.

"That it will," I say, moving forward immediately. "Come on. Let's go."

And with this, we begin to move further down the hall. I hear Jarel and Liara draw their guns, and we all advance forward as I keep the map open on my omni-tool.

* * *

><p><strong>Elsewhere on the Citadel...<strong>

I fire my shotgun into the last of the husks there, my foot releasing the husk from where it laid on the floor. I step back, grimacing slightly.

Hmph. Damn husks.

I nod, turning around to look at the rest of these welps. "Well, you're certainly learning," I say. "Good. I don't have to drag your ass behind me anymore."

"Such blunt terms to a Councillor, no?"

"And here I thought you didn't mind, as long as I was the only guy shooting everything trying to kill you."

"Well, I should hardly think that such a qualifier is valid now, don't you think?"

"Eh, I guess so." I cock my shotgun. "Still, though."

I glance back to the others. The Council stands just a short ways away. That damn human and asari are still useless as ever, but the pyjack's actually not a bad shot with a pistol. I didn't think he'd get the hang of that so fast, but there we are.

And as for the turian... He lifts an assault rifle, looking at some point beyond us. Figures the only one out of us who doesn't need to learn how to shoot is a damn turian. Just my luck. "Damn bastards made a mess of this place," the turian starts. "Everywhere we go, it's just more emptiness, or people who can't leave where they are because they're trying to defend someone." He shakes his head, looking back at the pyjack. "How much further to that comm disruption point?"

"We're getting closer," the salarian says, opening his omni-tool and looking down at it. "We'll probably meet the toughest resistance at that point."

"Well, with me here, that won't be a problem," I say. "Just point and shoot."

"I should think that getting yourself killed would have an outcome nobody would want," the asari steps in, looking at me sternly.

"Tevos is correct," that damn human adds. "We'd lose the support of the krogan if you died here."_  
><em>

"You'll also lose it if Anahit dies because we sat on our asses talking too much," I reply, pointing my finger in the human's face. "We need to get that comm blocker taken down. And I'm not gonna sit on my ass while Anahit could be dying out there."

"We don't know she's dying just yet, but I don't think we should wait either," that turian adds. "Besides, you keep seeing how he tackles all these... _things_. He can handle it."

I smirk, glancing right at the turian before turning my attention back to the others. "I didn't think I'd ever meet a turian like you, but here we are," I say. I pump my shotgun. "Let's go make their day, shall we?"

And without waiting for a reply, I turn around stalking forward. I hear the turian's steps from behind, and then the other Councillors follow quickly afterwards.

"You're a dangerous man, Wrex," I hear that asari say from behind me.

I chuckle, shaking my head as we move forward. "I wouldn't be standing here keeping your asses safe if I wasn't," I reply. "Let's go kick some Reaper ass."

And with this, we continue moving.

* * *

><p><strong>The Keeper Tunnels<em>...<em>**

We keep moving as quickly as we can, with me always keeping the omni-tool's map open. They must have gone this way, through this passage over here...

...this passage, which leads to a chamber, it looks like. I look ahead to see an entrance into a chamber, with some light pouring in. I blink, looking into the chamber as I edge along the sides of the tunnel we're in. It's not really a large chamber, but compared to the tunnels we've been traversing since we got here it feels bigger than it actually is. In there, I see a group of four Cerberus soldiers moving around inside, with makeshift lights and two portable terminals set up in the chamber. The lighting is a little spare, but it's lit enough for us to have an idea of what's in store for us. Two of the Cerberus soldiers chat near one of the crates, with one checking the terminal and another looking at one of the lights. There are also a few crates there, though I have no idea what they are, exactly. Above them are several pods, probably for the keepers. I'm not sure why a keeper would need a pod, but I'm not going to question that right now. I glance back at Garrus, watching as he comes just across from me.

"Well, we know there's more Cerberus now," I comment.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Brendan replies as he settles in next to me. "What do we do?"

I look at my map. "It looks like the route to where they're currently searching is across the chamber," I whisper, glancing at the Cerberus units that are armed. "Which means we need to cross it."

Garrus looks out. "I hope you've got some creative ideas," he says. "They'll know we're not Cerberus, and it doesn't look like we can sneak our way across easily."

"And I don't think we want to attract their attention just yet," says Liara.

"Why not?" asks Nadeire. "Wouldn't it be easier to make sure they can't follow us?"

"Yes, but that's a little hard when we don't know their exact number," Jarel replies. "If we try to face them off now, we could get overwhelmed very quickly, and that won't help anyone." He looks up. "And even if we can get a good estimate of how many there are from how many are searching the map, that doesn't account for how many Cerberus soldiers are in hub areas. And they could have reinforcements as well."

"So much to take into account..." Nadeire comments.

"It's just part of the job," Jarel replies, looking up. "It doesn't look like all of us together can sneak across the way, but..." He looks around, and I watch as Jarel leans over, looking at one of the terminals. "I can probably sabotage one of the terminals. It's not a perfect solution, but if we can hit one of them and distract these guys long enough, we might be able to get to the other side."

"And you've got that tactical cloak," I add. "You can move around without being seen."

"Well, I'd have to be careful," Jarel comments. "It doesn't last forever." He edges forward. "But I can move between crates. They're positioned enough that I can activate the cloak and wait behind the crates until the cloak recharges." He looks back to us. "I'm going to get as close to the terminal at the far end of the chamber as I can. Wish me luck."

He opens his omni-tool immediately, and before I can say anything more he vanishes from sight. I breathe in slightly, looking up at the Cerberus soldiers. They don't seem to know that we're here, which is good for us I guess. Just in case, I decide to shuffle back into the tunnel a little bit, turning my omni-tool off. I simply look at the crates around the room, counting down the seconds in my head.

Jarel reappears behind one of the crates in the middle of the room almost immediately. I notice that he's actually _very _close to one of the Cerberus operatives, though, and I feel my blood run cold as the salarian ducks back behind the crate. Whoah, don't... I watch in tense anticipation as the Cerberus soldier continues to look around. C'mon, c'mon, don't look to your right, don't look to your right...

Thankfully, Jarel vanishes from sight again. However, the footsteps seem to resound over here, and it's only then that the Cerberus operative looks where Jarel was. I move further back into the tunnels, watching as the Cerberus operative pauses where he stands. My hands ball into fists, and I look out to where Jarel probably is. True to form, I see him reappear a little further away. He takes the time to glance above the crate he's using as cover, surveying the area. He ducks down again when one of the two Cerberus soldiers in the corner looks in his direction, and he looks back at us.

He pauses, glancing at his omni-tool before shaking his head. He then gestures to me, and I see him lift one of his fingers, indicating the crate further down. He then hits his omni-tool hand with his fist. I see him then turn to the terminal... Hm... Well, the crate is right over there... I guess this means that the next one he tries is going to be the terminal. Okay.

I nod to Nadeire, leaning back and getting him. "I think he's going to get the terminal after the next time he appears behind a crate," I whisper to the drell. "You're going first. If this devolves into a firefight, you'll be ahead of us, and you can just run right over to Jarel, who hopefully can cover you." I pat him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll be right here."

The drell nods. "I hope you're right..."

I then turn my attention as Garrus, Liara, and Brendan all prepare to make a break for it. I turn back to look at the salarian right as he vanishes from sight. I breathe in nervously, watching the crate at which Jarel indicated. C'mon, Jarel, you can do this. Just get close to the terminal... get close... C'mon...

He then appears behind the crate close to the terminal, omni-tool already primed and ready to go. Without any hesitation, the salarian reaches out, making sure to have the omni-tool light up just outside of these Cerberus troopers' field of vision. I then watch as the terminal in question sparks up, with the Cerberus troopers starting immediately as they see the terminal go out.

I see all the Cerberus troopers start murmuring to themselves as they go up to the terminal. "Bloody hell, what did it do _this _time?" I hear one of the troopers say.

I frown at this. What would that...?

No, there's no time. They're looking away from us right now, if there's any time to move, it's now.

I nod to Nadeire, beginning to move quickly and quietly behind him. I lightly push him forward, making sure to stay by the crates in case one of the Cerberus troopers looks behind their shoulders. I keep my head low, and Nadeire thankfully has enough sense to do the same thing. I push him forward, and manage to get all the way across without the Cerberus troopers looking in my direction. I push Nadeire through and into the tunnel, nodding to Jarel as I take my place at the opposite end. I look back to the others, watching as Garrus moves around the crates, with Liara not far behind. Brendan is still waiting for his turn to go.

"Damn it, even with all the extensive wiring, this thing is still getting busted," one of the troopers says.

"At least it's not the terminal with the map on it," another trooper comments. "We'd be screwed then."

I glance to the others, shrugging as Garrus gets through the tunnel. I simply keep one hand on my pistol, watching as one of the troopers looks behind. Immediately, I see Liara stop moving, with Brendan diving behind one of the crates. I hold my breath, watching as the trooper keeps looking out at the area. I find myself looking right over to where Brendan and Liara are, holding my breath. Come on, don't say anything, don't say anything...

And then the guy turns around, shrugging. "Well, I guess that means everything is going to hell again." Liara and Brendan immediately move as quickly as they can when the Cerberus trooper's line of sight is away from us. "Why is it that omni-tools are the only damn things that work down here?"

I hear one of the other troopers say something, but I pay no attention to it as Liara and Brendan both run into the tunnel, Brendan coming in just after Liara. Okay, that's all of us.

We then move away from the chamber as quickly and quietly as we can. I bring out the rear, looking behind me every so often as we move until we're out of sight of anyone in the chamber. As soon as this is for certain, I nod, coming back to the center of the group and opening my omni-tool again.

"Okay, that's one chamber down." I open my omni-tool again. "Now, we just need to get through all the _other _things these tunnels will throw at us..." I look at the map being added to by the Cerberus people, seeing that one path has made quite a bit of headway.

"Let's get moving," says Garrus.

Nobody argues with this as we quickly move through the tunnel, deeper into the bowels of the Citadel.

* * *

><p><strong>Elsewhere on the<strong> **Citadel_..._**

"Well, if we're lucky, they won't follow us all the way up here. And if they do, the hallway will funnel them all so it'll be easier to deal with."

I nod, looking at the quarian admiral as we settle into place. "I see," I state, standing a short distance away from the window of the apartment we have taken refuge in. "And we shall be safe until then?"

"Let's hope," Han'Gerrel replies. He reloads his assault rifle, looking back at me. "You all right, Anahit?"

I nod, looking outside of the window into the Citadel. I can see so much from here... So much death... so much destruction... and above us, a Reaper that seems to patrol the skies above us. It is such a sad situation for us all.

I turn back to look at the group of survivors that have helped protect me since this invasion began. Han'Gerrel is of course checking his weapons at the door. Shala'Raan is also here, running a diagnostic on a drone she used to defend us from the Reapers. Dsrondo is also here, and he is taking his shotgun apart on the ground of the apartment we have found. It is a rather small apartment, but it is in a place that cannot be surrounded by Reapers. It is secure, and hopefully will remain so.

"All things considered, I feel lucky," I state softly. "But I worry for my fellow beings down there. And I worry for Wrex."

"Do not worry about him, my child," says Shala. "From what I have seen of him, he can take care of himself."

"I am aware of that," I reply. "But I cannot help my worry, I am afraid. I know that Urdnot Wrex is eminently capable of defending himself, but in times in which there is so much death it is easy to forget such a fact."

"It is indeed," Dsrondo adds. "I do worry for Carhon as well. It has been a long time since we have heard from the Normandy."

"I trust that the Commander is keeping him safe," Shala'Raan says. "It is much as I trust she is keeping Tali safe. She looks out for her crew, and there are others who he can rely on there."

"If only these damn Reapers hadn't come when they did..." Han'Gerrel looks up at the ceiling. "Zaal'Koris better not be wetting his suit there over Rannoch."

"With the geth there?" Shala asks. "I should say it is rather unlikely."

"And I worry about my home, and Bakara," I add. "Tuchanka is virtually defenseless against the Reapers. If the Reapers are over Tuchanka right now..." I sigh, looking around. "It seems we all find some way to become... homesick, I think is the human term for it."

"With sentient machine races trying to kill us all? I certainly see where you're coming from." Han'Gerrel adjusts his assault rifle one last time, before leaning his back against the nearby wall and looking up. "Let's hope this situation changes soon."

I nod. "Indeed," I say. "Let us hope."

* * *

><p><strong>Another place on the Citadel...<strong>

"And here we are..."

I look at the object in question. Well, it looks rather small for something jamming all communications, but it's also glowing, which can't be a good thing. It's some... ball, standing on a small pedestal. Or something. It looks pretty stupid, for being made by things that can kill all organic life every fifty thousand years. And to think several hundred husks died to keep this small little thing safe. Everyone gets in front of me, save for Victus.

"Here we are indeed," Udina says. "Valern, can you hack it?"

"I'm not sure," Valern says. "It's been ages since I hacked into anything."

"Hack it?" asks Victus. "Why would we want to hack something that could adapt to our movements?"

"We don't want the Reapers to be crawling all over us while we're trying to find out where Anahit is," that pyjack comments. "Besides, we could probably shut down the whole network from here."

"If we were lucky," the asari adds. "Knowing the Reapers and how they used Sparatus for their own ends, they could have accounted for that possibility."

"But maybe there's some way to deal with it," says Valern. "We need to-"

I roll my eyes, stepping forward and pushing Udina out of the way. "Oh, let _me_ handle this," I say, stepping forward and drawing my shotgun. I then aim the shotgun right at the orb, staring it down at point-blank range as I squeeze the trigger. Without very much effort, the orb then explodes, mass accelerator rounds going through it as the orb falls completely to pieces right in front of all of us. This shocks those Councillors into silence, though I simply stand there at the smoking remains of the orb.

I nod, turning back to everyone. "There," I say. "That wasn't so hard." I then step back, looking at them. "If you ask me, we should've just done that in the first place, instead of whining about it like pups."

"Evidently, we should've..." Victus says. He then looks down at his omni-tool, opening it and selecting a random person. "Let's hope that worked." He then holds a hand up to his head, looking to the rest of us. "Hello? This is Councillor Adrien Victus. If there is anyone who is getting this message on this frequency, please respond immediately. We think we-"

"_-llor Victus!? Y...live?_"

I blink, looking to the others. "Well, it's fried all to hell, but I can understand it at least."

Victus frowns. "Hello?" he asks. "You're breaking up a little. Who is this?"

"_...t's a Spec...ses Mirani..._"

The Councillors all look at each other with surprised looks before turning their attention back to the turian. "Spectre Mirani!" Victus exclaims. "You're safe!"

"_..am, yes,_" the turian Spectre replies as it weaves in and out of static. "_I'm surviv...ere. Tough to do wi...se damn Reapery th...out, but I'm managing. I'm lead...ther survivors..._"

"Other survivors?" Victus asks. "Are they all right?"

"_Yes..._" the Spectre replies. The static kicks up more before she resumes speaking. "_...y're not doing grea...ould be a _lot _wor..._"

"That it could," Victus says. "Listen, is Jorgal Anahit with you?"

"_No,_" Tidoses replies. "_And we'r...oncentrated on looking fo... We're looking out fo...selves. And you? I...cil okay?_"

"The Council?" Victus asks. "We're all fine, but we're still looking for Anahit. We've got Wrex with us."

I hear a chuckle that's interrupted by the static. "_Doesn't sur...me,_" the turian Spectre replies. "_...ahit your top pri...?_"

"Top priority?" the turian Councillor replies as he looks around. "Yes. We'll keep on the lookout for others. In the meantime, keep yourself and those other survivors safe. When we find Anahit, I'll try to contact you again. If it's successful, we'll arrange to meet up."

"_Got it. Keep...afe._"

And then, the comm line disconnects.

I shrug. "Well, we know it's working," I say, opening my omni-tool. Hm... "I'm going to place a call. We better find Anahit, and fast."

"I suggest we move to another location first," Valern replies as he stands up, looking at the device. "I don't want to be here when the Reapers swarm this position."

"Yes, let us get out," the asari comments, standing up immediately and running off before I can say anything.

I sigh, shaking my head. That damn Councillor hasn't got any spine. Ah, well, she'll learn eventually. Well, before a husk hits her in the face and breaks her eye, anyway.

I cock my shotgun, following the Councillors as they move into a nearby alley.

* * *

><p><strong>The Keeper Tunnels...<strong>

We keep moving, keeping our weapons up as we go back to the narrow hallways. I have my omni-tool map open, looking up and down the passage as we advance forward. Okay, there are still people advancing... to the right... So go down this tunnel to the right, and keep going... I look past Jarel from where he stands at the back of the group, holding his weapon behind us. No, there's no Cerberus trooper coming from that direction. The markers are pretty clear about that, so we should be okay. Yeah, let's just keep going here...

I glance down at the map. Okay, there is still a tunnel that is expanding in that direction, though to get there, I see that there is another large chamber that comes between us and where the tunnel is slowly expanding. Damn... we need to get through there, and quickly. But how do we-

And before I can say anything else, I hear my omni-tool ping unexpectedly. I glance down, looking at a message from... what?

I immediately open my omni-tool, looking at the message thing as I... "Hello?" I ask immediately. "Who's there...?"

"_...adison...? ...s that you...?_" The voice gets a little lost in the static, but I recognize the deep, rumbling voice almost immediately.

"Wrex?" I ask, kneeling there. "Wrex, is that you?"

Some more static is heard from the line, but it doesn't take long before the static dies down enough that I can at least make out what he's saying. "_Madison!_" I hear the krogan say. "_So you and...or turian _are _made of st...ff than I thought._"_  
><em>

I nod, looking to the others as they all gather around. "We're okay," I comment. "Just a bit shaken." I frown. "You got the comms online?"

"_Yes,_" he says. "_Took a bit, though. __You know th...ssholes. Where a...ou? I can't..._"

I frown. "Wrex?" I ask.

"_I can't get consistent sig...lp here?_" Wrex replies.

I sigh. "I don't know if I can help you there, Wrex," I say. "I'm actually in the keeper tunnels right now."

There's a brief pause on the other side. "_You're in all..._" I can almost visualize the krogan shaking his head. "_What ar...oing down there?_"

"We think there might be a way to get us all out of this mess in the heart of the Citadel," I say. "I brought a group with me to find out more. There are Cerberus troopers crawling all over the place, so we think there might be something."

"_You're all crazy bas..._" Wrex replies. I glance back up at Garrus, who doesn't look the least bit surprised that Wrex is saying this. "_You're down there? I d...nyone could go dow...ide from duct rats._"

"Well, we found a way," I say. "And we're going to go find this thing so we can stop the Reapers from taking the Citadel." I look up. "And no, you're not allowed to follow us. There are still survivors on the surface."

"_I see..._" Wrex pauses. "_Do you...re Anahit is?_"

Hm... "I don't," I reply. "Sorry, Wrex. Have you tried calling her?"

"_I'm not...eply fro...ave Councillor Valern trying to find her,_" Wrex says. "_The damn comm lin...ll out and... not good..._"

I frown, leaning forward. Damn it, the static is overtaking the message again. "Wrex?" I ask. "Wrex, you're breaking up! What're you saying?"

"_...ison?_" Wrex says. "_...dison, stay on the li...on't you da...dis..._"

And then, the static overwhelms the transmission again. A few seconds pass, and then I watch as the call disconnects.

"Damn it!" I say, banging my fist on the tunnel wall. I shake my head, looking to the others.

"Well, if nothing else, we know he is alive," Liara supplies. "It honestly does not surprise me at all."

"And there are other survivors," Nadeire adds. "It means our efforts here will not be for nothing."

I nod. "That's true," I guess," I say. "Still, it's annoying to deal with, and we're still partly blind." I shake my head, bringing the map back up again. "Well, we know the comm jamming can be disrupted, if only for a bit."

"We need to find a way to make that more permanent," Jarel replies. "And we will not find it sitting here."

I begin moving again, looking ahead of me. "Exactly what I was thinking, Jarel," I say. "Come on. Let's keep moving."

With this, the six of us keep moving forward, and I glance down at the map again as we reach an intersection.

* * *

><p>We continue to follow the map, making sure to check down every corridor. By now, we're starting to see that the Cerberus guys are definitely a step ahead of us, though thankfully we're catching up pretty quickly. It's not so bad, really, and we're keeping up a pretty good pace. Nadeire thankfully knows to stay out of our way, though how someone can get in our way in the middle of a narrow corridor is a difficult question to answer, really. We're lucky in that we don't run into any Cerberus troops. Still, we keep our wits about us, because one could come at any time.<p>

We venture for a while, looking around us. I open my omni-tool again, nodding as I look just ahead. "Okay," I whisper. "The next chamber we have to pass through should be right up ahead."

"Good," says Brendan. "I'm getting tired of looking at the same three feet of hallway all the time."

"I think I will have to talk to Will about finding a larger apartment soon," Nadeire adds. "This much time in a tight space is tough..."

I pay them no mind, simply moving forward. "Don't lose focus just yet," I hear Liara say from behind me. "We've got quite a ways to go yet."

I nod. "That's what I was thinking," I say. I look up. "All right, after we pass the chamber, I think we could use a small break. We've been moving non-stop."

"Yeah, that might be a good idea," Garrus says. "It gets tough to perform headshots when you've got a stiff knee."

"I'm with Garrus on this one," Brendan adds.

"Are you sure Cerberus won't get ahead of us?" Jarel asks.

"We'll see," I say. "Besides, if they find a forking path again, they'll probably just lead us in the right direction without us having to do anything."

"True," Jarel comments. I then see a light as we get closer.

"Okay, here it is," I say, walking up to the light and making sure I don't get into a visible area.

And indeed, we slowly crouch-walk over to a couple of crates, hiding in the shadow cast by a rather well-lit area. I nod to the others as they settle into their hiding spots, before I lay my weapon down to get a peek.

Hm. The map wasn't exaggerating, this chamber really _is _quite large. It's almost larger than it needs to be, though I see several pods littering the walls again. I look down at the well-lit area from where we are above most of where everything is. Hm, they sure brought a lot of lights down to this chamber. There are crates positioned all over the place, too, with quite a few Cerberus troops going around doing their thing. I frown, watching... Hm, this one might not be so simple to get around..

Okay, so there's that corner over there, and-

Holy shit!

I duck back behind the crate, breathing in sharply. I look to the others, feeling my heart rate climb. Fuck, I didn't just... I poke my head out again to see...

Oh, _fuck_...

"Madison?" Garrus asks.

I turn back to them, shaking my head. "Kai Leng," I whisper. "He's here."

I see Garrus peek out as well, and indeed, he sees the Cerberus agent down there with the others. He pumps a fist, looking right at me. "_Damn _it," he whispers. "Are you sure you killed him on Kahje?"

"_Yes_," I whisper back. "I shot him with my gun, and saw Art go over to his body and pick something off of it. He should be _dead_, Garrus."

"Wait, who?" asks Brendan.

"Kai Leng," I whisper back. "He's a Cerberus agent, and a very dangerous one at that. He came back to life, so if you can do that..."

"I have heard of him in a lot of Cerberus reports I received as the Shadow Broker," Liara comments. "He's dangerous."

I nod. "Yes, he is," I comment. I shake my head. "If he's here..."

"We can't think about that," Jarel says. "As much as I know we're in big trouble if we ever face off against him, we have to keep moving. And that means we make sure that Kai Leng can't see us."

"Easier said than done, but we'll see what we can do," I say. I look to Nadeire. "Nadeire, stay close to Garrus. If Kai Leng catches you out in the open, you're dead if you don't have any combat experience."

The drell nods. "I understand," he states. "Now, how do we get out of this chamber without being seen?"

I nod, looking over the crate again. Damn... Well, the crates are all strewn out like before, but the lighting there is too bright and there are more Cerberus troopers covering every angle...

"Damn," I whisper, looking back to the others. "I can't see any ways down over here. Do you guys have anything?"

Jarel looks above us. "Well, there are the pods themselves, but I don't know if that will be helpful at all." He shrugs. "They could just look up and see us there, you know."

I look back to the Cerberus troopers. Damn, we need to think of a plan, and fast. They haven't noticed us yet, but eventually they're going to notice from the whispering up here. And if they catch us, then that probably won't be very good news. And hey, they've got good communications, so that means they can corner us more easily if we try the prisoner gambit and...

...

Wait. Communications. And it might not get rid of Kai Leng, but...

I turn to Liara and Brendan. "Liara," I whisper. "You've got a voice changing application, right?"

"On Hagalaz," the asari replies. "But I have a copy of that application here. Why?"

I sigh. "Good," I say, turning to Jarel. "Jarel, we got that call from Wrex before this point. Do you think it's at all possible for you to hack into Cerberus comm channels?"

"Remotely?" Jarel asks. "It would be tough, but... I could attempt it." He looks at Kai Leng. "You realize-"

"Yes, I realize that," I reply. "But our other options are dubious at best."

Jarel nods, gesturing for us to get further out of view. "We better get out of visibility, then," he said. "And we've got a much better chance of being close to the ext of this chamber if we move over here. Come on."

With this, we slowly shuffle to the right, keeping behind the crates. I glance over the edge every so often, glancing at Kai Leng and the Cerberus troopers a final time before getting away from the entrance. Yes, that's a good idea. Stay away from the entrance. I peer over the crate again, looking for anything there that we can use in getting these guys out of here. Hm...

I glance at the crates themselves. "What would they want with these crates?" I ask.

"Lighting and terminals," says Brendan. "Or something else. I don't know."

"I'll bet there's a separate application for them," Garrus adds as he starts looking over the labels on these crates that he can see. I also see his eyes scan information on his visor. "If some of these guys have explosives..."

"It's possible they brought explosives with them to clear any potential pathways," Liara says. "Still, I don't think we'll have time to take any for ourselves."

"I don't think so either, not with Kai Leng around," I reply. I simply keep moving, staying close to the ground as we settle behind a couple of crates just beneath a pod about ten feet above our heads. Yeah... Okay, we should be safe here. I hope.

I nod to Jarel. "Work your magic," I say.

"You got it."

Liara immediately opens her omni-tool, looking right at Jarel. He opens his own omni-tool, his fingers once again flying over the interface. I spare a final glance at Kai Leng and the other Cerberus troopers, looking back to see Liara fiddling with the voice changer options she's got. I nod. Yeah, maybe having a big imposing voice _wouldn't _be the best idea.

I lean back against the crate, watching the salarian work in silence. He looks at his omni-tool with nothing but concentration, manipulating his omni-tool quickly. I hold my breath, looking at the salarian. Everyone crowds around him, though Liara ends up holding her arm out to keep everyone out of Jarel's way.

Eventually, the salarian nods, looking to all of us. I quickly open my omni-tool, looking at the map. Hm... If we send them to this dead end over here... Or no, maybe it'll be better to send them to the intersection...

I nod to Jarel, pointing at one of the intersections we would've passed on the map. Jarel nods, and with a few more fingerstrokes over the omni-tool, he nods to Liara. The asari frowns for a second, but before long Brendan has opened his own omni-tool, and shows Liara something that was apparently written down on the omni-tool. The asari nods gratefully, and then begins speaking.

"This is Cerberus Unit..." She glances at Brendan's omni-tool, nodding and reading the number. "...15349 to..." The asari looks at my map, and then nods as I bring up the information on the chamber we're in. "...Base 2." Liara takes a breath before continuing. "Do you copy?"

I slowly glance over the crates, glancing at the group down there as one of the troopers answers. "_Roger that, Unit 15349_," says the Cerberus trooper. "_Did you find something?_"

"Um, I think so," says Liara. "I'll need someone over at my location soon, hopefully to scout a potential way there. It seems like there's something, but there's a blockage there we'll need to clear up." She glances at my map again, nodding upon deciding to look at the labeled intersection. "I'm at Intersection Five, close to where we found it. I'll lead you there myself."

"_Now that's what I like to hear_," I hear the trooper say. "_We'll send a team over there. Kai Leng is currently at Base 2_."

"Roger that," says Liara as we all begin to move so we're out of the viewpoint of anyone by the entrance. "I'll be right here."

And with this, the comm line goes out. I hear some faint conversation from below, but I keep my back plastered to the crate behind me. I glance back, looking at the doorway as I start hearing footsteps getting louder. I breathe in and out slowly... Okay, keep it together...

Eventually, I see a group of four Cerberus troopers walk up to the exit of this chamber... They pass us without any event, and I find myself exhaling in relief. Yes, that was it. That's all the troopers, and no Kai Leng in sight. Which means we'll have to get past Kai Leng somehow, and we have to do it before these four guys notice something is up.

I glance back to the others. "And now, for the hard part," I say. "Getting past Kai Leng."

"We may have to engage him," says Jarel. "So stay at the ready."

I nod, Garrus bringing his arm over Nadeire's shoulder and whispering something to the drell. I creep forward, looking down at Kai Leng as he begins looking around. I grit my teeth... Damn it, maybe some of his senses were heightened? Were... no, he probably would've had his troops seek us out if he thought we were in here. Maybe he doesn't know just yet...

I look back to Jarel, watching as he vanishes from sight. I simply shake my head, watching Kai Leng turn away. I take this time to immediately rush as far as I can, keeping my back pressed to the many crates within the room. I see Garrus, Liara, and Brendan follow my lead, with Garrus keeping Nadeire close. I simply keep forward, glancing up each time I get to a crate.

After a few seconds, I see Jarel materialize a few crates in front of me. I pause immediately, looking up at Kai Leng... Oh, great, we're going to get in a bad spot, aren't we? He's looking there, if he turns around he'll see us... I gesture to Jarel to move while Kai Leng is still looking in the other direction. Damn... I move forward... C'mon...

And then, I hear a slide from behind me. It's loud enough that I can hear it from a couple of crates behind me. Wait, that came from behind me... Shit... I look behind me, seeing Brendan moving his foot ever so slowly as if he just slipped or something... I see Liara freeze in place. Fuck...

I look back to Kai Leng just in time to see him turn around, his eyes looking in Brendan's direction. Shit... I hold my breath for a tense few microseconds, looking at the Cerberus agent in fear as he looks behind me.

I see him frown... Shit, he must've heard us somehow. He then opens his omni-tool, looking around. "Team Charlie, I'll need you to double back to Base 2," he says. "I think we have an infes-"

Before I know what has happened, Jarel has leapt out of cover, omni-blade drawn. The salarian slashes right at Kai Leng, the Cerberus agent jumping right back and ending the call. I hear some comm chatter, but it's not long before I jump out myself and grab my pistol. I rush forward, bringing the pistol down on Kai Leng's head quickly. Oh, God, I hope that did damage...

I then turn to the others. "Come on, move!" I shout, making a beeline for the exit we need to get through. I see Garrus and Nadeire stand up almost immediately right as Jarel grabs a grenade off of Kai Leng. Liara and Brendan have just passed the salarian when the salarian joins us, throwing the smoke grenade into the hall behind us.

Shit, shit, shit...

"Keep running!" I shout. "Just keep running!"

I hear the footsteps fall. Damn it, damn it, damn it! Note to self: yell at Brendan later.

I run forward, glancing back to see that Kai Leng is still bounding for us, wasting no time at all gaining ground on us. Jarel grabs the grenades, stuffing them elsewhere on his body as Kai Leng runs forward. Damn it, damn it... I quickly open my omni-tool, looking at our location. Okay, there we are... And ahead of us is an inter-

Crap!

I look ahead of me just in time to see the intersection. I very narrowly stop running, but pure adrenaline is keeping me going.

"Right!" I shout.

It's just as well, for when I ht the intersection I turn right. I thunder down it, pushing off the wall to give myself a little extra leverage to keep going. I keep my pistol drawn still, and look behind me to see Garrus follow my lead, the turian dragging Nadeire behind him. I turn my attention back to the front just in time to see a Cerberus trooper turning around and looking at us. Without thinking, I quickly fire my pistol, sending a few rounds in his direction and not even waiting for the body to hit the ground. When I rush forward, I whack him in the face, making sure to keep my momentum up as we continue down the long passageway.

I take the time to take a glance at my map... Okay, we're getting close to where we need to be... C'mon girl, keep it together...

I glance behind me to see Jarel leaping around the hallway, Liara and Brendan following. However, I also see Kai Leng keeping close behind us, his sword drawn. I turn ahead, running as fast as my feet will carry me. I glance to my side as Garrus runs over to me. Crap, how much closer are we?

I open my omni-tool map again... yes, we're close! That's always a good thing. Now we've just gotta pass the guy... I glance behind me to see that Kai Leng is still behind us... Crap, but it's all worthless if he's following. So how-

I feel something whiz by my shoulder. When I look back, I see that Kai Leng is firing some kind of thing off his hand. I duck again as he fires in my direction, an energy bolt flying just above my head. Shit, he's got _that_? Fuck, keep your head down, keep it-

My heart stops beating when I hear Brendan let out a loud cry of pain. When I look back, I turn to see Liara grabbing a hold of his wrist, yanking him back up as he starts limping as fast as he can. I keep moving, starting to run in as much of a zig-zag as I can in this confined space I've got to work with. Kai Leng seems to wise up to this, though, for then I feel something graze my arm. Ow... Just keep moving, Madison, and make sure-

Yes! There's the Cerberus guy we're tailing! I run up to him, drawing my gun and firing a few rounds. I run past the Cerberus trooper before I can do much else, but when I look back I see Jarel take him out with a quick swipe of his omni-tool's blade. I continue running as soon as we see this, and I hear another shout, this time from Jarel. I turn back to see the salarian nursing an arm injury, but otherwise he looks all right.

I look in front of me again just in time to see that we're coming on a turn. I nod, running forward as quickly as I can and jumping off the wall to make the turn. I keep going, and-

Ack!

Suddenly, my feet give out from under me, but instead of falling into a vat like the last time I find myself falling a certain distance. I let out a scream as I fall, turning in my fall to see that Garrus and Nadeire have also fallen in with me. I don't get to see what everyone else does before I bounce off of what feels like a large step, bouncing off a few more large steps on the way down before I feel myself get deposited into pitch blackness. Before long, I stop moving, rolling onto my back and groaning. Ow... Ow...

I slowly get up, looking behind me. When I stand up, I realize that I feel a little dizzy, and grope in the darkness to find a wall. Luckly, I find it. Where the hell are we...? I mean... we're down in the keeper tunnels, but this place... This place is unfamiliar.

I let out a soft groan, feeling my body... Ow, my arm doesn't feel so great... I pad it up... Phew, it doesn't feel broken. And hey, I'm still alive: I could've fallen into a protein vat or any one of those other threats Bailey mentioned. If I had...

I then hear soft footsteps set down from behind me. I look back there to see Liara and Jarel moving down as quickly as they can. Liara's got Brendan strung over her back, and I briefly notice that he's bleeding from a spot on his shoulder. Hm... They're both surrounded by the pale blue light of biotics, and... Well, here we are. I look over to Garrus and Nadeire as the turian helps the drell to his feet. Nadeire groans in pain, and it's only then I notice that he's keeping all his weight on one foot.

I look to the others. "What the hell was that?" I ask immediately.

"Some kind of drop or something," Brendan says. "_Futar_... Ow..."

"Well, we're all still alive, so we should be okay," says Garrus.

"What about Kai Leng?" I ask.

"We came into this place at an intersection," says Liara. "Jarel went invisible, and I had gotten there just in time to hide further in the darkness. I think he assumed that there was nothing here, because he ended up going in another direction." She then looks back. "He might still be after us, though, and now that he knows we're here we'll have half of Cerberus trying to find us."

"Futar..." I see someone turn an omni-tool flashlight on, and then I see that Brendan is on his knees, sporting two bleeding wounds. "I don't know what sort of arms that son of a bitch has got, but I want it."

"I think we all do," says Jarel as he appears in the flashlight. He looks down at Brendan, applying a medigel dose to the human. The human sighs in relief, and Jarel applies some more medigel to his own wound. "Well, I've got only one medigel store left. Let's hope it holds."

"Knowing our luck so far, that would be something to see," I mention. I bring up my own omni-tool and turn the map off. Hm... Well, the map will be useless beyond this point except to draw Cerberus to us, so... "I think I'll delete this map here."

"Probably a smart move, if they decide to use it to track us," says Jarel.

I bring my hand over to the application, and then I delete it immediately. "We'll see," I say as I open the omni-tool flashlight. "This place is even darker than the last one..."

"It is," Liara comments. "We have to be careful. Keep your flashlights on at all times."

"We're not going back?" Nadeire asks.

"Well, I'm up for turning back if you can figure out a way to instantly get Cerberus from breathing down our necks while climbing up whatever it is we just fell down," Garrus replies.

I chuckle at this, pointing the flashlight at him as he looks ahead. "Oh, Garrus," I say. I shake my head. "Seriously, though, let's hope this isn't a dead end.

The turian nods, pointing his flashlight forward. When he does, I see the entrance of another tunnel. "Hm... It looks like we can keep going this way."

"Then it's onward we go," says Brendan as Liara helps him to his feet.

"Yeah," I say. "And quickly, too. I do _not _want to encounter Kai Leng again."

With this, we walk towards the tunnel, with me briefly glancing behind before I enter the tunnel behind everyone else.

* * *

><p><strong>Elsewhere on the Citadel...<strong>

I flatten my back against the wall. Just keep breathing, Will, just keep breathing...

I look at Tidoses as she looks above us. Her assault rifle is in her lap, but she doesn't move to pick it up as we sit there under the window of the C-Sec checkpoint. Our salarian friend is checking ammunition stocks here, occasionally glancing at the windows as he does his work. Tidoses simply sighs, looking up as she pulls her legs in, the assault rifle sliding off her lap and onto the ground next to her.

"Something on your mind?" I ask.

Tidoses nods. "I'm worried about my father," she says. "The comms are back up, albeit with all that static going around. I just wonder... is he okay?"

I nod, placing a hand on her knee. "He'll be all right," I say. "He has to be."

The turian Spectre nods, closing her eyes. "I know," she says. "My dad was never easy to kill in the military, actually. He used to tell me stories all the time about things that happened there." She shakes her head, looking up. "I know he can handle himself, but I'm still worried that he's outnumbered and alone..."

"Hopefully we can find him before anything bad happens," I say.

"Yes," Tidoses says. "Let's hope it comes to that."

I lean back in silence... Nadeire... Please be all right. I know you're out there somewhere, but... Come back. I wish more than ever that you were here with me. Just... stay safe. Wherever you are.


	40. Chapter 39

_A/N: Hello again guys, and welcome back to more MV3._

_But before I go into more MV3, I have to ask the Mass Effect fanfiction community something: **can you quit it with the 'Shepard is a being from a parallel reality' concept already?** Seriously, I don't understand this. Ever since InHarmsWay produced_ Parallel Realities_, it's been a plague that has engulfed several authors in its clutches, and I have no idea why. I mean, seriously,_Parallel Realities _is probably the single **dumbest** piece of ass I have ever read in my life. Its plot is so insane it makes absolutely **zero **sense within the context of its own universe, its heroes are unlikable and incredibly hypocritical thanks to the mountains of fridge logic that result from a combination of terrible world-building and a lack of adhering to 'show don't tell', and to top it all off the prose is boring anyway!_

_So why the hell do people want to rip it off? I mean, seriously, EclipsePheniox and edboy4926 have their own versions of that piece of crap now! __It's not even that great a concept, anyway, and most of the authors that do use this plot use it as an excuse to regurgitate as much plot of the Mass Effect trilogy as they can. You know, despite the fact that making Shepard a part of a Mary Sue race that is all powerful and killed 100 Reapers in the past would probably DRASTICALLY change the events of the games in every sense. I just... **why?**_

_*groan*_

_Well, that's the rant of the day._

_And also... Well, I have an announcement to make. I've been experiencing writer's block with MV3 for a bit. Don't get me wrong, I know where I want to go, but... well, it's tough to get there. So to hopefully remedy this, I've been rereading MV1. And... honestly, I think there are things I would've done differently if I had wrote it now. I'll be likely to be off the internet soon, but in the meantime..._

_Yeah, that's right. I'll be working on a retooling of the entirety of MV1. So at some point after July, expect to hear from _Mass Vexations: The Re-Vexed Cut. _I hope to use it to get to the core of what I meant to portray there, so... yeah. You'll see what happens with that soon enough._

_Well, this installment has more craziness, so let's get to it, yeah?_

* * *

><p>Chapter 39: A Return to Ilos<p>

"Okay, we're approaching the end of the jump!"

Suddenly, the uneasy silence is broken, and Shepard looks up. "You sure about that, Isaac?" she asks.

"Yeah," says Isaac. "And I don't think the ship's going to survive."

Shepard nods. "Helmets on, everyone," she says.

"I would stay away from the back of the ship," Ellie adds as she puts her own helmet on.

I nod at this, putting my own helmet back on. I look back to the others as they all move towards the front of the ship. Verek attaches his helmet before moving to help the key over to the front of the ship. I notice Kal looking quite disappointed as he puts his visor back on, and I think that I'm actually seeing Vala take note of this as he does so. I myself breathe in and out nervously. Okay...

"Let's hope this thing doesn't go up in a plume of smoke," I say.

"Let's hope that too," says Isaac. "I've positioned us close as close as we can get to keep us in orbit. Hopefully, my calculations are correct, and we won't be pulled into the atmosphere."

"We'll see," says Shepard. "Just stay calm, everyone."

"Right," says Ellie. "We're exiting the jump in five... four... three... two... one..."

And then, I see the grey light of the ShockPoint jump give way to the blackness of space again. I can see the planet is right to the corner of the viewport, and I find myself gripping Tali's hand subconsciously after a second or two of complete silence.

A loud sound suddenly rings in my ears. I think... I think it's a pipe burst, and... And then suddenly, I feel myself get pulled out of the ship as a hole opens somewhere to my left. The hole opens quickly, and then I dimly hear an explosion somewhere behind me. And before I know what's happened, I'm pulled out of the ship, Tali hanging on to my hand tight. For the next few seconds, I feel myself tumbling, the silence around me a little unnerving.

And then, I feel someone grab my foot. I look below me to see that it's Isaac, who's got running... well, _flying _around trying to stabilize us all. It's then that I notice that Kal is heading in my direction, and then I grab for his foot. So I-ow! Okay, note to self, never grab people when they're being ejected into a vacuum. I... Ow... My shoulder...

I squeeze my eyes shut. Okay Art, just keep calm, don't panic, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out...

I look around me to see that we're all sort of latching on to each other, and then I watch as the _Satie _goes in some kind of explosion. I feel the force get us all the way over here, and we silently drift a little to the side. I look back to Isaac, watching as he attempts to keep us all close...

I then exhale, looking above... Okay... Well, I'm still breathing, and I probably would've been dead by now if my air supply had any leaks in it... Wow, the shrapnel didn't affect us in any way. Phew.

"_Is everyone okay?_" I hear Isaac ask.

I look out. "I'm fine," I say. "Anyone?"

"_Interesting_," Mordin says immediately. "_No fatalities. Exit ship._"_  
><em>

"_We sure about that?_" Kal asks.

"_Yeah, I don't know if we can say that just yet,_" Kaidan chimes in.

"_I know I'm all right,_" says Tali. "_And from looking around, it seems everyone else is okay._"

I nod. "You okay Shepard?" I ask.

"_I'm... fine..._" I notice that Shepard's voice is wavering a little bit. Hm... Can't say I blame her. "_Is the key okay...?_"

"_It's intact, yes,_" Verek replies. "_So we are all alive_."

"For now," I comment. "Air in our suits isn't really that... y'know." I look down. "One of us should see if the rachni below us can come and get us."

"_Let me,_" Shepard says. "_Your friend Rilara relayed some information in case we come around to this part of the galaxy. Hopefully, that'll pay off..._"

"Yeah, let's hope," I say. "Though, if this is Daro'Xen we're thinking about here..."

"_It probably is,_" says Kal'Reegar. "_She didn't go with the Rachni Queen, remember?_"

I growl. "True, I guess," I say. "Okay..."

I look to where Shepard is. "_I'm placing the call now,_" she says. "_Keep calm, and don't panic_."

I nod as I hear she then goes ahead to place the call. Of course, this means we become disconnected from her, and so I find myself looking around us. "So... you prothean guys do this often?"

"_Absolutely not_," Mubuk states. "_We are in danger of being caught in a radiation storm._"

"_I do not think we shall need to worry of such a thing,_" says Servero. "_With any luck, these rachni will be efficient._"

"_I do not think they will be civil,_" says Verek. "_But we shall see_."

"Yep, that we shall," I comment, looking over at the rachni's planet where it floats right over there.

* * *

><p>Some minutes later, I find myself looking out to the void around us. We don't have that much air left in our suits, really, but here we are. Shepard said that someone was coming to pick us up, but if they are...<p>

Well, they better get to it fast. I glance over to Tali where she's hovering close by. Hm...

"You know, Tali, your password says a lot about 'after time adrift in open stars'," I comment. "And now, we're _literally _adrift in open stars."

"_Don't remind me_," Tali replies with a flat tone. "_I don't think there's any quarian on the Fleet who could imagine this._"

"Well, most quarians don't get yanked out of ships that are coming apart," I comment. "Well, neither do most sentient beings, for that matter." I look out to the planet below us... "Everything seems so different from out here."

"_I bet you can relate_," Tali mentions.

"Well... I guess," I comment. "I used to read all the time about people who would go outside into space on space walks when humanity had first started going into space. I... always felt kind of afraid of it."

"_Your fear of heights again?_" she asks.

"Yeah, that was kind of it," I comment. "If you weren't careful, you could fall over three hundred miles to your death."

"_Which, of course, would not be pleasant,_" Tali replies. "_Were you afraid of the vacuum as well?_"

"Oh, yeah," I comment. "I think you know how it is."

"_Can't breathe in it, can't live in it..._" Tali adds. "_It's a cold environment, space._"

I nod. "That it is," I say. "And yet... it's kind of inviting now. I mean, with all of us floating several hundred miles over the surface of an alien planet... It's beautiful." I look around to everyone else. "If a little weird, given that I'm floating in the middle of nothing holding on to make sure that there are several other guys who aren't sent flying into space."

"_Still,_" she says. "_I'd like it if we _didn't _make a habit of this, though._"_  
><em>

"Yeah, I'm not gonna argue with you on that," I say. "It's beautiful, but I'll be damned if it's not dangerous." I look up there. "Ah, well. At least I got to experience something like this at least once, y'know?"

"_I suppose you..._" Tali trails off. Wait, why... Unless...

I look to where I imagine Tali to be looking...

And there she is! It's about damn time!

The ship gets a little closer to us, and I notice. "All right, it's about time!" I say. "I almost thought we were going to suffocate to death out here."

"_And I thought you two were never going to stop talking_."

... Shit... "You heard that, Verek?" I ask.

"_Of course,_" says the prothean.

"_We all heard it,_" says Ellie. "_You didn't think to move it to a private channel?_"_  
><em>

I look above me. "I'm trying to keep a guy from floating off into space!" I comment. "It's kinda hard to access an omni-tool like that, y'know?"

"_Possibly,_" says Vala as the ship approaches. "_I hope these rachni are inded our allies..._"

"_You'll see..._" says Shepard as the airlock door opens.

* * *

><p>The ride down to the planet is, surprisingly, rather silent. I notice from time to time that the protheans are giving the rachni rather disturbed looks. Fortunately, it seems they've thought better about speaking about it, and I notice that the one oravore of the group is even looking at the rachni with some admiration. I myself simply sit back, watching as they work around.<p>

Obviously, this isn't one of the ships with Isaac's FTL design. It actually looks like a ship the rachni designed themselves, actually, and they navigate around it just fine. Us... we actually have really weird walls to look at. Some of the walls have indents meant for their travel. And of course, there are no stairs. Thankfully, the Rachni have been good about keeping us on the same level as the rachni, but as I sit on these things that I'm pretty sure were meant to be stasis pods, I can't help but notice the differences between us.

I look over at Shepard, who's standing around watching the rachni work. They're actually a pretty well-oiled machine in a lot of ways. Every rachni in here is flitting about quickly, checking various panels and communicating in a strange way. The sounds in the air start to feel melodious after a while, which is always a good thing as my translator gives me no idea what the fuck they're saying.

Ah, well... We'll be down there soon enough. And down there...

Shit. Well, Rilara and the queen are still over around Khar'shan, and that leaves the bitch, doesn't it?

... Shit, this is gonna be a long visit.

I ponder this right as I see us get over to the ground of the planet beneath us. The ship lands, and I find myself standing up, making my way to the airlock. Everyone else does that, Verek holding the key in front of him. I notice that Konkwo looks at it, crossing his hands behind his back before he looks across the way to us.

Eventually, we all get to the airlock. When the airlock opens and we all step out onto the arid landscape...

"Yep," I say, rolling my eyes as Daro'Xen stands right there. "I knew it! I'm going to have to deal with the-"

"Art, now is _not _the time," says Shepard sternly.

"I'll be fine," says Tali immediately. "I don't like having to deal with her any more than you do, but right now..."

I glare at Daro'Xen. "I still don't think she can be trusted, commander," I say. "I know what she did, and how that affected the Fleet and Tali."

"And you would be a fool to think I have had time to begin a similar situation since leaving the Fleet," Daro'Xen adds. "I can assure you that I have not been up to anything dubious since you left."

"And how do I know I can trust you on that?" I ask.

"Because you have to," says Shepard. "The Reapers are here, Art. You know that we need to band together better than anyone."

"I do," I say. "I just don't want her to betray us when the time comes. She betrayed her people once: who knows what would happen if we let her betray the entire galaxy too?"

"It won't come down to that," says Daro'Xen. "Trust me."

I sigh, looking at her. "Fine," I say. "I'll work with you. For now." I lean close to her. "But don't think for a second that I'm letting you off easy. I'll have my eye on you."

Shepard sighs. "I suppose that's the best I'll ask for," she says. She then turns to Daro'Xen. "I'm sorry. Anyway, to topics that are much more important."

"Yes," says Daro'Xen as she turns. "I figured you might return here. I assume our first ship was lost somehow."

"Well, it had a successful maiden voyage," Isaac said. "It was after it got hit by a Reaper beam where we started having problems."

"Mm." Daro'Xen simply nods. "I'll assume you managed to get away. Since we had to rescue you, I can assume the shockpoint jump can be dangerous for the ship."

"There's a reason we had issues trying to adapt the ShockPoint Drive for larger ships," Isaac replies. "Sometimes, damage to ships can be amplified when space starts to act funny around it, you know?"

"I think so," says Daro'Xen. "In any event, the rachni queen instructed her horde to construct more of these ships while she was away. Seeing that the maiden voyage occurred without a hitch, I would say she was right." She looks over to us. "The rachni work fast, especially once they have familiarized themselves with the technology."

"So you're saying...?" asks Shepard.

"We may have another ship soon," says Daro'Xen. "That way, we can potentially go anywhere. Perhaps we can start by going to Khar'shan where the rachni queen said your fleet would be?"

"Actually, we have a different destination in mind," says Shepard.

Daro'Xen nods, looking at the protheans. "I assume this has to do with your... _friends_," she says. "I've never seen anything like them."

"They're protheans," Tali says.

Daro'Xen jumps back, her eyes widening at the revelation. "P... Protheans?" she asks, her voice a little louder than usual.

"We are apparently known as that, yes," Vala replies. She looks around, narrowing her eyes slightly as she edges closer to Verek. "You are...?"

"Daro'Xen vas Neda," she replies. She turns to the Commander. "I have heard much of your exploits, Commander, but protheans?"

"Yes," says Shepard. "Trust me, I didn't see this coming either."

"If you had said to me that I could expect to meet the protheans today, I would have seriously doubted my sanity." I snort at this. Yeah, as if she's _got _any sanity. She simply ignores me, looking pointedly at the rachni pit below us. "What destination did you have in mind?"

"Ilos," says Shepard. "There's something there we need to get."

* * *

><p>"And you hope that with this... <em>weapon<em>, you can defeat the Reapers once and for all."

"That's the gist of it, yes."

Daro'Xen leans back. Above us, the rachni are busy at work constructing a second one of these small ShockPoint vessels. I've long since turned my attention to Daro'Xen, though I can't help but glance at the rachni as they work. The rest of us are scattered around the area, either standing around leaning on stalagmites, or sitting on the ground. Kal is tending to his weapons, and the rest of us sort of just sit there.

"So we're to destroy an entire star system, then," Daro'Xen says. "I would say it's an inconvenient solution."

"What choice do we have?" Verek asks immediately. "Unless you would rather throw everything we have at the Reapers, then there is no choice."

"I don't know," Tali says. "I'm still not sure how practical it is to destroy a star system, or even several."

"Not to mention that there is the issue of how we get the Reapers into the star systems in the first place," Shepard adds. "This poses a few problems."

"Problems I am sure Thurn Tarkaris accounted for," Mubuk says. "There are ways, after all."

I blink, looking at the protheans. Hm... "There's something you're not telling us," I say.

"Perhaps there is," Verek replies vaguely.

Shepard turns to the protheans. "Then why are you being so vague about it?" she asks.

"I was asked not to state anything by Thurn Tarkaris," Verek says. "There is sensitive information."

Shepard crosses her arms. "Of what nature?" she asks. "We're not in a Reaper zone."

"No, but we _are _in the company of rachni," says Verek as he points around us. "They cannot be trusted."

"Not certain if logic sound," Mordin replies, looking directly at Verek. "Rachni have been helpful. Instrumental in finding dreadnaught. Prothean plan worthless without them."

"We fought them in our cycle as well," Verek replies. "You would leave the fate of the galaxy with them?"

"I know I certainly would," Daro'Xen immediately replies, stepping forward. I notice that her fist is balled... oh shit, she's angry. "The rachni have been nothing but accommodating to me during my time with them. In a galaxy where nobody else would have taken me in, I have been lucky to be with a rachni queen who will break her back to make sure I am made at home." She points her finger in Verek's face. "You have not _met_ the rachni, and I would advise you not to make judgments on them now."

"That question wasn't directed at _you_," Verek says, simply pushing Daro'Xen's finger away from him. "Shepard, you would trust them?"

"We already did once, and it turned out pretty well for us," says Shepard. "And besides, the rachni have nothing to do with this. If they had been indoctrinated by the Reapers, I would see your point. But these rachni are not indoctrinated." She then crosses her arms, giving a stern look to Verek. "What aren't you telling us, Verek?"

The prothean captain stands there, looking at Shepard. They stare at each other for a good four seconds, the silence becoming rather tense. I see Verek take a step forward, his eyes smoldering for a brief period of time. In response, Shepard moves forward a bit, meeting Verek's eyes directly and not moving an inch backwards.

Finally, Verek steps back. "The Ilos team did some extra work on the Citadel," he says. "They did more than change the Keepers' signal."

She frowns. "And it could potentially help us when the time comes to use this weapon?" Shepard asks.

"Yes," says Verek.

"So why don't we go to the Citadel?" I ask. "It would be better if we could use the Citadel to our advantage now, right?"

"The Reapers will not dare to tamper with the Citadel until they have dealt with all life on there," says Vala. "It is theirs, after all. We have time. For Ilos, I fear we may have less time."

"Well, then this ship better build itself fast," I say.

Ellie looks up at the rachni workers, as does Isaac. I notice that Konkwo is following their gazes, giving a curious look to the ship that is being assembled right above us. I see a few workers scurrying to put some items in place, and then all the workers move away.

"That won't be a problem," says Ellie. "That looks rather complete to me."

"Yeah, it looks complete to me too," Isaac comments as he looks up at the ship above us.

Daro'Xen simply steps forward. "And if this one's maiden voyage is as successful as the last one's, you should be set to go to Ilos," Daro'Xen comments. She looks at us. "I unfortunately must remain here. The rachni queen placed me here to ensure her children did not lose hope. But hopefully, this ship will be fully functional." She looks to the protheans. "I trust one of you has an engineer that understands this weapon you're looking for."

"We all know how it works to some extent," Verek replies. "Konkwo is our specialist on the weapon, though."

"Then that is good." Daro'Xen looks at the component being held by Verek's biotics. "I do hope the key has not been damaged."

"We'll see," Shepard says immediately as the rachni begin to move on building a pathway for us to get onto the ship. The commander turns to us. "Come on," she says. "We'll discuss the Citadel advantage some other time. For now, Vala is right. If the Reapers knew about the hidden coordinates, then they must know about the item on Ilos. Come on."

* * *

><p>It takes a while before we set off again, but before we know it we're off again. I eye the protheans a little more suspiciously as they glance back at us. Isaac is careful to allow the rachni to kind of pull us out of these caves. Seriously, navigating in here would just be annoying. Isaac has turned on the ship's systems, and while he hasn't activated the engine yet, he is basically running a few necessary systems needed before launch. I simply sit back, feeling gravity affect us oddly. The rest of us are seated wherever we can, with Verek levitating the key above him as he usually would.<p>

"How long do you estimate it will take us to get to Ilos?" asks Servero as he sits there.

"Maybe the same amount of time it took to arrive at the dreadnought," says Isaac. "I don't know." He turned to look at Shepard. "Shepard?"

"I doubt it will take as much time," says Shepard. She then opens her omni-tool. "These are the coordinates I believe we're looking for on Ilos. I would recommend adjusting it, though. If the Reapers are getting close to it..."

"Got it," says Isaac. He inputs those coordinates into the map, and then leans back. "Hm... Looks like we'll be shaving an hour off of the time in question."

"Good," Verek says. "If the Reapers have some understanding of what may be found, we do not have much time. We must make haste to Ilos."

"And we will," Shepard says as she turns to Verek. "So what are we looking for?"

"Something into which we can fit this key," Verek replies, gesturing to the cross he's keeping above the ground.

"I think we'll need a little more than that," Kal observes, leaning back as he adjusts his assault rifle.

"You wouldn't know where to look," Servero adds.

"However, we do," Vala provides. "You may find yourself surprised at how close it is to the Conduit."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it is that close," Shepard replies. "It would surprise me more if it was further away from the Conduit."_  
><em>

"As I imagine it would," Verek admits. He leans back. "And if the Reapers are there?"

"We try and fly under their noses as long as we can," Isaac says.

"We can't cloak heat emissions in this vessel, you know," Kaidan comments.

"I know," Isaac replies. "But here... Here, we might have a little more room to maneuver than we had as we left the dreadnought. If the Reapers start firing, I can dodge them this time."

"But we do not engage them," Mubuk says.

"Cannot engage," Mordin points out. "No weapon systems installed, no methods of retaliation. Ramming ship only possible form of an attack."

"And knowing how Reapers are, _that _is a really bad idea," I comment, looking out as we see sunlight.

Shepard nods. "Be ready," she says. "We go as soon as the rachni give us their word."

And with this, I look outside as the rachni carry the ship the rest of the way out into the sunlight.

* * *

><p>As expected, the jump takes less time than it did when we were going to the dreadnought. We end up passing the time mid-jump by just talking about stuff. A lot of it is just busy stuff, and I think we're all trying to keep our minds off the fact that a lot of lives are riding on us right now. I mean... We've got to get over there and find this thing we didn't see the last time we were on Ilos. So where do we go from there?<p>

And what do we do without a Mako?

I shake my head as Isaac and Ellie start. Damn, it's been a while since... well... seriously. We're in the middle of a war, and I've been away from the Normandy for too long. If only we had gone to the Normandy, maybe... We'll have to see what's down there first.

"All right, we're leaving the jump in three... two... one..."

And with this, we're pulled out of the ShockPoint Jump. I look behind me to see Shepard standing up and walking, and...

I sigh. "There it is," I comment. "Again."

"It feels so weird to be back in this place," Shepard comments.

"I know the feeling," Kaidan adds, looking ahead. "It'll be odd retracing the same steps."

"And without Liara, Garrus, or Wrex here, too," Tali adds. "I wish they were here."

I nod. "So do I, Tali," I add. "So do I." I look behind me. "On the plus side, everyone else will be experiencing this place for the first time."

"I would not say that," said Vala. "I visited this place, once, long before the Reapers invaded."

"Assuming it was much less... _decayed_," Mordin observes.

"Yes," Vala adds. "It was a beautiful planet, actually. It was kind of oddly majestic. I've never seen so much color in my life, even now..." She glances down at the ground. "And yet, I imagine it has all gone to waste."

"I dunno," I say. "The Prothean ruins definitely have. Everything else... not so much."

"You forget they were not ruins to us," Vala says. "We thrived there. Our people on Ilos were meant to provide us all with the greatest discovery of the prothean empire. We lived in this place." She looks at us. "I had friends who were assistants to the scientists there. They were on when the Reapers came."

"It must've been strange," Shepard says. "There you were, going about your business, and suddenly the entire galaxy ends."

"It was," Vala admits. I see Servero come up behind Vala, simply standing behind her as she looked out to the expanse beyond us. "Even now, I cannot help but think back where I was the moment the Reapers came. I was on Mars, with friends. We were relaxing outside, preparing to go see the supervolcano."

"The supervolcano?" I ask. "Wait, so Olympus Mons was _always _a dormant volcano?"

"Yes," Vala replies. "At least, it was during our cycle." She looks at the stars, and I notice that Servero has placed his hand there at some point. "I was only a student at the time. I would never have believed that the hopes of the prothean people would ride on my shoulders."

"We never know when that sort of thing calls us," Shepard says. "Trust me on that."

Vala nods. "I understand," she says. "Still... We face a powerful enemy. Even now, I doubt if we can stop them."

"We'll stop them," Shepard says matter of factly. "We'll stop them, or die trying."

The prothean nods. "Spoken like a true commander," she says.

Shepard nods, looking down at Ellie. "Do our scanners detect anything?"

"They detect something along the lines of three powerful energy signature closer to Ilos," Ellie replies as she looks up. "It could be our friends the Reapers again."

Kaidan immediately frowns. "They only sent out three to this place?" he asks. "Well, it doesn't surprise me, but I'm surprised there aren't more Reapers scouring the planet."

"The Ilos facility covered a very small amount of ground," I comment. "And if they brought their foot units with them, then that would offset stuff." I look to the protheans. "Are their death-rays capable of boring through ground?"

"Not that we know of, no," says Verek. "The foot soldiers will be handy there. Perhaps they will dig out when they find the weapon."

"Or they could just have the foot units destroy the weapon first," Mubuk says. "We must make haste."

"Already on it," says Isaac. "I hope there's a good landing spot there, Commander."

Shepard looks up as we get closer to Ilos. "If we can avoid the Reapers, then I've got just the place."

Isaac steeled himself. "If we can," he said. "I think we'll call the _Satie _a trial run here, commander. Let's see what this ship can _really _do."

With this, we approach Ilos. Sure enough, as we get closer to Ilos' atmosphere, I see a large black form rise up from out of the planet's atmosphere. I find myself standing up, looking directly at the object in question.

I breathe in. "Okay, there it is," I say. "You think anyone else might come up and ruin our day?"

"Probably," Isaac commented. I watch as the Reaper comes forward. Mubuk stands up, watching through the viewport as we come upon the Reaper. "Hang on tight..."

I see the Reaper in front of us charge its laser beam of death. Immediately, Isaac sees it, his hands flying across the displays. The ship then lurches to the right, and I feel the gravity there get a little strange as we move. However, we manage to dodge the laser beam of death which passes right by us, so Isaac uses the opportunity to fly right by there. He frowns, looking ahead.

"Commander, I've got an idea," he says. "But you'll find it a bit crazy."

"Crazy ideas are all we've got, Isaac," Shepard states. "What're you thinking?"

Isaac looks forward, barreling into Ilos' atmosphere. "This is probably really moronic, but I'm going for it," he says. "Let's see if Reapers will destroy themselves for us..."

I see the fire surround the vessel, and I watch as we enter Ilos' atmosphere. Isaac remains doing several zig-zag like motions during our descent into the planet, and as Ilos' gravity begins to take over I see the red beam of death appear again. It follows Isaac, who compensates by flying a little bit to the side. When he sees the red beam dissipate, he returns on his descent.

"Ellie," Isaac says immediately. "Did you notice anything about that Reaper's heat signature?"

"It spiked a little as it was charging the beam, yeah," Ellie says. "And just before it discharged, it got to its highest. Why?"

Isaac nodded, and then I see two other Reapers on the ground. "Tell me when it starts reaching the danger zone," he says, keeping his eye right on one of the Reapers directly beneath us. I then notice that...

"You're not..." I say, my eyes widening as we approach that Reaper.

"I am," says Isaac. "Again, this is probably really moronic, but I'm going for it..."

"Isaac, it's spiking!" Ellie shouts immediately.

"Perfect," Isaac replies, holding his course steady. My eyes widen as we approach that Reaper... Fuck...

"Isaac..." Shepard says. "This is reckless..."

"It's getting hotter!" Ellie says.

"I hope you know what you're doing," says Kaidan. "Because this could end very badly for us."

I grip the chair. "Isaac, now!" Ellie shouts.

Isaac doesn't delay for another second, pulling away almost immediately downwards. Almost as soon as he does, I see a red beam shoot straight down at the Reaper in front of us. I flinch as Isaac drives right past it, before turning right around and facing the Reaper that was just hit. There, I get to watch as the Reaper is brought to its knees, right before it explodes and sends debris everywhere. Isaac brings the shuttle back up, just dodging a blast from the third Reaper as he begins to climb back into the atmosphere...

"Holy shit, Isaac, are you fucking _crazy_?" I shout.

"I told you it was moronic!" Isaac replied.

"That was reckless," Verek says standing up. I turn to look at the Prothean as he moves the key to the side a little bit. I see... No way, is he _smiling_? "Are we planning on a second dive?"

"We need to get rid of the other two Reapers somehow," Isaac says.

...

"Wait, you're going to try to get them to destroy each other?" asks Tali. "That's crazy!"

"And I don't think they'll fall for it," Kal adds.

"We'll see about that," Isaac says. "Hold on tight!"

With this, Isaac breaks the atmosphere of Ilos. I see amidst the blackness of space that the other Reaper is still there. As Isaac turns off to carry us over Ilos, I watch as the Reaper that was on the ground flies into our view. It fires another laser at us, but Isaac is already on track to dodging it. He moves off to the side, before going down again as a precautionary measure. He evens out and moves to the left, which happens not a moment too soon as suddenly another laser peels around us.

"Isaac, be careful," Ellie says. "I think they may be trying a pincer strike or something!"

"I hear you, Ellie," he says as the laser death ray dissipates. "Sit tight!"

Isaac begins steering the craft every which way. I grab a hold of the seat in front of me, breathing in and out... C'mon, Isaac, don't fuck this up... Don't fuck this up... We're toast if you do... C'mon...

I then see two beams run across our view point, looking to pincer us quickly. Isaac immediately steers the shuttle downwards, causing something odd to happen with the artificial gravity. I let out a loud gasp as the beams get to where we were and slowly move down. Thankfully, the beams dissipate before they can hit us, so Isaac continues.

Isaac nods. "Okay..." he says. "This is going to be a little crazy, but the next time they fire..." Isaac begins steering like crazy again, though he works his way upwards as best he can.

"I hope you know what you're doing," I say. Holy shit... This isn't going to end well...

I lean forward, feeling Tali grip my arm immediately as Isaac leans forward, his hand moving rather quickly around the craft's controls. I feel myself breathe in rather harshly... Oh fuck, what's he going to do next? I take the time to look back at the others, all of whom are looking rather intently at the stars that are in front of us. Most of us are looking rather tense, but Verek actually seems to be _enjoying _this. I... wait, what? How is he doing that?

I shake my head, looking forward again just as Ellie and Isaac nod to each other. I look up, taking a deep breath. Here's the moment of truth.

I see the beams come up again, and this time, I notice that we're level with the beams almost exactly. I think we-

Ack! What the fuck?

I lean forward, hearing the collective gasp as suddenly we seem to be going... Holy shit, is this vehicle going in reverse? What the fuck? I watch as we rear back...

"Isaac, what the fuck are you-?" I shout.

And that's when I see the Reapers go past us. I watch the Reapers turning to get to our craft with their pincer maneuver... and then... whoah...

And then the two Reapers' laser death rays impact against each other. Isaac keeps going, and we pull back just in time to see the dual explosion that sends Reaper fragments flying everywhere.

...

"Holy _fuck_!" I say, my eyes wide. I just... Holy crap, I think my jaw wants to hit the floor. I mean... what the hell did I just see? That was...

"That was... satisfyingly amazing," Verek offers immediately.

Shepard glares daggers right in the prothean's direction. "It was _risky _is what!" she said. She then turned to Isaac. "You could have gotten us all _killed_, Isaac!"

Isaac nods. "I know that," says Isaac, glancing above him. "But... we needed to get those Reapers off of Ilos somehow. Unless you _wanted _to have Reaper death-rays trying to kill us in addition to the foot soldiers they've got?"

Shepard frowns, and Ellie immediately takes this time to sit up. "This model of ship isn't meant for combat," she said immediately. "If we had time, we'd make up a more combat-ready model, but as it is, we had to work with it. Thankfully, it was built with mobility in mind, as sometimes navigating into a planet cracker's dock can be a little hard."

"So the solution was to bait them," Isaac adds as he gestures outside. "I think we did that, no...?"

I blink, looking outside. Well... "Damn, Isaac," I comment. "You've come a _long _way from where you were when we first met you."

Isaac shrugs. "Let's just say we got a confidence boost here and we'll call it a day," he says. He then looks to the others. "Let's go down to Ilos, shall we?"

"Of course," says Shepard.

"But first, a question," Mubuk says. "What... _is _a planet cracker?"

I look to Tali almost immediately. She looks a little smug at this, with the way her head is tilted (wait, smug? Seriously?). I then turn to Isaac as he sighs. Ellie shrugs, looking at the protheans in question.

"It is a _very _long story," Ellie replies. "To make it short, it breaks planets open." She nods to Isaac. "Let's go."

And with this, Isaac and Ellie steer the shuttle towards our destination.

* * *

><p>As soon as the ship lands, I see that Shepard has handed an assault rifle to Servero. I take note of this before looking to Vala, Verek, and Mubuk.<p>

"So where do we go from here?" I ask immediately.

"Konkwo will know the way," Verek replies. I look at the mute prothean immediately, watching as he nods. The door opens, and I find myself glancing outside of the vessel along with everyone else. Konkwo, holds his hand in front of his line of sight, slowly stepping down as I raise my own assault rifle.

Shepard steps down next, right as Konkwo look ahead and points in a random direction. I follow his gaze as I step off myself. Shepard looks as well, and I hear several patters of feet as everyone steps off of the shuttle in question._  
><em>

"That's it over there?" Shepard asks.

"It must be," says Mubuk as Konkwo slowly begins to move forward.

"Hm... it's around where that damaged warning was," Shepard comments. "And not in the direction of Vigil."

"Thank goodness for that." I look to Kaidan as he stands up, pulling his own weapon out. "I don't think we'd want to go that way again without the Mako."

"Especially not when we're pressed for time," Tali adds.

"Well, I _was _hoping for a trip down memory lane," I comment.

"I wouldn't call a tunnel with tons of disfunctional pods 'memory lane'," Kaidan comments.

I shrug. "A guy can dream, right?" I ask.

"We all can," Shepard says. "It'll be weird going through this place again."

"And it's gonna be weird finding places we didn't see before," I add, looking to Konkwo as he advances forward.

* * *

><p>Konkwo indeed moves to where that broken warning was. Or still is, actually, from the look of it. It's powered down now, 'cause I don't hear the wild babbling that it gave off. Vala is there, absentmindedly looking through some of the panels with some amount of nostalgia visible in her eyes. Konkwo himself is looking over her shoulders, his glance veering to another part of it as he begins fiddling with the controls there. I walk over behind Konkwo, as does Shepard. I cross my arms, looking beyond them to make sure... nope, there are no other husks on their way.<p>

I lean back, looking at Konkwo as Vala turns to look at him. "He sure is quiet," I comment.

Vala nods. "Comes with the territory a little bit," she replies.

"Is he physically unable to?" Shepard asks.

"Yes," says Vala. "I never learned the details, but from what I've heard it involved a childhood accident with farming equipment."

I frown. "Really?" I ask, looking to Konkwo.

The mute prothean takes a break to nod and turn to us. He immediately gestures to a small area on his neck where... Whoah... Holy Christ crackers...

I lean forward, looking at the scar tissue there. It looks like... it looks like something stabbed him there or... "Whoah," I say.

"That's pretty crazy," says Shepard. "I'm surprised you lived through that."

"Protheans are more durable than you might think, Commander," Vala comments as Konkwo goes back to work. "We live long lives, commander."

"Really?" I ask. "How long are we talking here?"

"Usually, we can live for seven hundred years," Vala replies. "I was only two hundred and four when I entered stasis sleep."

I blink, smiling. "Damn, I hope I get to _be _that age," I comment. "Most of us can only last up to a century."

"Except for krogan and asari," says Shepard. "They can actually live to be a thousand years old."

Vala looks at us in surprise. "Really?" she asks.

"Yeah," I comment. I look to Konkwo, who looks at us with a very surprised expression before going back to whatever it was he was actually doing. "But still... it's funny that we have more long-living species here."

"There are more long-living species here than during our cycle, actually," Vala adds. "Many other species did not live terribly long."

I shrug. "Mordin's species only lives to be forty years old on average," I comment.

Vala blinks in surprise. "Less than half a century?" She turns to look at Mordin before turning back to me. "I find that... interesting." She then looks at the salarian more intently. "Is he also scarred?"

"Oh yeah," I say. "He's actually old for a salarian, really. He's survived a lot of things that probably should've killed him." I turn to Konkwo. "Just like him."

"Yes indeed," says Vala. "He is actually rather brilliant. It is truly a shame he cannot speak." She looks up at the ceiling. "It also helps that he has an... _unusually _good memory, for a prothean."

"Does he?" Shepard asks. "How did you know that?"

"When we went to the Fade with him... He seemed to remember every detail perfectly," she says. She then looks at me. "You can remember things in the Fade with the aid of one of the things Orange helped you find, right?"

"Yeah," I say, pulling out the All-Spark thing. "All my dreams have been vivid ever since I found this thing."

"Konkwo had this memory without the need of a Fade Signature to be around," Vala says. She then turns to us. "Thurn would have created a Fade-Signature thing for us, but he lacked the proper materials. We know much of what we do about Ilos' side of the plan because Konkwo was able to relate everything in writing. He also knows where we must go because of this." Vala looks over there. "According to what he wrote, Konkwo was also able to speak in the Fade."

"Well, when your world is controlled by your will, it's not that surprising," says Shepard as she crosses her arms.

Vala nods. "He is very in tune with the Fade," she says. She looks up. "It seems to have taken a toll on his physical body, though. His inability to speak is unrelated, but his biotics are actually rather weak when compared with those of the average prothean. No one was ever able to explain it until Thurn discovered his affinity for the Fade."

"I thought I saw that," Shepard observes. "You think that's related?"

"It could be," Vala says. "Protheans were put through the same biotic regiment as young children. I do not believe Konkwo did very well in those cases. He got by almost soley on his intelligence." She looks at Konkwo as he frowns, looking back and seeing something wrong. "He probably would have made a great Oracle, if he had been of age."

"You know a lot about the people you were with," Shepard observes.

Vala sighs. "It happens when you are the last of your kind," she comments. "Our group actually became fairly close. We knew our stasis sleep would end with many dead, but... we could not help it."

"I'll bet," I say, crossing my arms. "I wonder what sorts of things you do talk about when-"

I suddenly hear the sounds of gears moving. This stops me dead in my tracks as Konkwo beams at us, looking at a certain direction with eyes that sparkled joyously. I turned around, following his gaze to see everyone else slowly congregating around... Wait, did that part of the wall... No, it _is _peeling away like it's made of hundreds of gears! Holy shit! Whoah...

About a half a minute passes while the wall peels away, and all I can do at the end is watch as a rather loud _thwump_ sound signals the end of it. Everything is dead silent as I look at the now-gaping hole in the wall. It was rather large, and... Holy shit, there was a _hallway _in there?_  
><em>

I step forwards. "Well, I'll be damned," I say.

"That sort of thing, it looks like," Shepard says, turning to Konkwo. "Good work."

Konkwo nods, running towards the hallway before Shepard herself gets her shotgun. Vala nods, and then the four of us begin walking away from the control panel, walking towards this hole in the wall that just peeled away.

"Come on," Shepard says. "We'll find our answers in there."

* * *

><p>We end up walking in darkness for some time. Thankfully, the door closed behind us when we all entered, so we continued on. I wonder where this facility got the power for that thing, I really do. But in the end, it doesn't matter. Here we are now, just walking along here.<p>

I look over to Tali and Kal, who have turned on their weapons' flashlights. I notice that others have done the same, but thankfully it doesn't look like it's entirely necessary for long. We can already see a light at the end of the tunnel, though with each step we take that gets us closer to it, I realize it's a being-made kind of light. Like, it looks fluorescent or something. And it leads to some chamber... I don't know.

As we get closer, I see Konkwo moving ahead slightly, looking a little excited to see what is at the end of this tunnel. I'm wondering what's there too, actually, considering that we've had so much time trying to seek out whatever this thing is. So... in a few minutes, I guess we'll see what we see.

Eventually, Tali and Kal turn off their flashlights, as do everyone else. The light is now very close to us, and from here we can see the opening to a chamber. It's a very large chamber, and... wait, I can only see the ceiling from here. It seems to dome out very widely, and... The walls are kind of rusted, actually. Not completely, but there is still quite a bit of damage. But there's some glass I can see below. And...

When we step into the light, I look down immediately to see that there's a chamber of glass that seems to be covering this very large cannon. I... Whoah, I don't think I've ever seen a cannon this large in... ever, basically. It's sleek, black, and doesn't look rusted at all, though it _does _look a lot like one of those large steam-powered cannons from the Civil War. I also notice there's some moveable base it has, as if it can be wheeled off and carted to a larger body. I mean, it could probably still fit in the Normandy with... _creative _placement, but... What could possibly be in that cannon that requires it to be this huge?

I frown, looking back to the others. "A cannon?" I ask. "We nearly blew ourselves up for a cannon."

"A special cannon," Verek replies. "This cannon is unique."

"So you know what it's supposed to do," says Shepard.

"Yes," says Mubuk. "We have known for a long time. Now we are here with this cannon." He nods to Konkwo. "I believe you know the sequence, my friend."

The mute prothean nods, walking right over to a control panel and manipulating it. I look to the others, seeing Kal'Reegar look down. "That's a big cannon," he comments. "We're going to be shooting suns with this thing?"

"Yes," says Vala.

I hear Kal whistle sharply before looking to the rest of us. "And I thought taking on a geth colossus on foot was crazy," he comments.

Shepard frowns as Konkwo works at the panel. "I still can't believe we shoot a star with this thing," she says. "I know you said it would destroy a star system, but... I'm curious. How exactly does this weapon function?"

"This weapon was designed to launch matter at a star which would drastically accelerate the rate of the star's aging," Verek begins. "The weapon was designed so that the projectile would cause the star to go supernova in minutes."

Shepard frowns. "That's your plan? I don't know about you, but to me it seems impractical for killing Reapers," she comments immediately, pushing off of the... wait, when was she leaning on the rail?

"There are many factors which must be accounted for, yes," Verek admits, looking below. "I am sure you have many questions on how this weapon can be used, and how we plan to cover holes in the strategy."

"Hm..." Mordin looks to us. "Answer to comment... leading. Other plans, yes. Must be possible." The salarian sniffs. "Still, many variables. Holes in strategy, exploitation by Reapers, ineffective if exploited."

"Yeah, I would think so too," I say. "I mean, how long does it take the star to go supernova? And... what, we're supposed to launch this thing in every star system in the galaxy? 'Cause I'm pretty sure that it would destroy the entire galaxy."

"Our plan was to lure the Reapers to a few systems in the galaxy," Verek comments. "Optimally, we would lure them to only one star system, but it would be unrealistic to expect them to follow such bait."

"And how do you plan on luring the Reapers into star systems?" Shepard asks. "Lording this thing around?"

"There is actually... a _much _better idea that the people on Ilos concocted, according to Konkwo," Verek replies. "It relates to what we spoke of earlier relating to the Citadel."

Shepard frowns. "You don't mean..." she says.

...

No way, they didn't...

"Yes," says Verek. "Surely, the Reapers would follow such a bait, would they not?"

Shepard frowns. "But how...?" she asks.

"It will be explained in due time," says Verek. "But I trust that now you shall figure out there was more they did."

"I see..." Shepard glances to the side. "Yeah, that _would _do it..."

"We simply must ensure that the Citadel is retaken," says Verek. "Without it, our plans are hopeless."

"We'll see," says Shepard. She then turns her attention to the weapon in question. "Well, that solves most of those questions. But that doesn't solve one major thing: how long will it take this star to age to the point of supernova?"

"It differs depending on the age of the star," Mubuk says. "At least, it does in theory. The time decreases the older the star is. If we were to talk about an average star, however, I would say... maybe five minutes, potentially ten if we are lucky." He frowns. "At least, that is what Konkwo has written. We know not of the specifics."

I frown. "Wait, so how do we keep the Reapers in the system once we get in there?" I ask.

"Again, you will find out in due time," says Verek. "It is another thing to do with the Citadel. Even then, though, there is the possibility that we will be unable to keep the Reapers within the system. It would be preferrable to stage at least some of these attacks in a system in which there is a dying sun."

A dying sun...

"Haestrom!" Kal'Reegar immediately says, turning to the rest of us.

Kaidan jolts at this. "Haestrom?" he asks.

"What do you speak of?" Servero asks.

Kal then excitedly turns to the rest of us. "It was a quarian colony close to Rannoch," he says, looking to the protheans. "The admiralty board sent us to take readings on Haestrom's sun. It's dying faster than it should."

"A sun that dies faster than expected?" Vala asks.

"We don't really know why," says Tali as she opens her omni-tool. "We think it may have something to do with dark matter, however. Something about the dark matter accelerating the star's aging. If your cannon works on the same principle, and assuming that Konkwo relayed this information to you correctly, then chances are..."

"It would trigger the supernova almost instantaneously..." Mubuk finishes, realization dawning on his eyes. "That would be optimal, yes."

Tali then looks to the weapon itself. "It's an abandoned world, so we should be all right," she continues. "I hope this weapon has adequate EMP shielding, though."

"Yeah," Kal adds. "Let's just say it was a workout keeping all our equipment functional in _that _environment." He then looks up. "You think the geth will consent to blowing up that system, though?"

"I think they'll understand," Tali replies. "And they are the geth. They can probably help coordinate it. All that remains is to lure the Reapers there, and we will be set."

"Well, first, we have to get this thing off of Ilos," Shepard comments. "And then, we have to wait for the Citadel to come under our control. How will we know that?"

"Communications across the galaxy will go back online," says Verek. "It is of little importance now. We are here, and we must ensure this weapon is not destroyed by the Reapers."

"And yet we can't really transport it, you know," Isaac comments. "Our vessel isn't small enough."

"No, but you can probably run back to Kar'shan and get the Normandy here," Shepard comments. "Even without the ShockPoint drive, the Normandy can get here thanks to the Reaper IFF, right?"

"It can," Isaac comments.

"But what about the weapon?" Ellie asks. "We can't just leave it here."

"No," says Shepard. "But we can leave a group behind to watch over it. I think." She turns to Isaac immediately. "How long do you think it'll take to get back to Khar'shan and get the Normandy?"

"I don't..." Isaac pauses, looking up at the ceiling. "I would give it a few hours, Commander. Hopefully, there won't be any Reapers incoming."

"Let's hope not," says Kaidan. He then looks to Konkwo. "How long will it take to get the weapon ready for transport?"

"Long enough," says Vala as she watches Konkwo work at the panel. "Even after the weapon is freed, we must ensure it is in working condition. It may have been sealed in a vacuum, but we must ensure that nothing will malfunction or it could be rather bad for us all." She looks up. "I trust we can send Verek with you. We do not need the key for this much, at least according to Konkwo. We will require the key when we use it, though."

Shepard nods. "We can do that," she says. "Kaidan, Kal, Mordin, I'm leaving you here with Konkwo, Vala, and Mubuk. Verek, Servero, Art, Tali, Isaac, Ellie, you are coming with me. We're going to get the Normandy."

I nod. "About time," I say. "It feels weird being out of the Normandy for so long, it really does."

"You and me both," says Shepard, looking at the others. "Defend this weapon well." She then turns to Verek. "Do you think perhaps we should leave the key here?"

"I believe so as well." With this, Verek sets the key down close to where Vala is. She grabs it gently, Verek releasing the object from his biotic grip. Vala then props it against the wall, and I nod. Okay, I think the key will be fine. I turn back to Shepard, nodding as we trudge back towards the wall that peeled away earlier.

* * *

><p>Back on the ship, I look to the others. Isaac and Ellie are already prepping the flight, and I see Tali check her shotgun.<p>

"You know, I was expecting actual husks there," I comment.

"As was I," says Verek. He looks outside. "I imagine the husks of this cycle are very different compared to ours."

"That wouldn't surprise me at all," Shepard comments. "Still, I'm a little worried that we didn't run into any husks down there. You'd think that the Reapers would've brought their foot soldiers to investigate anything going on down there."

"And there could be indoctrination involved," Tali comments.

"Well, frankly, all they'd have to do is destroy it," Ellie points out. "I think the Reapers didn't expect anyone to come for some time, so they must've figured they could fire at will all they could."

"Probably because they thought we were dead..." Shepard comments. She nods, looking back to the rest of us. "They would've snuffed our best chance at winning this war without us knowing about it."

"Well, we're now one step ahead of them," I say, looking to the others. "At least, I _hope _we're one step ahead of them."

Verek looks up. "We shall see in due time, young one."

And with this, the vessel goes silent as Isaac and Ellie prep the craft to leave Ilos temporarily.


	41. Chapter 40

_A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the unannounced hiatus there. I was stuck playing opera pit in Arkansas for a month and a half. Which was awesome, by the way, 'cause playing opera is always awesome. So of course, the fact that I had no internet for a month and a half was of no object to myself. You know how it is._

_Anyway, here we are with the next part of MV3. Let's get moving, shall we?_

* * *

><p>Chapter 40: B Story: Journey to the Center of the Citadel, Part 3<p>

We've walked pretty far down the tunnel when the tunnel opens out again. I bring my omni-tool flashlight up, and...

Whoah... What _is _this?

I step out into a tunnel that looks quite a bit larger than the tunnels we've just been going through. There's an ethereal blue light that illuminates the room. It's not enough light since the walls are still darkened in shadow, but it's something. I raise my flashlight, scanning the room with it to see that there are pod-looking things in the walls. I step forward a little further, looking up at the blue light.

"Well..." Brendan says as he clears the tunnel. "I'll be damned..."

"What is this place?" Liara asks. "I... I don't think I've ever seen anything like it."

Garrus walks over to one of the pods, gingerly placing a talon on the edge of one of them. "It looks like where the Keepers go," he says.

"So we're pretty deep in the Citadel..." I comment, stepping closer to the blue light. There's something about this... "What's this blue light?"

"I don't know," Jarel says as he walks up to where I am. "Shame we can't research it further. If only Cerberus wasn't trailing us..."

"Yeah," I agree, looking around. "Do you think this means we're close?"

"Probably," says Liara. "I can't say for certain, but..."

"Well, we know where the Keepers' pods are," Garrus says. I look to him as he steps back. "If we can see this, we're very deep in the Citadel."

"And how do we know that?" Nadeire asks as he stays close to Brendan. "We cannot even know if these are the Keepers' pods..."

The turian looks back at the rest of us. "Well, if you can think of some other reason why the Reapers created large circular holes that can fit in, then I guess that's good too," he says.

I roll my eyes at this, sparing a brief smile. "Oh, Garrus," I say. I look at the light again, before fixing my gaze down to where we need to go. "Come on. Let's keep moving."

Everyone else nods, and without really saying anything, we continue to walk down the tunnel at a slightly faster pace than we were before.

* * *

><p><strong>Elsewhere on the Citadel...<strong>

We immediately rush up to the door. I watch the pyjack fire a few rounds into the crowd, but it's that turian and I who take most of them down. After this brief exchange of gunfire, we pause, looking behind us.

I growl, looking in the hall we've just reached the end of. "Is that the last of them?" I hear that asari say immediately.

"Sounds like it," that human replies.

I chuckle. "And here I thought they were going to put up a fight," I say, pumping my shotgun. "We're getting low on ammo, though."

"With the number of husks we've passed, I'm not surprised," says the pyjack. "At least now we'll have bolstered numbers."

"At least, we hope," says the turian. "Ever since comms went back down..."

"At least we were able to get Anahit's location before they did," says the asari. She then turns to the door. "Come. They may be-"

The door opens of its own volition, and standing there are two of the bucketheads. One of them has a rifle aimed right at us, with the other holding his omni-tool out.

...

Hmph. I've seen these two before. Not that I actually care, but...

I look over to the rest of the room as they put their weapons... Yes!

"Anahit!"

The female krogan is already making her way towards me when I say this. I stow my shotgun and nod at her respectfully as she comes up to me.

"Urdnot Wrex," she says, sounding relieved as hell. "I was worried. I know it is a dumb worry, but I was afraid they..."

"Ha!" I rear back, displaying myself proudly. "They're gonna have to try harder than that to kill me!"

"I won't doubt you on that," I hear the turian state as he looks to the others. He then turns to that four-eyed bastard who's just getting out from behind the couch. "It looks like everyone's all right."

"And thank Keelah for that," the buckethead with tits says. "It's been difficult to get to this point."

"It has been less difficult to hold the fort up, though," adds the other buckethead. "Only one way into this apartment, and they haven't tried climbing in through the windows yet. It seems now they won't _get _that opportunity."

"Thank the Goddess for that," says the asari. She then turns to me. "Anahit is safe, Wrex. I knew they would keep her safe."

"Yeah, seems you're right about that," I say. I then turn to Anahit, looking around the room... Hey... there's something missing here...

"Where's Jarel?" I ask immediately.

Anahit immediately glances to the side. "He... He was not with me when the attack started," she says immediately. "He had gone out; he told me he needed a break. He had told me he was on his way back just before the attack began."

...

"_What?_" I bang my fist into the nearest object, causing everyone in the room to jump as I hear a loud bang right by me. I step forward, glaring at Anahit in fury. "He _left_ you?"

"He was set to return!" Anahit replies immediately. "We tried to seek him out at first, but that proved difficult with the comms out."

"We did attempt to contact him," the batarian says. "We were regretfully quite unlucky." He shakes his head. "Anahit has the data for the genophage cure on her at the moment."

Anahit nods, opening her omni-tool immediately. "Jarel was always... afraid that someone would... 'get the jump on him' if he went out alone," she says. With this, she displays text and letters I don't understand. "He gave me a copy of the genophage cure every time he left just in case that happened." She looks at me nervously, and I see something in her eyes... she's looking at me, but she's not... "I... I think maybe in some way he saw this..."

I sniff the air immediately... Hm... Something doesn't feel right about this.

I look at Anahit pointedly, and her eyes focus on me for the first time in the conversation. She looks at me nervously, and then glances to the ground.

I grunt, crossing my arms. "I don't like being lied to, Anahit," I say.

"But I have the cure," she replies. "Should it matter _why _he saw fit to give it to me? Any other salarian scientist could be able to take this research up."

"Technically, she is correct." I look behind me to see the pyjack already speaking up. "We could go to the Dalatrass, maybe-"

"-Risk having them sabotage it?" I ask immediately, my eyes narrowing. "No offense, _pyjack_, but I think you'll forgive me if I don't trust any of the Dalatrass' grunts. There are only two salarians I'll trust with that cure, and one of them is probably dead right now."

"_Both _of them are probably dead," says Anahit immediately. "We don't know where Mordin is either."

"I know Shepard," I reply immediately, turning to Anahit. "We all know that Mordin is in excellent hands."

"And perhaps his survival will negate this argument entirely," the pyjack replies. "But until we have confirmation of his survival, we must prepare for the worst."

"And we can't start thinking about _that _right now," the human mentions. "Until the Reapers are forced off the station, there's _nothing _any of us can do for the krogan, or for anybody else in this galaxy." I look at the human as he turns to the window. "Let's hope your friends down in the Keepers' tunnels find what they're looking for."

I glare at Udina, simply looking at his form as he keeps his back to the rest of us. I finally let out an exhale, looking to the rest of them.

"Wait, Keeper tunnels?" asks the male buckethead. "Friends down there?"

"It's a long story," Victus replies, walking up to him. "We did a bit of catching up while the comms were still up." The turian grabs his assault rifle, placing it on a nearby table and looking to the others. "I assume our position will be secure here?"

"At least for the next hour," says the four-eyed bastard. "There haven't been any really bad Reaper attacks here."

"Then I think we have time to explain," that asari says.

And with that, they begin talking about Madison and Garrus down in the Keeper tunnels.

* * *

><p><strong>The Keeper Tunnels...<strong>

We advance for several more minutes that begin to feel like hours, and as this happens we begin to see that the light is getting ever so slightly brighter.

I look over to Nadeire as we continue advancing. We walk past several more of those pod things Garrus saw, until eventually they disappear from view entirely. I feel goosebumps gather up all over my skin, though it's more from the cold air rushing past us than any sense of foreboding that I feel. In fact... this place feels almost... _inviting_, actually. I can't properly place why, but there's something about how the light continues building in intensity as we get closer...

I edge closer to Garrus as we go, eventually until we're standing right next to each other. I find myself looking at the light all around us, watching as it seems to become more... intricate. I don't know how to explain it right, but there's a majesticness to it. All these intricate patterns... I wonder what build this. It couldn't have been the Protheans, but... what came before, with all this?

I feel a three-taloned hand come to rest on my shoulder. I look up at Garrus, who's also looking at the scenery around us. I think he sees it too, but I notice that he is pushing me forward a little bit... Hm, I must've been slowing down. But even so, he's looking at the light as each part of the light begins to flare out the further down we go.

And then, we walk across a sight that... Oh my God... what...?

I then quickly move forward of my own volition, noticing only then that all the pods in the walls have disappeared, as has the wall itself. I look above, seeing the tunnel open out to a wondrous view of... Wow... I step forward, pausing as I take in the view. We have a wondrous view of the Citadel, which hangs above us like a fresco. Above us looms one of the Reapers, with some ship debris strewn about. The Citadel looks strangely quiet from this place, though most of the lights being out doesn't help that impression. Ahead is the Citadel Tower, now looking closer than it ever did when I looked from the Presidium. And speaking of that... that ring that's there that looks so close... is that the Presidium? It must be... It's so hard to believe we're outside of that here. Before us stretches a very long pathway, one that seems to dip into another tunnel at the end that goes under the Presidium. That tunnel seems to be glowing a little more brightly than the others, though, and its yellow lighting can only point to something strange... Beyond that point, I can see where the keeper tunnels connect the Presidium to the Citadel Tower. However, I get the distinct sense that our current location will lead us somewhere else.

I look over at Garrus before looking back to the view of the Citadel. "Well..." I say breathlessly.

"Who knew the keeper tunnels could give us this?" Brendan asks.

"I don't know," says Jarel. "I don't know if we can even say that this area belongs to the Keepers, or to anyone else..."

"Have we hit something else entirely?" asks Nadeire. "Have we hit the Protheans...?"

"Unlikely," says Garrus. "This must have come before anything the Protheans could've imagined..."

I notice that the whole group has paused, looking out around us. We spend a few seconds of silence just looking out to the scenery around us. It's... Wow...

"If we're seeing this..." says Liara. "We must be close."

I continue looking at the stars hovering above us. "We must be," I say. "What do you think we'll find?"

"Who knows?" asks Brendan. "Maybe it's some kind of back door to the Citadel's systems?"

"Maybe," says Liara. "We can't be too sure. But whatever it is... I have a feeling it will help us all."

"You know? I think you're right about that, now that we've gotten to this point," Brendan agrees. I turn to him as he looks back to us. "I think..."

He then pauses for a split second, his eyes widening just the slightest bit. Wait...

I immediately turn around to look behind-

Holy shit!

I let out an inarticulate yell as I leap away from Garrus, jumping to the side just as a katana slashes the air where I used to be. I look up, seeing the form of Kai Leng standing in front of all of us, his katana drawn.

"W... What the-?" I shout.

Garrus leaps to the side, but he doesn't get anything to do before he ducks down behind a horizontal sword slash. When Garrus comes up and dodges another vertical slash, I watch the turian grab one of the hands with the katana there, going in with a talon chop that Kai Leng dodges by moving his head. The Cerberus operative follows up by leaning in close, headbutting Garrus so that the turian stumbles back. With this, Kai Leng stretches his hand out, intending to fire.

As if by instinct, I manage to stand up and violently slam my body into Kai Leng before he fires. He doesn't fall from his feet, but my action diverts his aim, taking some of the ethereal light with it, and it also creates some distance from the rest of us. I look at Kai Leng, immediately turning to look behind me to see everyone else pulling their weapons out.

"Gotcha," Kai Leng says simply, his voice raspy and harsh.

I look right at him. "I thought you were _dead_!" I say immediately.

"I was," Kai Leng replies. "I was, before the Illusive Man used his best resources to bring me back." He chuckles. "He spared no expense."

I frown. I don't say anything else, simply firing my pistol in his direction. Kai Leng immediately jumps out of the way, dodging the pistol fire as he immediately takes the time to rush at us. I barely bring my pistol up in time to deflect a stab from Kai Leng, and as the blade goes past me I find myself instinctively bringing my fist up. Kai Leng bats this away easily, but before he can actually fire his hand cannon in my face I see Garrus rush forward, grabbing that hand and yanking Kai Leng away. He throws Kai Leng back a foot or two, but the Cerberus operative simply flips back onto his feet.

"I may remind you that you're outnumbered five to one," Garrus says, immediately raising his assault rifle. As if to accentuate the point, Garrus fires his rifle immediately. I hear other fire behind me as they pelt Kai Leng with mass accelerator rounds.

I look at him to see him unfazed, however, standing there and letting his shields absorb all of the rounds. He then looks at the rest of us right as his shields break, right before he moves immediately. I see him snap his fingers almost immediately.

And then, I hear a lot of people firing quite a few guns. My shields are almost gone in seconds, and then I find myself jumping back almost immediately. When I look up, I see that there are Cerberus soldiers rushing up towards us, their guns drawn.

Shit!

I jump back, looking right at the coming hordes of troopers. I begin firing my submachine gun at them instinctively, getting a few rounds on one of the troopers. Before he gets taken down, though, I feel something impact against my shields. I look to the side to-shit!

I jump to the side, narrowly dodging Kai Leng as he rushes forward as his sword inhabits the space I used to be in. However, my dodge is not enough, for then I feel something slam into my nose. I look up as I hit the ground, watching as Kai Leng pulls his fist back, his foot already raised in the air. I quickly roll out of the way and just barely manage to dodge the foot landing where my neck was, getting to my feet. I try not to pay any attention to the fact that my nose is currently bleeding, and instead look at Kai Leng intensely.

And then my shields break. Shit... my ass is hanging out here...

I charge past Kai Leng and back behind what little cover there is, rising up immediately and firing at the Cerberus operative as he rushes towards me. Shit, I'm half exposed in this cover, which means I can't get any meaningful recovery. I just hope-

And then I hear a click.

Damn, I'm out! And Kai Leng is coming toward me, his sword raised. Shit... Okay, girl, you've just got to-

And then I see Liara immediately rush forward. As I blink in surprise, Liara deals a biotic punch in Kai Leng's direction. Kai Leng manages to dodge this, and he brings his sword forward only for Liara to grab a hold of it. She uses Kai Leng's momentum to sort of direct him past her, and then unleashes another biotic throw against some of the troopers ahead of us. I look at Liara as Kai Leng turns around, thrusting his sword at her. Liara barely manages to dodge this, but I do see the sword cut through her arm.

Meanwhile, the rest of us keep firing at the Cerberus troopers that just keep coming at us... And we start to see other soldiers as well. Some of the more advanced ones, and... shit, some of them are leaving turrets here too! I shoot whatever units I can as quickly as I can, but I find myself forced repeatedly into cover as the turrets start firing. Damn it...

I glance at Jarel as he opens his omni-tool. Even as he manages to take over one of the turrets, though, two more have already sprung up, and they just keep coming. Damn it, with this much gunfire...

As soon as I pop out of cover with enough time to shoot someone, I see that Liara is going absolutely crazy with the biotics. However, when she looks at us, I notice a slight shift in her expression. She now looks more determined, and yet in her eyes I can see the faintest hint of despair. It's like...

No, she's not seriously thinking...

The asari tosses another biotic throw into the crowd. "Go!" she shouts. "I'll hold him off!"

"Liara?" I ask. "Are you-?"

"Just go!" she says. She takes a break to toss another biotic throw at some Cerberus Troopers. "I'll catch up eventually!"

"Liara, you don't-!"

But by then Garrus has already grabbed my arm. "Come on!" Garrus shouts. "We've gotta keep moving!"

I look over at Garrus as my feet begin to move of their own volition. I turn back to Liara, casting one glance at her as she keeps fighting with Kai Leng. She casts a final glance at me before she continues to engage Kai Leng while throwing biotics at the incoming troopers. Shit... I don't know if she's...

No. We've got much more important things to worry about. Keep focused, girl, she's got this.

I turn and run. I hear Kai Leng bark out an order very loudly, but I don't really take any time to digest it before I hear an army of footsteps that are advancing towards us. I glance behind me to see that a portion of the Cerberus foot soldiers are chasing us, firing their weapons at will. I duck down slightly, and then continue running. I notice that Nadeire is very far ahead of the rest of us, with Brendan and Jarel both turning to fire into the advancing crowd of troopers behind us.

And with this, we run further down the path, the Presidium getting closer and closer with each step. When I glance back, I can see the glow of Liara's biotics as they grow more and more distant, though they eventually disappear when we finally manage to get back into a tunnel. The ethereal light from before is now almost completely gone, and I instead watch as we return into the darkness. It's still not completely dark, though, as I can still see where the walls are. The sounds of gunfire are all around me, and after a bit I hear Brendan yelp rather loudly. I try not to concentrate on these sounds as I move, noticing the way gravity seems to function just a little differently here as Garrus and I run up a ramp that perpetually seems to curve up.

However, once we get further into the tunnel, I see plenty of outcroppings, and I notice that Nadeire and Brendan have both leapt behind one of them. Wait a second... these outcroppings are large enough... yes! Cover!

I don't need to think twice before Garrus and I rush for the nearest cover, with Jarel doing much the same thing. I sigh in relief, taking the time to reload my pistol. Shit... We're running out of ammo. Right, it's nothing major then. Make every shot count for something, and get a weapon off of one of them. Right. Should be pretty simple. Hold the fort until Liara or something _else _shows up.

Damn it, girl, let's not think about Kai Leng coming here. Liara seemed like she had it covered. You've got to believe in her.

I come out of cover, firing my pistol right at one of the troopers. I only allow myself to get two shots in his direction, and thankfully both of the shots strike true. I see their shields explode in a shower of sparks, and I get a third shot at one of them. He goes down immediately, dropping his assault rifle... Great, now's my chance! I rush out of cover immediately, diving for the assault rifle and picking it up. As I roll back onto my feet, I point the assault rifle into the crowd, firing it in short bursts at the oncoming soldiers. I quickly maneuver back into cover, though, coming up close to Nadeire as I hear the beep of my shields failing.

I look to Nadeire as I wait for my shields to recharge. "You all right?" I ask.

"I am surviving," says Nadeire.

I nod. "If Kai Leng comes back, you need to keep moving forward," I say. "I don't want to say if it'll happen, but..."

The drell nods his agreement. "No, we have to keep pressing forward," he says. "I understand."

I nod, coming out of cover and firing my assault rifle into the oncoming troopers. "Good," I say. I fire into the crowd some more, watching as it seems to thin out pretty quickly. I hear the weapon click immediately... Damn...

I duck back into cover, only to look out and see Jarel decloak immediately to my side. He's out with his omni-blade, slicing it at a Cerberus trooper immediately. He looks around as his shields take more damage, and then cloaks again. I turn over to Garrus just in time to see him slam another thermal clip into his assault rifle, and he stands up and begins firing.

By now, the troopers are less of a crowd and more a group of people that are just trickling in occasionally. I look over to Brendan as he runs over and picks up one of the assault rifles left behind. I run over and do the same, also taking a few thermal clips off the corpse while I'm at it. Hm... Why do I get the feeling that there should be more Cerberus troopers storming us right now?

I look up at Jarel as he comes out of the cloak and stabs another trooper. One more trooper remains, but Brendan takes him down very quickly with some well-placed assault rifle. I then look ahead to see that there are no more Cerberus troops heading our way. And yet we know that there were a lot of 'em, even when the turret guys haven't...

"Something's not right about this," I state immediately. I stand up, sorting out my thermal clips. "We should get back over there."

"Liara?" Jarel asks. He then looks ahead. Wait... when'd we lose sight of Liara...? Huh, this stretch of the Citadel's underbelly must be larger than we thought. Or we didn't notice how big it was running from all those Cerberus troopers. "It might be too late for her..." He looks at the rest of us. "Kai Leng isn't a threat we can take lightly."

"Yeah, I got first-hand evidence of _that_," I add. I grab my assault rifle. "I don't know about you, but I think we should go back for her."

But Garrus simply shakes his head. "She knew what she was getting into," he says immediately. "Unless you'd_ like_ to be overwhelmed in such a bad spot to be overwhelmed in..."

"But she's likely-"

"Dead, probably," Brendan says, looking back. "But I think she knew that she wouldn't come out. She was distracting them..." He then looks at us. "And that distraction won't mean anything if we don't move." He then looks behind. "Come on. Let's get moving."

I hear the footsteps behind and around me as we begin to move away. I look at the path, noting the lack of Cerberus soldiers from anything and feeling the silence around. Damn it... Liara...

I shake my head. No, they're right. We have bigger things to worry about. We have some time to make some headway. We need to make the best of it. And if the Cerberus troopers come in our direction, we need to be in a better place to defend ourselves from them with. And even then... we need to get to the heart of the Citadel. We need to keep Cerberus from reaching it no matter what. I may not know what they're after, but either way it can't be a good thing if they tried to keep us from stopping the Reaper invasion of the Citadel.

I look at my assault rifle one more time, before I immediately turn around and follow the others back into the darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>Elsewhere on the Citadel...<strong>

"Dammit."

I look over to Bailey as we take cover in another shop. "No food here either?" I ask.

"We're fast running out of places that have these kinds of supplies," Bailey comments. "Maybe other people just beat us to them?"

I nod. "Probably." I look over to the rest of the group. Kolyat and Oriana are both sitting in the corner, with Oriana watching intently as he lays down a pistol. Eltarn and Sawrik are off to the side, Eltarn holding Sawrik close to his torso as the two of them look outside the window, Feron standing close by and taking stock of his own ammunition supplies. I sense a quiet trepidation from Sawrik, though Eltarn is doing his best to keep Sawrik calm.

We've covered quite a bit of ground since Madison and the others left our group. It's actually come as a small blessing as our groups get smaller and smaller, as that is less supplies we need to share amongst us all. Even then, though, we have begun to prioritize rationing. Eltarn and I have both gone without a meal to allow the others to eat and keep their energy up. I can do without for a few days and not suffer terribly. Eltarn, I don't know if he can, but he's worried about his son, so I can understand his trepidation. I look back out the window...

I sigh. I reload my submachine gun quickly after this, walking to the back of the shop we've taken refuge in for now. I then kneel at Oriana's level, her attention turning to me almost immediately.

She looks up, fear pretty obvious in her eyes. "You all right, Miri?" she asks.

I nod. "I'll be fine," I say. "Don't worry about me."

Oriana shakes her head. "I didn't ask if you would be fine," she says. "I ask how you're feeling right now."

"I..." I glance to the side, sighing. "I'm all right." I look up. "But I'm worried about Madison and the others with her. What's happened to them?"

Kolyat immediately chuckles in distaste. "If they wanted to leave, that's their problem," he says. "Let's hope they actually found what they're looking for."

"That's what worries me," I admit. "I know they will act on their best instincts, but..." I shake my head. "No. They probably just encountered trouble is all. It may very well take some time to get to the heart of the Citadel if the solution they say exists does in fact exist."

"I'll bet it doesn't," Kolyat replies. He looks up, sighing. "But I can't blame them. If there's any hope right now, I'd jump on it, even if it was a false hope."

Oriana nods. "I'm scared," she says. "What if these Reapers don't go away?"

I smile sadly at Oriana, placing my hand on her shoulder. "I don't know," I say. "Honestly, Ori? It scares me a little too."

"I guess we're just stuck here until we see what happens," she says. She then looks past us. "And if the worst comes to worst... do you think it'll be quick?"

"I doubt it," I say, looking at the ground. "I saw what the Reapers do to us. We either become one of their pawns, or we are ground into our genetic material. It won't be quick." I look at Ori. "But you know I'll do my best to fight it when the time comes."

"I know," she says. She pats my hand that's on her shoulder. "I know."

And I hold my position in silence, looking intently at Oriana as Kolyat finishes checking his pistol.

* * *

><p><strong>The Keeper Tunnels...<strong>

We move as quickly as we can, some of us turning around and pointing our weapons in the other direction every so often. I do it once, and don't see anyone even as we keep moving. But even then, it's only a matter of time until Kai Leng finds us again. There's only one way to our destination from here, and Kai Leng will catch up to us at some point...

Damn... We've just gotta keep moving.

As we move forward, we finally step into the area that gave off the faint yellow glow. And what I see... What I see makes all of us stop in our tracks.

"My God..." I say. "All these protein vats are right there..."

I keep my weapon raised, looking at Garrus as he looks around us. As we look ahead, we see that the protein vats stretch ahead of us for quite some time. "Stay away from the edges," Garrus says.

"Yeah, thanks for the advice, Captain Obvious," Brendan replies. He looks at the vats all around us. I feel the air heat up, almost like a hot summer day in Philadelphia...

"Is it me, or are we a bit too close to these vats for comfort?" I ask.

"I think we'll be fine up here," Jarel comments immediately. "I don't know about you guys, but this is actually ideal for a salarian. Just as long as we don't fall into the vats, we'll be fine."

"Hope you brought some water," I say. "We might need it."

We then advance forward, Nadeire taking care to stay ahead of us in case Kai Leng comes from behind. Hm... The Cerberus troopers should've caught up to us by now. Or maybe they did, and that was just a small force of troopers. Was it? I don't know... maybe they just didn't have that big a force to begin with. I'm worried about Liara, though... I look behind, nervously reloading my gun.

Okay, keep it together, girl. You've seen Kai Leng in action, and Isaac isn't here this time to save you if you mess up. Don't think too hard about it, and you should be-

Wait... are those footsteps?

I turn to look behind me a final time, and see a form approaching us. I raise my weapon up immediately, hearing everyone else do something similar. I glance over to Garrus as he raises his weapon, and then look back at the form rushing towards us-

Oh my god!

I jump back as the form of Kai Leng suddenly rushes forward. I narrowly dodge a sword slash, and I block the next one with the assault rifle as best I can. However, my weapon then gets thrown away from me by the force of Kai Leng's block, and I watch the Cerberus assault rifle as it flies into the protein vat that's right there. I immediately duck down as quick as I can, delivering as hard a punch as possible to Kai Leng. It doesn't send him stumbling, though, and I find myself leaping back again as I grab my pistol. This manages to block one of his slashes a little better, and then I take the opportunity to jump back and fire more rounds at him.

He jumps to the side, dodging the rounds as he looks directly at us. I breathe nervously, looking at the assassin as he holds his blade out in front of hi-

Oh my god! That blood... black, like...

"What the hell did you do to Liara?" I ask immediately.

"What do you _think _I would do to such sluts?" Kai Leng fires back.

I feel my heart rate spike almost immediately, and when I look at him I find I can hardly breathe. No... he didn't...

"You..." Brendan says breathlessly. "No..."

Kai Leng looks at the rest of us, and I feel a chill run down my spine. "That bitch needed to learn that biotics don't affect me," he said. "Her barriers also needed practice. Practice she won't be getting."

I frown immediately, glaring at him. I feel my muscles tense as I look at this man, and a sensation goes over me. I... "Why?" I ask, my voice filled with fury. "Why are you down here? What does the Illusive Man want?"

"Does it matter?" asks Kai Leng. "You're getting something out of it either way."

"I don't think we are," I reply, keeping my pistol trained on him. "You don't know what you're doing!"

Kai Leng only chuckles bitterly. "I believe I know _exactly _what I'm doing," he replies. He then brings his blade up. "And I will not be stopped by anyone, even if they wipe out every other Cerberus trooper that is headed here!"

With this, he rushes forward. Before he can get any other blows in, however, I watch as Jarel jumps in front of me, deflecting Kai Leng's sword with his omniblade. Jarel pushes the blade to the side, and then brings his fist up. Kai Leng moves to block the fist, but Jarel then goes in for a kick to Kai Leng's stomach. This sends the Cerberus agent back a foot or two, which gives Jarel enough room to dodge Kai Leng's next sword swipe. Kai Leng does not let up with his assault however, as then Jarel finds himself quickly bringing his omni-blade over his head to block a downward slash from the Cerberus operative.

Jarel brings his arm to the side immediately, letting the sword slide off of his omni-blade. The Spectre immediately seems to go right for the punch. Kai Leng's hand is there to block it, but Jarel instead brings his foot out, allowing him to sweep Kai Leng off his feet. The Cerberus operative immediately gets back up though, and he gets back just in time to block an omni-blade swipe from Jarel. I feel my heart rate increase as the two of them exchange a couple more blows before Jarel is knocked back. The salarian lays on the ground, and is only able to bring his arm up in what appears to be a downard slash. However, Kai Leng immediately turns it into a stab, which Jarel barely manages to dodge by moving his body to the side.

I then watch as the salarian grabs a hold of Kai Leng's leg, using the appendage as a brace with which he very quickly slides underneath Kai Leng. This gives Jarel enough time to stand up right before Kai Leng turns around and deals another sword slash. I look at the two as they then begin to exchange very frequent blows. The sounds of metal hitting... whatever it is the omni-blade is mate out of start to fill the immediate area, and I watch as Kai Leng and Jarel remain evenly matched.

At one point, I see Jarel try to fake Kai Leng out on a punch, but this time Kai Leng anticipates it, bracing his leg for the sweeping motion that Jarel was attempting. This surprises the salarian, which gives the Cerberus operative enough time to respond with a punch of his own that sends Jarel flying back. Kai Leng immediately follows this up with an attempted jumping stab. The blade sticks into the ground, however, and Jarel manages to roll back up to his feet in time to dodge a kick from Kai Leng.

And then the two of them keep trading blows. I turn to Garrus immediately, keeping my gun trained on the fight there. I look as he turns to me, before looking back at the fight. I breathe in deeply as Jarel and Kai Leng continue to trade blows and fake-outs.

I turn back to look at Jarel and Kai Leng just in time to see some specks of green splash against the floor. I look to Jarel as he lets out a loud cry of pain, but he doesn't stop for anything. As Kai Leng begins to rain blows on him, I see Jarel doing the best he can to block him. But when he looks to us, I can see it in his eyes that Kai Leng is tiring him out. Jarel's blocks are more labored, his punches are slower, and I notice that Kai Leng is starting to dance circles around him. Jarel gets knocked down several more times, and with each time he gets up I see that he's less quick about getting to his feet.

I... How long has this duel been taking? It can't be that long because more Cerberus troopers haven't been sent, but at the same time there's no way Jarel should be tiring out this quickly... I don't even... what...?

And then, it gets to the point where Jarel finds himself lying on the floor, holding his omni-blade up. The salarian looks damn tired, but he still wears a determined glare on his face. Kai Leng stands over Jarel, raining blows on the salarian with an overly cocky grin on his face. I watch as, eventually, the sword turns in his hand, preparing to stab into the salarian...

...And then a blue blur comes out of nowhere and slams into Kai Leng's side. As soon as I jump back, I notice the blue blur get off of Kai Leng, seemingly pulling him away from Jarel. Kai Leng then slashes at the blue-clad figure, and the figure jumps away...

...

Shit! Garrus!

"Garrus, what the hell are you-?" I shout.

"No time!" Garrus dodges a slash from Kai Leng. "Get to Jarel!"

I nod, rushing over to Jarel. I open my omni-tool quickly as Brendan runs up to us, and I quickly apply medigel to Jarel's wounds. Whoa... there are actually quite a few cuts here. Most of them are minor, but...

"Jarel," I say. "You all right?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he replies. He then looks up at where the fight is taking place. "I'd be more worried about _them_..."

I look up to see Garrus and Kai Leng fighting hand to hand. Garrus has just dodged a punch from Kai Leng, and is going in with several powerful punches of his own. Most of them miss completely, but it causes Kai Leng to take several steps back.

"Garrus!" I shout, feeling my heart rate speed up immediately. "Garrus, no!"

I immediately get to my feet, rushing over to where the fight is taking place despite Jarel's warning. As Kai Leng manages to kick Garrus, I run in and jump kick the son of a bitch. This surprises Kai Leng, and he stumbles over to the side, looking at me in surprise. This surprise is only momentary, however, for then he slashes at me, which nicks me in the arm. I let out a hiss of pain, but continue looking up at Kai Leng as he moves towards me. However, before Kai Leng can do anything, Garrus rushes in, delivering a punch that gets Kai Leng in the jaw. The Cerberus operative steps back, eyeing both of us as we stand preparing for his next attack.

The next attack comes fast, but nevertheless I'm prepared as best I can be. He goes for a lower slash at my ankles, but I jump over this. I then feel a strong pain in my gut, however, and I'm sent flying several feet back as I begin trying to catch my breath. I look up at Garrus to find that he was able to anticipate a kick from Kai Leng, and is able to dodge the subsequent sword stab that follows. I groan, sitting up and watching as Garrus begins to retaliate.

I watch Garrus leave a punch that Kai Leng manages to dodge. However, there's a strenght to the blow that I don't normally see in Garrus... Wait, is he going for a submission style? I don't see how that would work against Kai Leng, but... I watch as Kai Leng sends Garrus flying back a few feet. Kai Leng rushes in quickly with a stabbing motion from his sword, which Garrus manages to dodge, getting back to his feet quickly. He jumps back, dodging a blow from Kai Leng as they begin to move closer to... Wait a minute...

After a few more blows, Garrus manages to land a particularly brutal kick to Kai Leng's chest. This sends Kai Leng flying back, and it's only then I realize just how close to the protein vats they are.

No way. _That's _what Garrus is going for? No... Oh God, Garrus, what the hell are you thinking?

Despite the pain in my gut, I get to my feet as quickly as I can, stumbling slightly when I stand up. I look at Garrus as he launches a punch at Kai Leng. The Cerberus operative manages to deflect this, but Garrus recovers quickly and sends another punch in Kai Leng's direction. Kai Leng spins around to dodge this, and then I see his arm move in a blur.

It's not until I see the tip of his sword protrude through the upper part of Garrus' torso that I realize that he and Garrus are right there at the edge of the protein vat, with Kai Leng's back to the vat itself.

"_No!_" I shout, forgetting the dull pain in my gut.

Before I know what's happened, I find myself rushing over to Garrus. Everything else seems to vanish as I watch Kai Leng smirk in victory, his gaze directed towards me. I notice Garrus turn his head towards me slightly, a regretful look in his eyes as he holds Kai Leng's hands where they rest on the blade. No... No, Garrus, don't... Don't do it!

But before I can say anything, it's too late. I watch as Kai Leng's smirk vanish almost entirely as Garrus then leans forward. Kai Leng is only able to let out a loud yell before both occupants tumble into the protein vat.

"_No!_" I shout, getting to where Garrus and Kai Leng both fell from. I immediately get to my knees and stretch my hand out, reaching to grab any part of Garrus that I can; however, my hand is only met with empty air. I can only watch as Garrus and Kai Leng both fall into the yellow mass of liquid protein below. In barely any time at all, they both splash into the molten protein, the extreme heat already beginning to reform the both of them past the point of recognizability.

I feel hot tears begin to run down my cheeks, which is enough to slightly dull the pain in my gut. I can barely look as Garrus and Kai Leng both melt into the protein below us, and I immediately turn away from the sight. I don't know when I crumble to the floor while sobbing loudly. I only know when I feel someone's arms surround me, and I cry into someone else's shoulder. I... No... Garrus, he couldn't have... damn it... No...

We were supposed to have more time than this! Dammit, Garrus! You... You couldn't have taken care of him some other way? I...

Dammit...

I shake my head, sniffling slightly. I look at the protein vat, before meeting Brendan face to face. The Shadow Broker agent stands up, pulling me up to my feet and giving me a comforting pat on the back. I look to Jarel where he's standing, with Nadeire helping the salarian up. I look to the bunch of them through my tears, finding my fists bunching up.

"I..." I begin, feeling a lump form in my throat. "I..."

"Hey." Brendan nodded. "Garrus did what he had to to end the fight. If Kai Leng had gotten free, there's no telling what-"

"I know." I breathe in quickly, drying the tears from my eyes. "I know. It's just..." I look back to the protein vat. "Why him?"

Brendan simply pats my back again. "Who knows?" he asks. "But Kai Leng's down. We won't have to worry about him anymore."

I nod, sniffling. I look to Jarel and Nadeire, both of who look to me. I take a shaky breath in, and then look ahead at the road to the heart of the Citadel. "Come on," I say. "Garrus sacrificed himself... for us..." I say the last two words breathlessly as I try to calm myself. Damn it, girl, keep it together... There'll be time to mourn him later. For now... "We'd be idiots to let that go to waste." I look forward, wiping a few tears from my face.

"Let's see what the protheans left us."

And with no further resistance, we begin trudging down past all the other protein vats.

* * *

><p>Eventually, the protein vats are left behind, and we simply find ourselves walking along. The nebula around the Citadel comes into focus again, though this time there's something a little less majestic about its reveal. I look up to see that the ethereal blue light from above is still wafting down on us, and yet... somehow, it all feels more hollow.<p>

I cross my arms nervously, looking at everyone else. We've all been silent ever since Garrus threw himself into the protein vat with Kai Leng... I've kept a stony face, but inwardly...

I just can't believe he's gone. Garrus, gone with a single blink of an eye like that. I already thought he was dead once, but now... Now that I know for sure that he's dead I don't know how to feel. Kai Leng is dead, but at the same time I can't take anything out on him. Garrus is dead, and... Was it really necessary? Could we have taken Kai Leng down another way? Why didn't I try harder to help fight when Kai Leng was busy with Jarel? Why didn't I just shoot at him? Why didn't... I don't...

Damn it, girl, keep it together. You'll have time for that later.

I breathe in nervously as the pathway beings to narrow. I find, too, that gravity begins to feel a little strange down here, as I feel less and less weighted. It's not enough that I don't feel my feet leave the floor, but the difference is noticeable. And as I look behind me to see the ring of the Presidium behind us, I think I see why.

I turn to look ahead of me to where the ethereal blue light leads us. I take a deep breath, looking ahead as Nadeire and Jarel pick up their pace somewhat. I look to Brendan, who nods at me before following their lead. I simply follow as well, looking ahead and moving ever so slightly faster. I see that the blue light leads up to something some distance away. Even from this distance, though, the looming form of the Citadel Tower tells me that we've finally reached whatever it is we're looking for. I feel my heart beat a little faster as we get closer to what must be the source of all this blue light. It's... It's strangely beautiful, but... what is it?

After what feels like hours, we finally get up to the light. We all pause, looking at each other. We come right to the apex of something... I don't know what it is that this something is at, but as we get closer I see what looks like a lot of hardware and wires... It seems jury-rigged as well, and in the center I can see the remains of alien skeletons. I step forward first into the apex, and then I realize I'm in some kind of open area. It's a rather small area, but not small enough that it's difficult to move around with. Honestly, it's not even that small: it simply feels small against the view of the Citadel that surrounds and hovers above us. And it's also due to the mess of wires that is everywhere that...

I step into this chamber, looking around at each of the holographic interfaces. I look up at the blue light above us as it illuminates everything in a cool, almost indifferent light. The others follow behind me, all of us looking in awe at the mess of terminals around us. No doubt these are all ancient, though they still look relatively well-kept, likely from the lack of use for now. Still, it's old equipment, and some of the terminals show various signs of rusting. On the whole, they don't look too bad, but that's not exactly a great thing either, honestly. What if...?

And right there in front of us, I see what looks like a main terminal, as the area is actually relatively clear. I step towards this central terminal, my heart pounding within my chest. This terminal looks different from the others, for there's a circular platform in front of it that seems to glow a rather faint blue. I look above me again, and then notice when I look back down that the light is the same as the one above us. I walk forward, and gingerly run my finger across one of the metal bars by the terminal. By all appearances...

"This must be it..." I finally whisper, walking up to the main terminal.

I stand there, noticing that this terminal seems to be doing nothing in particular at all. Is it... How do we start this thing? I look back to Jarel, who's already scanning the equipment with his omni-tool as Brendan and Nadeire walk around in awe of the terminals around us. I then turn my attention back to the terminal, and then to the wiring all around it... Hm...

I grab the little trinket Liara gave me, holding it in my hand. If the Collector base was any indication, maybe this thing is supposed to point me in the right direction? Maybe? I don't know, but it's as good a guess as any. I look at the object... Okay object, if you're as in tune with the Fade as I think you are, now would be a good time to get started showing me how to turn the damn thing on.

Sure enough, though, after a few seconds the object gives off a glowing light. All right... let's see what we've got here. I begin waving the thing around the central terminal, the light getting a little brighter as I hold it to the left. Hm... I begin walking in that direction, glancing up to see that the others have taken notice. I immediately nod, then kneeling down as the light gets brighter when I move the object down towards the ground. The light gets ever brighter, up until it manages to outshine the ethereal blue light from above.

And then, after a few seconds, the light vanishes altogether, and then I see something on the ground. I'm not sure how to describe it, except as some strange-looking access point.

Jarel kneels down next to me. "How the hell did it do that?" he asks, opening his omni-tool.

"I don't fully understand it myself," I comment. "But it's helped a bit in the past."

Jarel looks up at me nervously. "It's a long story, isn't it?" he asks.

"I'm afraid so," I say. "Can you get it open?"

"I think so..." Jarel says, manipulating his omni-tool as he shifts his posture a little bit. "Considering the slightly rusted state of all this equipment, though, I hope it holds."

"What do you think all this equipment connects to?" asks Brendan.

"I don't know for sure, but by now I think I've got a pretty good idea what it might be," I say. I then look to the terminal. "The question is, how do we-"

And then I hear something spark. I jump back as Jarel does the same, and I then begin to hear a very low hum that takes over the immediate area. I look up at the ethereal light, suddenly watching as it dims and then returns in the course of a second. The terminals all around us then come to life almost immediately, all of them scrolling numerous numbers and other things. The terminals all begin working immediately, and the low hum remains constant even as we're left standing around watching what just happened.

And then, at the center of the main terminal, I see a projection appear. The projection stands perfectly still, and it morphs into a humanoid form. As I stand up and begin walking towards it, I see all these strange flickers of light around the projection. It... It looks like a hologram, like something I might've seen in _Star Wars. _I don't really know what it is about this, but... It feels... inviting._  
><em>

After a few seconds, the projection then takes a humanoid form, and then it looks right at me...

No... No way...

My eyes widen, and I feel my heart beat accelerate almost immediately. My breath comes a little shorter, and I find myself placing a hand over my heart at what I'm seeing. Is this... This can't be real!

My question comes out breathlessly and with great effort.

"E... Ethan... Ethan _Mars_...?"


	42. Chapter 41

_A/N: Okay! And now, we'll be back in Mass Vexations 3._

_Well, after this chapter, we'll be hitting the home stretch of MV3. After this chapter is over, we've only got a few more major plot missions going, and then we'll be _done _with the Mass Vexations trilogy. I'll say it's been a crazy ride all the way through, and we'll see what happens when things go down, yeah?_

_Anyway... I think now is the time to get started with this, yes? Let's go away and do this!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 41: Prokofiev: Scythian Suite<p>

**Above Khar'Shan...**

The little vessel leaps out of FTL with barely any resistance at all, and before we know it we're back over the skies of Khar'Shan. I sigh in relief, looking out of the viewport to see numerous ships clustering around. Among them... Yes, the Normandy's here! Awesome! And there are a few other ships out there as well, too. Some of them look strange, though... Probably batarian in design, though, 'cause they look similar to the slaver ship we invaded back on Omega...

...Damn, now _there's _a group of people I haven't checked in with in a while. I wonder how Aria's doing, really... It can't have been easy for them with the Reapers shutting off mass relay travel to every part of the galaxy. Liselle probably isn't concerned since I think she knows her mom better than any of us, but I can't help but worry about Aria and everything on Omega. Hopefully she's gotten everything together with this whole Reaper invasion bit. I don't really know.

As the ships of our currently fleet come into focus, however, I hear Verek take a step towards the window, and that's enough to pull me back to the present.

"Are those your fleets?" Verek asks upon seeing them.

"Not in their entirety, no," Shepard replies. "Some of our fleets are down on Khar'Shan at the moment. Some of the ships took damage during the fighting."

"But it is a planet without the Reapers," says Servero as he looks out the window.

"Yes," says Tali. "At least, it was when we were done."

"That's good," says Verek. "Is your original ship here?"

"It should be," says Shepard. She then nods to Isaac and Ellie where they're seated at the seats of the ship. Isaac and Ellie nod in return, and then Ellie opens up a comm line. As she does this, Shepard turns to Verek. "You ready to meet the rest of the races of this cycle?"

"As I'll ever be," Verek replies. "I have been curious as to what I shall see myself..."

"Well, you'll see them soon enough," I say, looking back out to the stars in front of us. "Have fun."

Ellie then leans forward, having established the comm link in that time. "This is the SSV _Satie II _to the Normandy SR-3, do you copy?" she asks.

"_Loud and clear._" Ah, Joker, it's so nice to hear your voice again. "_About time you returned. I was starting to think you guys were swapping spit with a Reaper._"

I snort, this snort breaking into a chuckle as Shepard shakes her head, smiling. "Not a chance, Joker," Shepard says immediately. "You couldn't pay me enough money to do that."

Verek looks at us, his eyes wide and his head tilted at an odd angle. "We are fighting to prevent this galaxy from ending, and your pilot is making _jokes_?" he asks in disbelief.

I shrug. "Hey, that's just how Joker is, Verek," I reply. "There's a reason we've all given him that nickname."

"_Yep, that there is,_" Joker says. "_Who's the new guy?_"

"He's... a friend we found," says Shepard immediately. "A rather... _prehistoric _friend, shall we say..."

There's a brief silence on the other line. The silence stretches on for a few seconds, before the comm line dances to life again. "_Shepard... You didn't..._" Joker says in disbelief.

"I'm afraid it is true," Verek says, stepping forward. "Your commander has found a living Prothean."

"_If I hadn't seen you die and come back from the dead, Shepard, I would've said that you were _crazy_,_" Joker says. "_And not the normal crazy I know you for. No, I mean 'crazy' as in 'functionally insane' crazy_."

"Well, it's true," says Shepard. "And there's more."

"_What did you find at the coordinates?_" asks Joker.

Shepard nods. "Joker, prepare the Normandy for our boarding," Shepard says. "We have a _lot _of information to give out."

* * *

><p>"Whoah... I know you do some pretty crazy shit, Commander, but <em>this<em>!? This has to be the craziest thing I've ever seen..."_  
><em>

James says this immediately as he leans against the wall of the briefing room. I cross my arms, looking at the others as they look at the prothean. Some of them are staring at him in shock, while others staring at Verek. I can tell by their posture that they're looking rather flabberghasted by everything we've just told them, even if a few of them are trying to pretend to be indifferent. Everyone is filed all around the table, even Liselle for some reason. She pretends to be indifferent, though I notice that she's catching a glance at the prothean every time she thinks nobody's looking. I catch Grunt smiling stupidly the whole time, and I also notice Jenny and Gregor just hanging around. Everyone is here... well, except for Joker, anyway.

I chuckle nervously as James finishes saying this from where he's leaning against the bulkhead. "You're not the first person who's said that, James," I comment. "And I doubt you'll be the last."

"A real live prothean..." Al says, genuinely mystified.

"So what are we supposed to do here, stare at it?" Jack asks immediately. "I mean, look at the damn thing. It looks like it's trying to eat all of us for breakfast."

Verek leans forward, crossing his arms. "We used to eat your 'scientist salarian' for breakfast," Verek says with complete seriousness. "I wouldn't tempt fate if I were you, because you may be next."

I look at Jack, expecting her to shrink back. However, Jack only smiles cockily at Verek. "Damn, this one's got balls," she said. "I think I like him already."

Verek's look after this is very perplexed. I shrug, watching as the Commander shakes her head. "It's Jack," Jocelyn says. "You'll have about as much luck intimidating her as you will trying to make friends with a Reaper at this point."

Verek shakes his head, looking at the others. "I see," he says, turning his attention to all of us. "Speaking of the Reapers..."

Grunt steps forward. "Destroying suns to kill Reapers," he says. "I like it. When do we start?"

"We just need to get back to Ilos is all," Tali says. "And then, we need to find a way to lure the Reapers to Haestrom."

"And 'ow the bloody 'ell are ya plannin' ta do that?" Jenny asks immediately.

"There is a contingency on the Citadel," Verek states simply. "This contingency will prove to be the best way to lure the Reapers anywhere." He then turns to the commander. "We have informed them of what we need to. Should we return to Ilos?"

"We should," says Shepard. "But first, we have to leave someone here. If your contingency actually works, we need people to get these fleets to mobilize immediately." She then turns to Al. "Al, you're in charge of the Normandy."

Al looks at Jocelyn with only a blink to betray his surprise. "Let me guess," he says. "You're staying here over Khar'shan."

"I am," she says. She turns to Verek. "Verek, I trust you can stay with me in this event?"

"Of course, Commander," he says. "I have every confidence in my crew on Ilos. They are a fine crew, and I would trust no one else with this weapon."

I nod, smiling as Verek holds his hands behind his back. "It seems everything is in order," says Servero. "I assume the word shall be spread around to the other ships in this fleet?"

"Of course," says Shepard. She nods to the rest of us. "Crew, you are dismissed. Verek, we have a few ships we need to make contact with."

I look to everyone else as we all file out of the room. I nod to Servero as he ducks his head under the doorway to get through, with everyone else having already filed out. The door closes behind us as soon as we are all done, and then I notice Kasumi look right up at Servero. "So..." she says. "I heard you're an AI specialist."

"I am," says Servero. "It was especially interesting in a time before now..."

"Oh, I'll bet," says Kasumi. She smiles broadly. "Welcome to the Normandy, Servero. You'll be part of our big happy family in no time."

I look over to Isaac, who facepalms at this. "And there she goes," he says immediately. "Servero, that's Kasumi Goto."

"A pleasure, Ms. Goto," Servero says with a respectful bow of his head. "You seem quite full of energy."

I roll my eyes. "You have no idea," I say immediately, chuckling at this. "She's a bright spot in all of this, let me tell you."

And with this, we exit this room, talking the whole way about things Servero finds interesting.

* * *

><p><strong>The Citadel...<strong>

I rear back, looking at the holographic projection in front of us. "Ethan..." I say.

"Ethan?" asks Jarel as he steps forward. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm seeing Ethan Mars there!" I say. "There's no way that's possible!"

"I'll say," says Jarel. "Because I don't know who you're seeing, but I know that it's definitely not who I'm seeing..."

I rear back, turning back to Jarel. "What?" I ask. "But... how is that even...?"

"I don't even know," says Brendan. "I'm not seeing him either. He's not a young human, is he?"

"No," I reply. "Ethan was old enough to be a father to two children. One of them would've been twelve if he had lived to meet me..."

"Then no, we're not looking at the same thing," he says. He looks at the holograph. "What the hell is going on with this thing?"

"Wait, hold," says Nadeire. "Who do you see?"

"I see an old krogan," Jarel replies. "I know him. His name was Jorgal Garkat..."

"And I see Will there," says Nadeire immediately. "Brendan?"

"I see my friend Alan," he replies. He scratches his head. "How the hell are we all seeing different people?"

And then, the hologram opens its mouth. "_You are in a very sensitive spot of the beyond_," the hologram states immediately. "_Much of what you see here is a product of this phenomenon._"

I see Jarel frown. "What...?" he asks. "Was it... was it trying to speak just now?"

I blink, looking at Jarel in surprise. "Really?" I ask. "You didn't hear what it said?"

"No," says the salarian. "I mean, I heard it, but it came out as a jumbled mess."

"We must have been listening to a language that is not on our translators," Nadeire postulates.

Wait... hold on... "That's odd," I say, looking at the hologram. "I understood it perfectly."

"_That is exactly my point,_" says the hologram immediately. "_You can understand me, but they cannot. I assume you brought a piece of the beyond with you..._"

I look down at the object in my hand, and then look back at the hologram. "Wait..." I say. "You can't honestly mean that _this _is why I can understand you?" I then hold up the little object.

"_I do,_" the... It has to be an AI. No, it's an AI for sure. "_I also assume that your touching of the beyond has much to do with it. You are the wing, are you not?_"

"I've... I have been told that, yes," I reply. I look to the others as they give me strange looks. "I guess that explains some things..." I then frown, looking at the hologram. "Why do you look different to all of us?"

"_I am formless,_" says the hologram. "_Your biggest influence on who you are gives me form._"

I blink, looking to the others. "Um... It says influence kind of has to do with its form."

"So it is a manifestation of those who have changed us the most..." Nadeire says. He rubs his chin. "Interesting, if a little difficult to figure out how it is possible... Is it possible? Because I should think such a thing would be impossible."

"Nadeire, do you think I'm one to make things up?" Madison asks.

"Mm... Perhaps not, but this still seems implausible," the drell says. "But... As Brendan said, you did learn about this in a dream, so I guess anything goes now." He then turns his attention to the hologram. "What are you?"

"_I am a back door to the Citadel's systems_," says the hologram. "_I was installed here by the team on Ilos. I see that their remains are still here._" With this, the hologram pauses, and looks to us almost innocently. "_You may call me the Catalyst_."

"The Catalyst?" I ask. "That's an... odd name."

"_It is only appropriate,_" says the AI. "_As the Reapers came to their harvest, it falls to my lot to ensure that the ultimate plans of the Protheans are carried out._" The hologram pauses, and then looks to us. "_T__he Reapers must have invaded if you are_ _here._"

"They did," I say. "As Nadeire just said, I was told to come here in a dream."

"_Then it is as we believed might happen,_" the Catalyst says. "_The Reapers are indeed a rather... crafty foe. Despite even our best laid plans, they still invaded. But __there are some eventualities even they cannot fully plan for. We are the catalyst for a contingency. You must activate this back door._"

I nod. "Right," I say. I then turn to the others. "Apparently, this is some back door to the Citadel's systems."

Nadeire starts. "Hold," he says. "We can access the Citadel's systems from here?"

"It wouldn't be a very effective back door if it didn't," Jarel says as he begins exploring all the terminals around us. "Honestly, I kind of thought that's what this might be. And all I can ask myself is how did they get into that from here?"

"Probably with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears," Brendan comments. "Well, we got here first."

"We did," I say. "And if we're going to hold it in case more Cerberus guys come, we need to figure out how to activate it first."

"Hell, maybe we could even activate its functions and then just hold the line against Cerberus," says Jarel. "Well, if anyone else is coming, anyway."

"Forget Cerberus," says Brendan. "What about the Reaper troops themselves? Last I checked, I didn't see _that _many Cerberus troops here. There were quite a few, but nowhere near enough to match the forces of the Reapers top side."

I blink, and then scratch my chin. Yeah... "That's a good point," I say. "But by this point, we're getting into semantics with Cerberus. Either way, it's the Reapers talking. So we need to hold the line, and maybe even get some help." I frown. "But can we even open up the comm lines from down here? I mean, if we could find a way to get a message out to people, then..."

"We can always find a function for such, I guess," says Jarel. "And maybe we don't have to send this message to someone within the Citadel. If this back door is extensive enough, we could maybe even get the mass relay network back online!"

"_Your friend speaks correctly,_" the Catalyst says immediately. "_This back-door has multiple functions. Literally, holding this back door could decide the fate of this galaxy._"

I nod. "So what can we do?" I ask.

"_Your friend has suggested a few ideas_," the Catalyst replies. "_It is indeed possible to attempt to restore inter-galactic communication, though I cannot guarantee that this possibility will occur._"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," I say immediately. "Anything else?"

"_The Citadel can be moved_," it states.

...

Wait, _what!?_

"This station can be _moved_!?" I ask rather loudly.

This gets everyone's attention. "Whoah, wait," says Brendan. "You're saying the Citadel can be moved?" He shakes his head. "_Futar_, what the fuck am I hearing...?"

"_It is complicated indeed,_" the Catalyst admits. "_Even the protheans that built me do not fully understand it. It was one of the many functions we found while we built this back door. The Reapers must have put it in when it was first constructed, for it was a function buried deep within the code._" The Catalyst then points to one of the terminals. It's only then that I realize that this one must have been more hastily assembled than the others. "_That terminal there has what you need to access that system, but I would not recommend using it without a standard knowledge of where things are on the galactic map and a set destination in mind._"_  
><em>

Nadeire is immediately looking at that terminal, powering it on. He looks at the display immediately. "I... I cannot read any of these symbols," he says.

I walk over to where the drell is standing, looking over his shoulder... Shit, these symbols are strange... "I can't read them either," I say. I shake my head, looking back at the Catalyst. "Are the rest of the terminals in that alphabet?"

"_Yes,_" says the Catalyst.

"Dammit!" Brendan's fist sails right into the frame of one of the terminals. "Dammit, why did Liara have to die back _there_?"

"Well, we'll have to make due with what we've got," I say. I turn to look at the Catalyst. "Can you at least tell us what symbols to look for?"

"_I can,_" says the Catalyst. "_Simply let me know which function you wish to activate, and I will aid you as best I can._"

I nod. "All right," I say. "How do we reactivate the mass relay network?"

The Catalyst then points to another terminal, this one looking a little more clean. Immediately, Jarel and Brendan are both in front of that terminal, powering it on. Nadeire proceeds to power the other terminals around this area, which may actually be a smart move if we have to quickly manipulate other terminals. I hope it doesn't come to that, but if the unaccounted-for Cerberus troopers are any indication, we might just have to do that.

I nod, looking at the Catalyst again. "Okay, walk us through this process, Catalyst!"

* * *

><p><strong>Elsewhere on the Citadel...<strong>

I look over to Tidoses as she mutters some curse in turian. I notice that her gun seems to be out of ammunition, but what makes it worse...

Damn, she's run out of ammo. And I can see from our salarian friend that he's run out of ammo as well. In fact, he and I are both looking to the turian Spectre as she shakes her head. She then looks past cover.

We were in a drug store catching our bearings when a group of those turian-looking things attacked us. One of them is still alive, and it's in this store with us right now... I look to my right immediately, seeing that he's there, readying the assault rifle to fire at us.

With a yell, I leap up, jumping into the nearby aisle just before the husk opens fire. I scramble to my feet, rushing to the nearest piece of cover that I can. My heart is pounding in my chest as I rush to the end of the aisle, not stopping my motions until my back is up against opposite end of the aisle. I gasp, my breath coming in rather short bursts as I hear the rounds stop firing. I hear some more panting before I see the salarian C-SEC officer do the same thing opposite my part of the aisle. I hear the turian husk's footsteps, stealing a glance out to the other end of the aisle. Shit, there it is... Where is Tidoses...?

I look to the salarian C-SEC officer, breathing in and out nervously as he chances a glance as well. I hear the turian husk's footsteps again, but this time it's headed in our direction... Shit... I briefly glance out to see him walking through the aisle we've just exited, before I turn and slowly work my way into the other aisle. My footsteps remain as silent as I can make them, but I'm sure that he'll just turn things over, anyway.

I then hear the husk cock his gun. I pause... Wait, shit, he's going to fire through the-

I hear a few gunshots, and then I throw myself to the floor, bits of plastic and metal raining down over my body as this turian husk fires into the space I used to inhabit. Shit... I knew this was a bad idea. Just going to get supplies, and we get ambushed on the way in... And we're probably going to die here as well. Damn it...

I look ahead as soon as the firing stops. Breathing heavily, I slowly begin crawling away from where I was, moving as quickly as I can. It does make some noise, but I'm out of the aisle quickly.

Unfortunately, the turian husk decided to follow my lead, and when I get out of the aisle I find myself looking up at it immediately.

I let out a yell, feeling my heart rate spike as I scramble to my feet. Thankfully, before the turian husk has a chance to shoot at me, I watch as Tidoses rushes out of some cover and tackles the husk to the ground. She does this, but not before a mass accelerator round grazes my arm. I cringe in pain, standing up and looking at the wound...

Well, it could've been much worse. It hurts, but it could've been a _lot _worse.

I hear the signs of a struggle, and then watch as the turian husk and Tidoses both square off on the floor. I immediately rush over to where the two of them are flailing, and grab a hold of the husk's assault rifle before the husk can use it for anything. I grab a hold of the rifle with both of my hands while taking care to keep the chamber pointed away from me, and then pull as hard as I can.

The husk has just pulled against my pull to keep the assault rifle from getting out of his hands when the shaking starts. The floor begins to move underneath my feet in a way that no floor has ever moved before. I only have a few seconds before I'm knocked off of my feet, and right onto both Tidoses and the turian husk, which has... Wait, when did it stop struggling? And why... What is happening with the shaking?

And then, the shaking stops almost as suddenly as it began. I look around for a few seconds as the world is still once again. I find my breath coming in rapidly, and I look to Tidoses. Her eyes have widened quite a bit, and she looks like she is shaking. Before I can say much else, however, I feel myself get knocked off of the husk and falling into the center of the aisle. I land on top of a bunch of destroyed plastic items, and I feel some discomfort shoot up in my back as I look up at the turian husk. I squeeze my eyes shut. Damn, this is really how it will end, isn't it...?

...

Wait...

I open my eyes immediately as soon as I feel that the wait has lasted too long. However, instead of meeting the barrel of a gun I see the turian husk bolt for the exit and simply leave us there. All is silent in this store for a few more seconds, and then I hear someone heave a sigh of relief.

When I move to stand up, I find that my arms are shaking. I look to where the husk ran off as I get to my feet, and I watch as Tidoses walks into my view.

"What was that about?" I ask.

"I don't know," says Tidoses. "Apparently, the Reapers found a new target."

"But this doesn't make any sense!" I turn to see the salarian C-SEC officer walk to where Tidoses and I are. "What was that shaking?"

"And more importantly, why'd that husk stop attacking us?" I ask.

"I don't know," says Tidoses. She then looks up. "But whatever it is, I have the feeling that it won't be the last strange thing that happens today..."

* * *

><p><strong>The Heart of the Citadel...<strong>

The shaking subsides almost immediately, and we're left looking above us. Some sparks had showered down on us, but other than that everything looks intact.

I look over to the Catalyst immediately. "Um... That was supposed to happen, right?" I ask.

"_It was a predicted outcome, yes,_" says the AI. "_However, the Reapers' foot soldiers may come soon. No doubt, the shaking of the station alerted them to our presence below._"

"Shit," I say. "I guess I should've expected that reactivating the mass relay network would come with that kind of price."

"We'll be ready," says Jarel. "We should get the message out, though: in our current circumstance, we may not be able to hold off whatever Reaper forces come through."

"True." I look over to the others. "At least we can start with trying to get the message out, right?"

"Yeah, I guess we could," says Brendan. "Only problem is, how do we get that started?"

I look back at the Catalyst, but by now he has guessed our next motivation, and is already pointing at a different terminal. I nod, walking over to that terminal as Jarel makes his way over. The terminal is already on... Okay, that solves a lot of things.

The interface comes on, and... Damn it, it's the same characters as we got on the other interface...

Okay, we can still do that. I look back to the Catalyst, watching as he splays his hands out with the proper characters again. Okay, that's always a good thing. That was really helpful with reactivating the relay network. I look back to the holographic panel... Okay, it's this one, and then this one... I take another look back, and that means that it's also this character over there... That one character that looks a bit like a puffy cloud goes next... and then that thing that looks like what an enter key would look like on a different keyboard.

Okay... It looks like the interface has changed. I wonder what will happen when this happens. I turn back to the Catalyst. "You can't guarantee this will work?" I ask.

"_No_," says the Catalyst. "_But is it not worth the effort?_"

"Oh, there was never any question about that," I reply immediately. "I was just confirming is all."

The Catalyst nods, and then presents another set of characters. "_There are approximately two more interfaces to get through. I shall guide you through all of them._"

"Thanks," I say, committing the characters to my memory... Okay, strange looking 'j' analogue goes there, and then the cloud character again, and then there's something there that looks like a bottle of lotion that's the next one... I look over to Nadeire as he stands there. I also notice Brendan there as well... Hm...

"Brendan, I think our drell friend might need a crash course in how to shoot a gun," I say.

"Involving civilians in this?" asks Nadeire immediately. "Riskier ideas were never suggested."

"Yeah, I don't like it either," Brendan admits. "But with only four of us against an entire army of Reaper-based constructions, we don't really have very many options. Well, unless you plan on cowering in this place when the three of us fall and the Reapers come to kill you, anyway." Nadeire shakes his head as Brendan sighs, looking out the way we came before turning back to the drell. He then plops a pistol in Nadeire's hand. "We'd train with live fire, but we don't have the luxury of expending a few clips."

I turn back to the panel as Nadeire and Brendan begin talking about that. Jarel is right by my side entering some more characters, and then we're through to another interface. Okay, this is the last one... I look over at the Catalyst immediately, but it's one step ahead of us as it is already flashing the next set of characters at us. All right... It seems like this is a short one... Okay, so lotion-looking thing, cloud-looking thing, some other character that... really, I have nothing to compare it too, and then a few presses of that enter key...

And then, I see the screen shift to something else. A hell of a lot of text scrolls down, and then I feel the rumble underneath our feet again. I brace one of the consoles for leverage, and then I watch as the others do much the same thing. The Catalyst simply looks around, watching as the area around us shakes for several seconds.

And just as quickly as it began, the rumbling stops. I look over to the Catalyst as it nods slowly, and I let go of the nearby terminal. I look to the Catalyst, waiting for a few seconds as Jarel, Nadeire, and Brendan all make their way over to the holographic projection.

"So..." I ask.

"_It seems to have been successful,_" says the Catalyst. "_There is only one way to check... Do you have any comm lines you can use to contact someone important?_"

"I've got one," I say immediately, opening my omni-tool and getting out a comm directory. "There was one that I could use to contact someone who is probably several star systems away. If that person is anywhere, she's beyond the mass relay network." I then start a transfer. "If you can, I need you to open a comm line to that person."

The Catalyst looks as one of the terminals pings with new information. "_Ah,_" says the Catalyst. "_Attempting to contact your commander? Very well... I shall see what I can do..._"

* * *

><p><strong>The Normandy<strong>

I look over at Al as he gives a last check of his assault rifle. Shepard herself is preparing to dock with another ship on the Khar'shan fleet, with Verek leaning against Joker's chair and watching her. Joker glances up at Verek with some amount of trepidation, but with Grunt standing on the opposite side of the chair I'm not sure we'll be needing much. I look over to Isaac and Ellie as they look out the window again.

Me? I simply lean against the bulkhead close to where Shepard and Verek are. I look over at Kal as he and Jenny look around us. Kal's got his mask off, and I find that he's chatting it up with the shuttle pilot rather amicably. I turn over to Tali, who's checking a few final things on her omni-tool while discreetly catching glances of Jack and Al talking off to the side. I shrug, looking back at Shepard.

"Well, I guess this is where it all goes crazy," I say.

"That sounds about right," says Shepard. She then looks at Verek. "It'll probably be weird, returning to that place."

"I was born on the Citadel," Verek says. "I cannot imagine what the Keepers must have done with the station in my absence. Indeed, it will be like stepping into a new universe entirely."

I chuckle. "I can certainly relate," I comment. "I mean, I haven't been on Earth yet, but... y'know."

"You plan on going back sometime?" Shepard asks.

"Yeah," I say. "It's been too long since I've seen Earth in any state of being." I shrug. "And once this whole war ends... I think I'd like to be able to see some of the stuff that's there. It would be quite a change, but I think..." I sigh, looking up. "I need to see my home once again."

Verek shakes his head. "I do not understand why you humans are so sentimental."

"It's just how we are," Joker adds. "We humans get a bit crazy with thinking back, y'know? Hell, in your situation, I bet I'd do the same thing as a prothean."

"Perhaps," says Verek. He immediately looks away, avoiding other people's eyes as he turns . "Per-"

"_Commander._" EDI's avatar immediately pops up. "_I am receiving a transmission_."

Shepard shakes her head. "If it's the batarian dreadnaught again asking if we're ready, then I think you can-"

"_This is not that batarian dreadnaught_," says EDI immediately. "_It is something else..._" EDI pauses. "_Commander, this comm link... it's a comm link directly from the Citadel._"

I jolt, as does everyone else. "_What?_" Joker immediately asks. "You're just yanking our chains again, aren't you?"

"_I would not joke about something like this, Jeff,_" EDI replies. "_This transmission really is coming from the Citadel_."

Shepard is immediately at Joker's side. "Open the link, EDI," she says. "If this is coming from the Citadel, this could be big..."

"_Of course, Commander,_" EDI says immediately. Her avatar then undergoes a very subtle change, and then I see the little volume thing from before.

"This is Commander Shepard," says Shepard. "Who is this?"

"_Shepard? Thank God! I thought we'd never get through to you!_"

...

I almost jump off the bulkhead, moving so I'm behind Joker and looking right at EDI's avatar. "Madison?" I half-shout. "Is that you?"

"_Art! You're all right!_" Yes, that's definitely Madison all right!

"Madison, what're you doing?" Shepard asks.

"_I don't know, but soon enough it won't matter,_" Madison replies. "_I'm in the heart of the Citadel, Commander! There's this control panel here, and it's giving us access to the Citadel's systems, and we just-_"

"The control panel?" Verek steps forward. "Then you have found the contingency?"

There's a brief pause on the other end of the line. "_Commander...?_" she asks. "_Who was that? It doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard before._"

"That was Verek," says Shepard. "It's a long story, and it doesn't seem that important right now." She leans forward. "Did you say you were able to access the Citadel's systems?"

"_Yes!_" says Madison. "_We just reactivated the mass relay network, actually!_"

"You did _what_?" Shepard says. "So you mean..."

"_Yes!_" says Madison. "_We got all the way to the center of the Citadel, and... I don't know where you are or how well off you are, but we need you here now. The Citadel... it can be moved!_"

"Whoah, whoah, hold the phone!" Joker says immediately. "You're suggesting we move the Citadel?"

"How is that even _possible_?" I ask. "I mean... moving the _Citadel_? What?"

"_We have an AI here, and it doesn't know how it's possible either,_" Madison adds. "_But apparently it can be done._"

"The question is, do we do it?" asks Joker.

"It is our only option at this point," says Verek. "Once the Reapers discover that their Citadel has been subverted, there will be nothing to stop them from attempting to retake it. It will delay their attempt to retake the Citadel to move it, not to mention there are _other _strategic uses for it." He then looks at the Commander. "Now would be the time for action, Commander."

"_Yeah, I'd agree with your friend Verek there_," Madison adds. "_We ran into Cerberus on our way down here. They were trying to find this thing, and if I know the kind of scale they were working with the Reapers aren't going to let the Citadel get captured so easily._"

"Do you have any destination to move it to?" Shepard asks.

"_I would, but I don't really have any clear idea of where to go,_" she admits.

I nod. "Who else is with you?" I ask.

"_There are four of us down here,_" says Madison. "_Jarel's with us._"

Jarel... Shit... I nod... No, if any thing, he'd know the galaxy map better than any of us. "Tell him to direct the Citadel to move towards Haestrom," I say. I look to Verek. "Should we move the Citadel now?"

"It would be an advisable idea, but it may be better to defeat the Reapers around the station first," says the prothean. "When we move the Citadel, we will need time to regroup: it would defeat the purpose if we accidentally took the Reapers with us." He nods. "How many Reapers are there around the station?"

"_I don't know,_" Madison admits. "_None of us do. We've been trying to keep the foot units from killing us ever since we got in, so we haven't been able to keep track of the aerospace_..."

"Hm..." Verek looks a little lost in thought. "It may be the Reapers may have fanned out once the Citadel was taken..."

"I don't know," I say, pulling Orange out. "They could've been counting on us to think that, and just had a bunch of Reapers positioned around the Citadel." I then wave Orange in front of Verek. "Thankfully, there's one factor they couldn't account for." Okay Orange, what do you see around the Citadel?

"_Somehow, I knew you would ask,_" says Orange immediately. "_I took the liberty to enter the field before you asked. It appears as if the Reapers outside of the Citadel are few in number. For an exact number... unless the visions lie, I would say that there are three Reapers there..._"

"Right," I say, looking at Verek. Thanks for that, Orange. "The Oracle says we've got three Reapers there, just about."

"Shit," says the Commander. "That's going to pose a problem."

"Maybe the Normandy and the fleet should go to deal with the Reapers around the Citadel," Joker suggests. "I mean, we have one of the most powerful weapons in the fleet here, right?

"_Additionally, I would like to point out that perhaps this weapon you speak of would be better attained with a dreadnought,_" EDI points out. "_Storing a weapon of such scope as described to us would be rather difficult on the Normandy._"

"Hm... That is actually a good point," Verek admits. He then looks to Shepard. "Do we send our crew with them?"

"Yeah," says Shepard, as she looks to Al. "Change of plans. Albert, you're getting onto one of these dreadnoughts, and then you are going to Ilos. I'll go to the Citadel with some of the crew and the rest of the Fleet."

Al nods. "You got it, Joc," he says. "Should we take one of the crew who's met them already?"

"Take me," Isaac volunteers immediately. "I built the ship they spent most of their travel time in, after all."

"And take me as well," Ellie adds.

Shepard nods. "All right," she says. "Jack, go with Al if you wish. Everyone else is staying on the Normandy." She then looks back at EDI's avatar. "Madison, how long do you think you can hold the fort?"

"_Honestly, I won't have a good idea until these forces actually start coming in,_" she says. "_But we'll do our best to hold the line._"

"And we'll do our best to get our asses over there," Shepard says immediately. She then nods. "I guess we know what we're doing now. We're coming to help, Madison."

"_Make it quick,_" says Madison. "_I'm nervous about the number of Reaper units inbound!_"

"Got it." Shepard then nods at EDI. "Shepard out."

The comm link dies out immediately, and then I look at EDI's avatar. EDI looks a little different, though I can't place why. I glance at Verek to see that he looks very pleased with himself, and when I look behind me to the others, I see they're pretty happy as well. Yeah, I can't say I blame them. This is the first piece of really good news we've gotten in a while, I have to say. It's so good, actually...

"Well, that changed quickly," I comment.

"That it did," says Joker. "Shepard?"

The commander nods. "EDI, open a channel to the rest of the ships in this fleet," she says. "We have a change of plans to tell everyone about..."

* * *

><p><strong>The Heart of the Citadel<strong>

I nod as soon as the link cuts. "Good," I say. "The comm lines are open. I hope." I open my own omni-tool. I wonder if the Reapers' jamming has been lessened any across the Citadel?"

"It's doubtful, honestly," says Jarel. "It can't hurt to try, but I don't think it'll really work within the Citadel itself."

I open my own omni-tool, and start scrolling through comm lines. I look above us... C'mon, comm lines, work... I look over to Wrex's information... Yes, he might be a good person to contact in all this. He'd probably race over here once he hears Jarel is with us.

I select Wrex, and then bring my hand to my ear. "Hello?" I ask. "Wrex? Where are you?"

There is silence for a few seconds, but... I don't hear static. That has to mean _something_, right? I look at the others, and then look up above us.

And then, the comm line springs to life.

"_Madison? Is that you?_"

...

Holy shit. The line's clear.

"Yeah, it's me," I say, sighing in relief as I look up. "You have no idea how good it is to hear someone else's voice. How're you doing up there?"

"_Pretty good,_" he replies. "_I'm still alive, and we found Anahit._"

"Anahit's all right?" I ask. I notice Jarel's eyes widen upon hearing this, but I pay it no mind and turn back to my conversation. "Good. Anything crazy happen up there?"

"_Yeah,_" says Wrex. "_The Citadel just shook. What the hell was that all about?_"

I look up. "Well, Wrex, you won't believe this, but... We found our solution. And you won't believe the kind of things it does." I breathe in. "It's a back door to the Citadel's systems."

"_Wait..._" Wrex grumbles. "_You mean to tell me you can access the Citadel's systems now?_"

"Thank the protheans," I say.

"_Again_," says Wrex. "_It seems the dead guys are always getting us out of these messes._" He looks up. "_So that was all the shaking?_"

"That was the feeling of me reactivating the mass relay network," I say. "And if you can believe it, there's more. We can actually move the Citadel from here!"

Wrex is silent. "_Damn,_" he says. "_I've seen a lot in my time, but _that_... I won't believe it until I see it move._"

"Or feel it, as the case may be," I reply. "Wrex, if you can, I need you to make your way to the Kithoi Ward."

"_I don't know if that's a good idea,_" says Wrex. "_Ever since the damn Reapers attacked, I've been ferrying the Council everywhere._"

"Wait, the Council's with you?" I ask.

"_Yeah,_" says Wrex. "_Most of them have just been sitting there like a scared varren._"

"Hm... Then it might not be a great idea to get you to come along, then," I say. "Do you have anybody else's comm information?"

"_I don't know that many people around here,_" he starts. He then briefly pauses. "_That said, I _do _have the Council at my disposal._"

"Good," I say. "Get them to start coordinating some kind of offensive on the ground. If we can distract the Reapers from getting to where we are, it'll help us a _lot_."

"_Got it,_" says Wrex. "_I'll let them know._"

"All right," I say. "Hopefully I'll still be alive to tell the tale when all this is over."

"_I'm looking forward to hearing it_," Wrex says with a chuckle. "_Give 'em hell._"_  
><em>

"Right back at you," I reply.

With this, the comm link cuts out, looking to Jarel. "Anahit's alive..." He exhales in relief. "Thank goodness."

"Yeah, and it seems like the Council is okay too," I say. "We'll be fine after this." I turn back to the Catalyst immediately. "Was all this part of a larger plan?"

"_Yes_," says the Catalyst. "_It is why holding this area is of such vital importance. This place cannot be destroyed by the enemy for any reason._"

I nod, taking out my submachine gun. "Then we better make sure we remain in control of it," I say, looking to Jarel, Brendan, and Nadeire. "If only Liara and Garrus were still with us..."

"This would've been a lot easier, yeah," says Brendan. "We should've asked Miranda and Feron to come along."

"And leave some of those civilians undefended?" I ask. "Not a chance." I look ahead, watching the passageway. "Well, here we are," I say. "Once the Reapers are visible, we start shooting. Make every shot count."

Jarel nods, opening his omni-tool and unleashing the omni-blade. "I'll try to get whatever ammunition I can out there," he says. "I can get in and out quickly, though you'll need to cover me."

"Got it," I say. I look to the others. "If we don't get out of this alive... it's been great."

"We'll get out of this," Jarel replies as he concentrates his gaze on the pathway we took to get here. He looks to his omni-blade, keeping the tool prepared as we stand there and wait for the first of the Reaper forces to rush towards us.

* * *

><p><strong>The Normandy<strong>

I breathe in, looking at all the ships that are crowded around Khar'shan's mass relay. I have no idea how the hell Shepard managed to convince them to take a leap of faith on this, but at least they're trusting her on this. That's much better than nothing, it really is. I myself can hardly believe it... I mean, it's Madison, but I still have this nagging doubt. What if she didn't do it right or something? Or the Reapers got to her or something else...?

I shake my head. Calm down, Art. Don't think of it in those terms. I look up at all the controls, before looking back to the ground team we're taking. I nod to Tali as she checks her shotgun one last time, before turning my attention to Jenny. She looks prepped and ready to go to the shuttle at a moment's notice, as are all the rest of us. Liselle looks about ready to kick some ass, actually, and Grunt is beating his fists as if gleefully expecting a fight. Shepard of course is looking expectantly out, and Verek is looking outside with a calmness that's honestly just a little creepy.

I shake my head, looking out as Joker nods. "We're coming on the relay now," Joker says.

"Looks like it," says Shepard. She turns to Verek. "Let's hope this worked..."

Verek simply tilts his head forward, before focusing his gaze back to the ships in front of us. I can already see some of the ships make a trajectory for the mass relay... C'mon, relay, work...

I see the first ship approach the relay...

And then I watch as the relay reacts to its presence. Within a few seconds, a lightning bolt seems to hit the ship, and in a few seconds the ship darts away in a streak of blue light.

I lean forward. "It works!" I say.

"Yep, looks like it," says Joker. He then turns to Shepard. "I can call the Migrant Fleet in if you want me to."

"Sure," says Shepard. "You can take care of that after we get through the relay, though. For now..."

Joker nods. He then turns his attention back to the relay. "Well, it's off to save the Citadel. Again." He exhales rather sharply. "Let's jump right in."

He then begins the whole process of getting up to the relay, as all the other ships do much the same thing. I grip the edge of Joker's chair as we inch up towards the mass relay, and I feel my breath hitch slightly as we approach. I look at the relay nervously as we get right up to it.

And of course, before I know it, we're through the relay. And before us is the Citadel, with three hulking forms of Reapers seemingly patrolling the grounds.

I nod, looking at Shepard. "Well, we're in," I say, rubbing my hands nervously.

"Good," says Shepard. She turns to Joker. "Joker, you keep the Reapers busy and call in as many reinforcements as you can."

"You got it, Commander," Joker says. "EDI, let's get ready to kick some ass."

"_I am right there with you, Jeff_," she says immediately._  
><em>

I quickly turn around and follow the commander. The rest of our ground team follows suit as we begin making a mad dash for the elevator.

"Finally, a fight worthy for a krogan," Grunt comments.

"Yeah, this is gonna be great," says Liselle. "Let's kick those Reapers' asses."

I nod. Yeah, let's kick the Reapers' asses indeed.

* * *

><p><strong>The Heart of the Citadel<strong>

The first of the husks begins to run right up to us. Okay, it's just human husks right now. I raise my submachine gun, firing a few short bursts into one of the oncoming husks. Brendan gets a pistol headshot in, and then I watch as the husk tumbles over and disintegrates. Okay...

I look ahead at a couple more husks as they approach, quickly running up to us. I see Jarel immediately dart out of his cover, swinging his omni-blade wide out in the open. I watch as he decapitates one of the husks with one fluid motion, right before running forward and stabbing the other husk through with his blade. He looks up just in time to see another husk run in, and this one he decapitates as well. He then jumps back, giving Brendan more clearance to shoot his pistol. The shot is a perfect headshot, and the husk goes down. More husks come running in, but by now Jarel is slowly backpedaling towards us.

I myself take aim at another husk as more start to pour onto the pathway, making sure to stay only with short bursts of fire. This gives Jarel a little more freedom to move around, as he'll ignore the ones I shoot. Brendan tends to finish mine off if I don't completely get a kill, though I realize pretty quickly that it's not doing any good...

Speaking of which... What's up with Nadeire?

I look to the drell, who is keeping his head barely above cover, staring out with wide eyes. He's holding the pistol with shaky hands, and... Shit...

I shake my head. Damn it, I knew getting Nadeire to hold a pistol was a bad idea. He didn't really get to afraid before, but before this point he could always stay just out of danger. Now, though... if we fail, then there he is in the line of fire. And there's no escaping it here...

I shake my head, quickly making my way over while unleashing a few rounds. As soon as I'm settled next to him, I take a look at the drell. "Nadeire?" I ask. "You all right?"

He shakes his head. "N... No..." he says.

I pat his shoulder comfortingly. "It'll be all right," I reassure him. "We'll get out of this just fine." I hope. I hope we can get out of this alive... Damn it all, we're trapped here with no escape until help arrives. And with limited ammo that will probably run out in the near future...

He tilts his head forward. "If... if they do get us... please... end me," he says. "End me before they turn me into one of those _things_..."

I nod grimly, rubbing his back. "I'll do my best," I say. "Both to protect you, and to keep these things from overrunning this place."

He looks up at me, but now his eyes are a little less narrow. "All right." He looks up, and it's then that I notice his grip on the pistol is a little steadier. "I... I hope I don't miss too often."

Mm... It almost reminds me of how I was when I first used these firearms. I nod. "Just take your time," I say. "Don't panic, and take your time."

The drell nods, and slowly peeks out of cover with his pistol raised. I return back to firing into the crowd, and then I notice that Jarel is already right by Brendan as I hear the sharp report of a pistol go off right next to me.

* * *

><p><strong>The Citadel<strong>

"A'right, 'ere we are."

The shuttle lands in the middle of a street in what appears to be the Kithoi Ward. I look out briefly as I step out, assault rifle at the ready. Huh... It's oddly deserted. There aren't even any Reaper-based enemies here. They must be somewhere else, but... I don't feel comfortable as to where that 'somewhere else' might be...

I look to Shepard, stepping out of the shuttle at the same time I do. The others step out of the shuttle pretty quickly, looking around for any hint of life around us. "And we're not just going straight down to the bottom of the Citadel because...?" I ask.

"It would not exactly be there," says Verek. "It is close to the bottom, but it might take longer to search there than to retrace the steps of your friend from here."

"Right," I say. "You think someone's mapped that out?"

"If the Reapers indoctrinated anyone else, it is possible," says Verek. "Nevertheless, I myself have a map as well." He brings his wrist up and opens something that's similar to an omni-tool but isn't quite an omni-tool as we know it, and then he shows us this. "I assume the entrance is close by."

"We better hope so," says Shepard. She then turns to Jenny. "Try not to stray too far from the Citadel. We'll need you here when we move this station."

"Ya got it, mate," Jenny replies. "I'm gonna look fer survivors."

"Good," says Shepard. "Make sure you stay safe. The Reapers will probably double their efforts."

"Ya got it," Jenny says. "I'll see ya in a bit. Don't be an eejit, ya hear?" With this, the shuttle door closes, and then Jenny flies off into the Kithoi Ward looking for survivors.

"Right," says Shepard. "Let's go find this place."

I nod. "Yeah," I say. "So where's the entrance?"

"Probably in an alley somewhere," Liselle says. "If this thing was out in the open and _nobody _noticed it was there, I'm gonna pummel some faces in."

"Save it for the Reapers," Grunt reminds her. "They're the ones whose asses need to be kicked."

"Of course," says Shepard. She looks at me. "Any hints?"

I pat the pocket with Orange in it. "It is indeed in an alleyway," I reply, looking around. "It was also in a hole that is kind of narrow. It might be guarded, though."

"So expect resistance, essentially," Shepard says. She then looks up. "We should've brought more people."

"That might not be necessary, Commander. It seems you've dropped off in the right place."

I jolt in surprise, turning to look to our right as a bunch of people pour out of a nearby convenience store. I'm not sure how I didn't notice them before, but some of them are looking at us as if they're seeing ghosts or something. Yeah, they're probably as surprised as we are, really, as their lowering weapons seem to indicate that fact. I blink... No way...

"Miranda!" I say, looking at her as she comes out holding a gun. I notice a bunch of other people, including... Whoah, Bailey's with them! And Eltarn and Sawrik and Oriana as well... And Kolyat's there too... Crap. I breathe in nervously as my eyes rest on the drell. Damn it, just don't talk to him and you'll be fine.

I look up at Miranda. She nods, before turning her attention to Shepard. "It's good you're still alive, Commander," says Miranda.

"Well, she is made of pretty tough stuff," Bailey says with a shrug. "Only natural that she's here."

Shepard nods. "You have civilians with you, though," she says.

Eltarn shakes his head. "I think in this case, we'll be fine with at least one of you here," he says. "The Reaper units here on the Kithoi Ward have almost all been running towards something. They've actually been avoiding us for a bit, and even when we've been spotted they haven't engaged us."

"It's the strangest damn thing I've seen since we started running," Bailey adds. "All these Reaper forces move past us, but they don't engage us."

"Wait..." I say. "So you're saying..."

"There shouldn't be too much of a threat," Miranda says. She nods. "It seems they've been running as if something is at stake."

Shepard nods, looking at Miranda intently with her brows furrowed in concentration. "You could say that," she says. "Where'd they all go?"

"In this direction," Miranda says. She then points down the street of where we are.

"What the hell are they heading there for...?" asks Kolyat irritatedly.

"And how'd you all get here, anyway?" Oriana asks.

"Last I heard, you were out in batarian space when the Reapers came and cut us all off," Bailey adds as he opens his omni-tool. "You were nowhere to be found, you know?"

"We were," Tali confirms. "Someone found a way to stop the Reapers down in the heart of the Citadel."

Miranda tilts her head slightly, looking at Shepard. "So Madison was successful," she says. "Good. I was worried about that for some time now."

I blink. "You bumped into Madison?"

"Yes," says Miranda. "She and a few others went to see if there was a way to stop this down there."

"Good to hear they had some success," says Bailey. "I guess that explains why all those foot soldiers of the Reapers have been avoiding us a bit as of late. What did she _do _down there?"

"It's a long story," says Shepard. "To make it short, she managed to tap into the Citadel's systems so that we can control _all _of its functions." She shakes her head. "We've wasted enough time talking. They went that way?" Shepard asks this as she indicates the direction Miranda pointed in earlier.

"Yes," says Miranda. "Come on. We'll figure out what to do with our civilians once we get close to where we need to go."

I frown. "We're leaving them here," I say, looking at Sawrik. "I don't know about you, but I'm _not _going to drag a child into this."

"And I won't let you drag Sawrik into anything," says Eltarn.

Miranda nods. "Then we'll figure out who's staying with them as we go," she says. "Come on. We don't have any time to waste."

The group of us make for wherever it is that this alley is. Damn, Miranda, I hope you're right about this, otherwise we're all rightly fucked...

* * *

><p><strong>The Normandy<strong>

"All right! All units, take your battle stations! It's showtime!"

I say this as I look out to the Reapers in front of us. As Art said, there are three of them out there... Two of them are further out from the mass relay and closer to the Citadel, and yet to get to both of them we need to get through the one immediately ahead of us. Right.

I look over to EDI. "Well, EDI, it looks like it's just us and the fleets, kicking ass," I say.

"_Of course,_" says EDI. "_Any orders you need to give, Jeff?_"

"Attack the Reaper in front of us," I say. "We've got two of them close to the Citadel, but we need to take this one down first in order to do anything to the other two."

"_It may be wise to send diversions over to the other two Reapers,_" EDI adds.

I look over to the Reapers. "Should we _really _be sending them off to deal with Reapers on their own?" I ask. "I mean, unless they _like _almost blowing up. 'Cause that's what could happen if they're not careful. If it must come to that, I'd rather we do that."

"_Hm... You bring up a valid point, Jeff,_" EDI admits. "_Shall we perhaps distract them, then?_"

I rub my hands together, smiling broadly. "I thought you'd never ask," I reply, my hands immediately returning to the holographic panels. "Everyone, attack the Reaper in front of you. I'll keep the other two guys distracted."

With this, I tilt the Normandy to the right. With this, the ship speeds right past the Reaper closest to the relay. I look to the side just in time to angle the ship up slightly right before one of those red laser beams fires a burst in our direction. Thankfully, the beam only fires up at the spot we _used _to be, so it's all good.

I thus race past that Reaper and make my way to the two closer to the Citadel. I stare at the closer Reaper of the two intently... All right...

"EDI, let's show these overgrown squids what we're made of!" I say.

"_Of course, Jeff,_" EDI replies. "_Readying the Thanix Cannon_."

Well, I guess it's better than nothing. I look ahead at the Reaper directly ahead of us as it turns its attention towards us. All right, wait for it...

With a flick of my ring finger, the Normandy suddenly dips downward, just in time to avoid one of those red lasers of death. The Normandy just cruises right underneath it, and I round it out with a turn towards the second of the two Reapers that is hanging around there. I rush towards it... Hm... No, I should just stick to defensive maneuvers for now. After all, an offensive maneuver would be pretty pointless if I used it now since we don't have a fleet to follow up.

I frown, looking up at the Reaper above me. Unless... I smirk, piloting the Normandy around so that it forms a circle around one of the Reapers.

"EDI, it's a good thing the Thanix Cannon is being readied," I say immediately.

EDI says nothing as I concentrate intently, the Reaper I'm circling showing up just at the top of my view. I spare a glance in its direction, before looking down to the bottom of the window to check for... Okay... Reaper, Citadel, nebula, and then we hold the Nebula... Okay. The Normandy slowly goes up as well, and I look ahead. Hm... Gotta be careful. This guy's probably going to anticipate my next move, which means...

I look above as a red glow starts to appear from beneath the Reaper. At that moment, I twist out, executing a barrel roll and getting out of the way as their red laser of death brushes behind us. I quickly pull up, executing a half-loop and then looking at the Reaper-

Damn it!

"Well, that tactic failed," I reply.

"_Well, Art _did _say that they successfully used this tactic over Ilos_," EDI comments. "_Failure was expected_."

"And you didn't tell me?" I ask, shaking my head. "Thanks, mom."

I look back ahead of me, widening my eyes. Whoah, that Reaper is firing again _already_? I veer right to the side, the red laser beam of death passing just past us as I look out... Okay, there's the second Reaper. Damn... I look ahead to the Reaper closest to the mass relay to see... Damn, our fleet looks like it's taking quite a beating. But the Reaper doesn't look much better, as its shields have dissipated. Hm...

"EDI, I think we've done enough," I say. "Let's send that Reaper bastard to hell!"

I then change course towards the Reaper close to the relay. I look up at EDI's avatar. "Okay, EDI, fire the Thanix Cannon when we get close!"

"_Of course, Jeff,_" EDI says. I then look ahead at the Reaper... C'mon... getting close...

There!

"EDI, let's show these bastards what we've got!" I shout.

EDI doesn't even have to say anything. Instead, a deep buzzing sounds from within the ship, and then I watch as our heated liquid cannon is fired. The round heads towards the Reaper, and I look on as the liquid metal then strikes true. I smile at this, watching as a series of explosions rip the Reaper apart, sending fragments into the nebula all around us. I flick my left index finger out briefly, and then the Normandy barrel rolls past some debris.

I look at EDI. "Well, that's one down," I comment. "Only two more to go."

"_And potential reinforcements,_" EDI adds. "_The Reapers will not want the Citadel to be taken._"

"Yeah, I didn't think so," I comment. The ship turns around, and I look at all the downed vessels... Wow... There's debris everywhere, some of it having just formed. Most of it of course is just floating there, and I can make out the sight of a few bodies as well... "That's a lot of ships..." I look down. "And there were that many taken down?"

"_It is unfortunate_," EDI says immediately. "_On the bright side, it seems that we have lost fewer ships so far. And we did our best to ensure that the two Reapers we were close to did not attack them and result in more casualties._"

"Yeah, but knowing our luck against the Reapers we're going to lose more anyway," I say, shaking my head. "Dammit." I shake my head. "Well, right now, we've gotta stop these guys from taking over the Citadel. We don't have time to worry." I look up. "EDI, spread the word: we're keeping these next two Reapers busy!"

With this, I turn away from the relay, watching as several ships turn towards the Reapers that are closer to the Citadel.

* * *

><p><strong>The Heart of the Citadel<strong>

I immediately hear the sounds of gunfire from further off, and then I duck down behind cover as the first of the turian husks run towards us.

"Shit!" I shout. I then glance over at cover to see Jarel briefly flicker into view as he slashes one of the turian husks in the face. "Damn it, the turian husks are here now!"

"It was only a matter of time," Brendan replies. "Now we've got them to worry about too..."

"Let's hope we don't get any of those asari things," I say immediately.

"Doubt it," Brendan says as he pops out of cover. "The damn bitches are too big."

"We'll see." I pop out of cover as I say this, and I fire a few pistol rounds at the oncoming husks. The rounds strike true, causing the turian husk to topple over in its death throes. I breathe in nervously immediately, directing my fire at another turian husk. I briefly catch sight of Jarel decapitating one of the human husks before he turns his attention to a nearby turian husk. He fires his pistol at the husk, but I take no chances as I fire at another human husk.

As soon as that husk goes down, I slide back into cover and look over to Nadeire. He lets out a cry of shock right then, and before I know it he's opened his omni-tool as best he can. I watch his face relax, and then look at him.

"Are you all right?" I ask immediately.

Nadeire shakes his head. "I have to hope I can go without taking any more hits," he says immediately. "I just used my last medigel..."

I shake my head. "That's what happens when you use it all too early," I say, grabbing a thermal clip that's laying around and quickly reloading. "Don't worry about it. I've got some more medigel in case you need it."

"Knowing my luck, I may use all of yours as well," Nadeire comments. He turns out to look. "My aim's better."

I pop out of cover and shoot at some turian husks. "Glad to hear it," Brendan replies as I turn my attention to a nearby human husk. I fire a few rounds at the husk in front of us, and I watch as Jarel doubles back to where we are. He's just ducked behind cover and is applying some medigel to himself when I take the nearby human husk down. I turn immediately to another human husk imme-

Shit!

I watch as a human husk jumps onto Nadeire, the two of them falling to the ground as the drell immediately yells. Brendan lets out a startled cry of shock, scooting into the corner immediately as the husk grabs Nadeire's head. The drell immediately brings his hands up, trying to block the strikes. Even so, the husk bashes Nadeire pretty hard in the face with a fist, with Nadeire giving off a loud cry as the arm makes contact. Brendan immediately rushes over, trying to pull the husk off of a screaming Nadeire, though he has very little success as his shields are pelted by rounds from the turian husk.

I shake my head, turning around and immediately shooting at the husk. The shot connects with the husk's head, and it slumps off to the side, leaving a completely dazed Nadeire to look up in bewilderment, the area around his eye swelling as blood flows from various cuts around his head. Dammit... I open my omni-tool and apply some medi-gel to his wounds, and he lets out a sigh of relief as Brendan inspects the drell for damage.

I immediately turn my attention out to the battlefield, letting out a cry right as I shoot another human husk. Thankfully, I manage to shoot its head off before it gets close to us, and so I turn my attention back to a turian husk that is raising its assault rifle. I frown intently, raising my pistol and shooting at it.

I then hear a pained grunt from the side, and turn to watch as Nadeire falls to the ground with-

No! No!

I immediately rush to the drell's side as soon as he falls, looking at his forehead and immediately trying to apply pressure there. Brendan screams in fright, and I just find myself pushing against Nadeire's skull even as the blood leaks through my fingers. Damn it! No! C'mon, just close! Just stop bleeding!

My fist immediately collides with the ground by him. Dammit, no! I try to stop the bleeding once again, but look behind me and see that it's futile...

Fuck!

I throw my hands around, very nearly letting go of my pistol before I look to where Brendan is sitting, looking at Nadeire's corpse. Fuck... I shake my head, turning my attention back to the husks.

"I... I don't know what happened!" Brendan says. "I... I was pulling him into cover... the turians must've gotten lucky, 'cause... Holy _Christ_!"

"Dammit!" I say. "Why did it have to be the... Why did..." I squeeze my eyes shut, taking a couple of deep breaths as... C'mon... No, don't lose it... Okay, girl, calm down... Calm down...

Nadeire's gone, Madison. There's nothing we can do. But... Dammit... Why did we have to get the civilian involved in all this? If only we had... If only...

Fuck. Okay, girl, pull it together. I breathe in one more time, and then open my eyes. "We can't lose it. Not now." I shake my head, looking at the army of husks incoming. "We can't worry about this now. We'll have time to mourn later. We've gotta make sure these Reapers don't sabotage this stupid thing."

"Yeah," says Brendan, sparing a look of sadness towards Nadeire's body before he turns around. "Yeah. We've... Yeah." He shakes his head, a haunted expression keeping his eyes wide as he turns around. He then fires his gun, and I turn just in time to see a turian husk go down from some distance away. Jarel materializes in front of a human husk, and he stabs it in the torso right as he manages to turn and shoot another human husk in the side of the head.

I don't even pay attention to what either of them do, instead shooting into the crowd of husks that is slowly getting larger and larger. Before long, I hear my pistol click, and I look to find that I need to reload.

* * *

><p><strong>The Keeper Tunnels<strong>

Verek rushes forward, leading all of us through the Keeper tunnels. I pump my shotgun just behind him, ready to use it when we run into Reaper units. The prothean is constantly ducking his head under some part of the tunnels, though, as Grunt probably is back over there. Damn, these tunnels are a little small.

But I guess that's good. At least now we can be assured that we won't have to deal with those giant krogan things Miranda mentioned.

I check the ammo on my pistol quickly, right before we burst into a larger room that is piled with crates and other objects. Wait... is that a terminal in the corner? There are discarded weapons littered all over the place, and as I get closer, I realize that some of it...

"Shit, these are Cerberus arms," I say, quickly kneeling down and storing my pistol as I pick up one of the assault rifles there. Yeah, there's the Cerberus insignia and everything.

"So there _was _Cerberus involvement in this," Miranda mentions quickly. She looks up. "I had my suspicions, but... this is the first I've seen of it."

"And it looks like they just left in the middle of it," Shepard adds. "Do you think Madison and the others went through this way?"

"No doubt," Verek replies, stopping at the entrance to the next set of tunnels. "We do not have much time, Commander. We must get moving."

"Right," says Shepard. She then gestures to us, and we resume our run down through the tunnels.

"Hey, wait," I hear Liselle say from behind me. "If Cerberus was there, and the Reapers are going to come in, then... who's to say there won't be more soldiers coming in now?"

"There may be soldiers already ahead," says Grunt. "I say we bring it to them!"

I nod, looking at Grunt. "Yeah, we won't have much of a choice," I comment. I look ahead. "Dammit, Madison, hold it together..."

"She'll be fine," says Shepard. "She's nothing if not resilient."

"Against several husks?" I ask. "I hope so, Commander. I don't know about human husks, but those turian husks sound like bad business."

"They are," says Bailey immediately. "The damn things can shoot now."

Shepard looks ahead. "Well, whatever the case, we'll be ready," she says. "Keep your weapons up at all times, everyone! We're going to need to be on guard!"

I nod, checking the ammo on the Cerberus assault rifle I've picked up as we continue further into the tunnels.

* * *

><p><strong>The Normandy<strong>

Shit! Shit!

"Damage report, EDI!"

"_Shields are recharging. The damage sustained is thankfully minimal, but we should be careful not to take any more._"

I nod. "Well, it's better than nothing." I look ahead. "It's a good thing that beam only grazed us."

"_Indeed, Jeff_."

I look up at the Reaper in front of us, and I'm preparing for the next move. It's been weird against the Reapers. I think they've figured out our strategy of buying Shepard time to get to whatever's down in the heart of the Citadel, 'cause they've been aggressively ramping up their game. We're all focused on dodging at this point, but they're still taking quite a few of us out. I glance off to the left to see what remains of one of the Council ships that came with us to Aratoht... Damn...

I shake my head. Okay, Joker, keep cool. Just wait for the call from Shepard.

I swerve around one of the Reapers, looking above me to see it preparing to shoot another laser of death at someone. I dip the Normandy down briefly, looking ahead at another ship as it attempts to dodge a laser from the other Reaper. Okay, let's just make sure this Reaper doesn't kill us... C'mon...

Whoah!

I pull the Normandy down again, glancing up at the beam. Oh, c'mon Joker, don't turn now, don't... My eyes widen as another one of those damn things comes up towards us. Oh fuck! Oh fuck! I pull back immediately, the Normandy correcting itself as its nose tilts back enough to narrowly dodge the beam. Immediately, my hand flicks across the control panel to engage the thrusters. I'm forced back into the chair immediately, and then the Normandy launches forward, enough that the inertial dampeners can't really mask the effect of what just happened. The beam that was in front of us suddenly passes beneath us, and I find myself looking ahead as I rush forward with a sudden speed.

I lean back in the chair, looking up at EDI. "Damn," I say. "We can't keep this up much longer."

"_Of course, that is not our intention,_" says EDI. "_We are to s__trike when the enemy's guard is down._"

I nod, looking up at the Reaper immediately to my left. "Yep," I reply. "Buckle in, EDI, I think we're going to make good on that now."

And with this, I turn towards the Reaper, looking over at EDI's avatar briefly before I turn my attention back to the field of battle.

* * *

><p><strong>The Heart of the Citadel<strong>

I hear another cry sound out immediately, and I look beside me to see Brendan laying on the floor with his hands clutching the right side of his chest.

I open my omni-tool immediately. I don't know why I check: we all know that we've run out of medigel by now. I look to Nadeire's body another time... Dammit... Why did we have to run out of medigel just after that?

I shake my head, turning my attention back out to the horde of Reaper forces closing in on us. I fire my submachine gun before I hear the click that signifies that I've run out of rounds. I pat my body for more rounds, and find that there are none to be found anywhere on my body...

Shit... I quickly discard my submachine gun, glancing at Brendan as he looks up at me. "Take... agh... take my gun," Brendan says immediately. He looks up at me, his eyes wide in fear.

I nod briefly, leaning over and grabbing his gun. I turn to say thanks, but the word is caught on my throat. Even in this situation, it shouldn't have come to this...

I then look down guiltily. "I'm sorry..."

Brendan just nods as he coughs up blood. "Don't worry..." He looks at me with wide eyes. "Just... Agh... Stop the bastards..."

I nod, turning away. I try not to look at him, firing his gun into the crowd of Reaper units that are incoming. I shake my head, looking ahead to see Jarel reappear by my side. He looks briefly at Brendan, and I hear a few more pained coughs from Brendan before he goes completely silent.

"Dammit," Jarel says as he looks at me. He shakes his head. "I couldn't get any ammo off of the turian things..."

I shake my head, firing into the crowd. I look ahead again, firing more into the crowd. "At least there aren't any asari things anymore," I comment. I fire into the crowd of Reaper based units, finding my rounds impacting best against the human-shaped husks. "We'd be fucked if there were."

Jarel shakes his head. "And now there are only two of us..." He looks ahead. "I'm going to go on another run. Keep them busy." With this, the salarian vanishes from sight again, and then I hear footsteps. I look over to where Brendan is, the broker agent laying there with his eyes wide.

I shake my head. Dammit, girl, keep it together. Just hold the fort until Shepard gets here! I take another few breaths in and out... In and out... I then look out, seeing some of the Reapers falling to Jarel's omni-blade.

Right...

I raise Brendan's gun, looking out and firing into a human husk that is close to where I am. I take it down quickly before moving on to a turian husk. It gets a few shots in, but the shots only bounce off my barriers before I shoot at it a few more times. As it goes down, I'm already thinking about the next husk I'm going to shoot, and then my body swivels and I've shot down one of the human husks without even thinking about it. It's all concentration from here... Can't lose my concentration...

I don't even seem to pay much mind when Brendan's gun runs out of ammo. Immediately, I pull out my pistol, throwing the gun to the side and immediately shooting the husks with that. One by one, they start to fall, even as they gain more ground. I don't know. Nothing really seems to matter.

I mean... with Brendan and Nadeire dead, and Liara and Garrus already dead right now, there's no way Jarel and I are going to survive. The Citadel's going to fall to the Reapers again, and everything we did down here is going to be for nothing, right...?

We should've just moved the Citadel already. Why did I listen to that Verek person...?

I shake my head. Damn it, girl, keep it together. You've gotta continue holding the line. Shepard'll be here any minute now, and this will all have been worth it. C'mon, you can do this.

I squint as another turian comes rushing over to my position. I shoot at it immediately, and then watch as its head gets taken off by Jarel's omniblade. I barely bat an eyelash, shooting a human husk immediately and watching it tumble back into the mound of bodies that has formed. I take a breath, briefly checking my ammo and finding that I'm down to my last bullets here. Better make these count.

I look ahead, shooting a turian husk. I catch Jarel slicing the head off of a human husk as I turn towards another turian husk that is rushing towards my position and-

Agh!

I let out a cry as I fall on my back, feeling a great pain in my chest. Damn... Damn it... I feel my chest immediately, looking up at the Citadel above me. Yes... that's fluid... Fuck!

I grit my teeth for a few seconds, but then find myself looking up in shock as another pain assaults my abdomen. It's then that I release a breath I didn't know I was holding, my breath coming in less and less heavily. After some time, my breath leaves me, and I find myself short of it as I cough. The wetness that splashes onto my mouth feels... hot. The sounds of conflict just a few feet away from where I am start to die out, and...

Wait... I recognize all this. It's slower this time, and the pain is still there, but... I recognize this sensation...

This is it...

I can only smile as I look up. At least I know... At least I know this is the end... Here I am, dying down in a place nobody knows about, and there's only one other person here. But I died trying to help people. That's all I've really been good for, it seems: doing whatever it takes to help people. And you know... Even if this all goes for nothing... At least I did my best.

Now, it's all up to Shepard and Art. They need to pull through. For all of us.

I watch as Jarel enters my view, looking down at me frantically while glancing behind me. He's shouting something at me, but I can't understand what it is he's trying to say. There's something frantic in his eyes, but all I want to do is reach out and touch him. It's going to be all right, Jarel. I'm fine...

I'll be fine...

I look up at the salarian, and my vision blacks out immediately. I see a flash of something else right before my vision fades out, and then the pain fades away completely.

Garrus, I hope you're waiting for me...

* * *

><p><strong>The Citadel<strong>

"Thanks for coming for us."

"'Ey, it's what we do, ya know, mate? Now, ya better hold on ta somethin', 'cause I'm not actin' the maggot 'ere."

With this, I look straight ahead, looking at our surroundings. It's a bloody rotten thing Miranda called as we were trying to make our way to the Council, but hey, you can't win everything, I guess. Well, at least we've got a civilian or two in the clear.

I glance back at that turian and his kid. Eltarn, I think it was? I turn my head back to what's ahead. Okay... The Council said they were close to this area. I called Wrex straightaway, and he said they're okay. I hope something brutal hasn't happened, because otherwise we'll be right fucked.

I look ahead as someone enters the cockpit. "We're not heading back to the Normandy, are we?" I glance up to see Oriana looking at the Citadel beneath us.

"No, mate," I reply, shaking my head. "The Normandy's in a right mess right about now, an' I'm not gonna be a pussface an' make their day any 'arder than it needs to be. The last thing Joker needs ta do is ta have me bein' a chancer tryin' to cheese 'im off."

"Then where do we go?" I hear Kolyat ask from the seating area. I can hear Feron fidgeting from where he's seated, his gaze probably trained on my skull or something.

"The air," I reply. "This 'ere shuttle's got enough fuel ta keep us outa there 'till they move this place."

"That's _if _they move it," the drell says again.

"Ya got any better ideas?" I ask.

I look ahead... Okay, take a left here and keep moving... Well, that's a bloody tall building right there. Also, that drell hasn't said a damn word.

I nod as we approach the building. "Yeah," I reply. "Now let me do me job 'ere, yeah?"

With this, I pull up to the building they've directed me at. Hm... Yeah, I see them standing there. Well, I guess. I'd know Anahit's gaze any day, and it's looking at us with a grand relief. Yeah, looks like they're all there all right. I even see that big red armor that Wrex has. Here we are indeed.

I go right up to the window, flinching slightly as I see someone shoot a window out from where they are. Damn, they're sure going ninty to the dozen on getting out of that old tip. I look behind me, looking at the only way to enter this bloody car.

"Brace yourselves, mates!" I shout.

With this, my finger flicks forward. Shortly afterward, this hissing sound comes out from the direction of the shuttle's door. The door opens immediately, and I look over at the Council as I get close to the window. Okay... Come on, you stupid can, we haven't got donkey's years here! I look to the Council again as they turn their attention to us, Wrex nodding gleefully as he pumps his shotgun. Hey... What's this about there being husks up here? It looks like they beat the door in, and... whoah, that's a mighty mess that's taken that room. But whatever caused it looks like it's gone, because all I see are some people firing into the last of a group of human husks. That new turian councillor fires a few final blasts of the assault rifle, before his attention turns to us as I park right by the open window.

And before long, the lot of them are jumping through. Anahit is first, of course, and then Wrex gets his big scaly ass in after her. The Council follows him in, and then Dsrondo and... wait, are those some of the admirals? Holy Christ, what kind of sweet gift is that?

I nod as soon as everyone is in, and then the shuttle door closes after them. Even as it closes, I pull away from the building, hoping that there are no human husks that have jumped out. As soon as a few seconds pass, I sigh.

"Well, that was a mighty close call there," says Wrex. "But we pulled through."

"What did ya expect, mate?" I ask. "I'm not a useless gersha just 'cause I 'appen ta be young an' from some tip called 'Orizon!"

"Did you really believe you would be mocked for that?" Anahit asks instantly.

"By the Council, probably," I reply immediately, looking back at the lot of them. "Good to see you're still with us, mates."

"It's good to see that Shepard has pulled through for us again," the salarian Councillor says.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that the Commander was specifically born to create miracles," the asari Councillor says.

I snort, shaking my head. "Well, she's down at the bottom of this 'ere tip, workin' 'er arse off ta get us outa this bad cess, ya know?" I ask.

"We're aware of that," says the turian Councillor.

"Is there anything being done about the husks up here?" asks Eltarn immediately.

"We're working on it," says the turian Councillor again. "Once the comms went back up, we started coordinating against the Reaper forces on the ground. Right now, we've got a resistance set up. Our numbers aren't great, but we're holding these things off, and they hopefully won't be able to produce any more of those _things_ again..."

"Good." I glance back at the drell as he leans against the wall. "We're all at our wits' end with those... _things_."

I nod. "Well, it's a sound thing ta hear, Councillor," I say. "And with lashin's o' soldiers from Khar'shan, we can do good."

"Khar'shan?" Dsrondo leans forward, looking awfully interested in this. "You mean you took it back?"

"Ya, mate," I reply. "They 'ad a Reaper an' the whole soddin' thing! But we went back at 'em, the Resistance fought back, an' we took out that soddin' blackguard like 'e was made o' cardboard!"

The turian councillor simply leans back. "I see..." he says.

"Well, that's good," Wrex says. "Saves us having to kick some ass before taking on the Reapers."

"Any word on the Fleet?" one of the quarians asks. Hm... Is... Yeah, that's Han'Gerrel.

"I dinnae," I reply. "But ya might wanna call 'em real quick. Shepard can tell ya what's goin', but we're headin' ta Haestrom next."

"Haestrom?" Shala leans forward. "Yes... I think the geth would like the advance warning." She nods to the Councillors. "If you'll excuse me a moment."

She then stands up and walks right to the corner there and opens her omnitool. It's then that Dsrondo turns to me. "And Carhon?" he asks. "How is he?"

I blink, and then look away, turning my attention away so that I can steer. Bloody hell, he had to ask _now_...

"He... Well, Dsrondo, it be a bit of a bad tale..."

* * *

><p><strong>The Heart of the Citadel<strong>

I rush forward, pumping my shotgun as I take out another of the human husks. We're just now coming up on a pathway up to something, I don't know what. But there's this ethereal blue light everywhere, and it seems to pulse now, as if it needs something to happen.

I look over at Verek as he shoves a turian husk off the Citadel with his biotics. "We are close," he states.

I look up ahead to see that the Reaper units are thinning a little bit. Wait... It goes up to this small point... "Is that it?" I ask.

"Yes," says Verek as he turns around and biotically launches another Reaper unit off of the Citadel.

Miranda and Shepard run forward, both biotics pushing forward past the husks. I follow quickly, shooting my shotgun at whatever they miss. Tali is right behind me in doing so, and I briefly look up as Liselle comes from behind and throws another human husk off the Citadel. I look up to see some kind of antechamber-looking thing, and from there... Wait, is that...?

"Jarel?" I ask, immediately rushing up behind Shepard and the others. I rush right into the antechamber, taking note of all the hardware before kneeling down by... Yes, it's him! He looks up at us as we enter, almost in disbelief as he clutches a bullet wound in his gut. I hear the rest of us gather around him, and I even hear Grunt chuckle and mutter something about pyjacks and durability as he gets up to where we are.

Shepard immediately rushes up to Jarel, her omni-tool outstretched as she kneels beside him. "There, got some medigel on you," she says. "Barring an unforseen circumstance, you should be fine. You all right?"

"I thought I was a goner..." Jarel says immediately. "For a while, I thought I was going to have to face an army of Reaper soldiers alone. And then, as you humans like to say, 'here comes the cavalry'." He chuckles dryly, and then looks up at us. "I don't know which gods I should be thanking right now. I just wish they could've helped everyone else."

Everyone else... Yeah, Madison was here, wasn't she...? I look up, and-

...

Oh no...

No!

"Madison?" I ask, running over to where her body lies propped up against one of the control panels. She has a vacant look in her eyes, and she is completely unmoving. I also notice that her skin has a very faint pallor to it, and when I bring my hand to her head it lolls to the side with no resistance. "No... Madison..."

"It's too late for her," Jarel says. "It's too late for her, and most of us that came over here."

I look to the other two in the... Wait, that guy was the one who helped Tali and I get off the Citadel! Damn it all... And I think I recognize that drell... No... Shit, they can't have...

"And where's Garrus?" I ask.

"Gone," Jarel says. "Kai Leng showed up from beyond the grave."

Miranda starts immediately. "That slippery bastard is still alive?" she asks.

"Not anymore," Jarel replies. "Garrus made sure of that with the help of one of the protein vats."

"Dammit," says Shepard. "We lost a lot of good people here to the Reapers... Damn..." She briefly lays her eyes on the other two bodies before shaking her head. "We'll have time to mourn them later. For now, we have to concentrate on our current situation." She then turns to Miranda. "Do you think there are any Reaper units inbound for our location?"

"I don't think it's likely," Miranda says. "But at the same time, we can't be too careful."

"Right," says Shepard. "So we keep watch until we move the Citadel."

"On it," Liselle says, already turning her attention back to the place we just came from.

"Let them come," Grunt says, pumping his shotgun again while smiling in glee.

I nod, looking at...

Wait, what's that hologram?

I step forward, looking at the hologram warily as it takes the form of... What...? No way... It took on the form of...

"Augie?" I ask. "Is that...?" I can tell it's... With the way he holds his shoulders at a slight tilt, and the way his disability formed his face, and the way he sort of looks at us, and... No way...

"Ah." Verek comes forward again, pushing past Tali as she begins to look at some of the other panels. "I see I have finally met the intelligence that was spoken of in the dreams..."

"_Verek, I presume_," the hologram says. "_And you are here with others._"

"Um... we are..." I say. I look back to Shepard as she comes to take a place next to me. "What the hell is your form?"

"You have seen us come from beyond the grave, you have seen a complicated solution to destroy the Reapers, and you have seen the Reapers attack the Citadel; after all that, _this _is what you ask about?" Verek asks immediately.

"Hey, I wasn't expecting a hologram to take the shape of a person that only a small handful of people in this galaxy have ever even _heard about_," I reply. I shake my head. "But yeah, it's not important. I assume you're here to help."

"_Yes,_" says the... this has to be an AI. There's no question about that for me. "_I was of great assistance to your friend. It is regretful that they are dead, but... we have much bigger things to worry about..._"

"Indeed," says Verek. "Where do we move the Citadel from?"

The AI points at a panel that Shepard is already standing in front of. "_You do not wish for me to walk you through the process?_"

I raise my eyebrows. "Now why would you do that?" I ask.

"_Your previous friend requested it,_" says the AI. "_I thought it would be prudent_."

"Even though there is a prothean standing in the room?" Verek asks.

"_Yes,_" the AI replies.

I shake my head. "Don't worry about her getting lost," I say. "She got something off of a thorian called the Cipher. It lets her think like a Prothean. She'll be fine, trust me."

The AI tilts its head to the side, but doesn't say anything else as I work my way over so I'm looking over Shepard's shoulder. "So there it is, huh?"

"Yeah," says Shepard. "I think this is everything. Now we just need to move it." The commander then turns to Tali. "Tali, what're the coordinates for Haestrom?"

"These." The quarian opens her omnitool, and I see a set of numbers on them. "You might want to offset some of the coordinates."

"Yeah, I thought as much," Shepard says as she inputs it. She then turns to the AI. "How long will it take to move the Citadel?"

"_At least four minutes,_" the AI. Replies. "_It would also be prudent to mention that the comm lines are functional from this point._"

"Good." Shepard turns her attention to me. "Art, open a comm link to Joker. We need to let him know that we're moving the Citadel."

I nod. "Got it," I say, opening my omni-tool. Okay... C'mon Joker... C'mon... _There _we are. Okay.

I open the link immediately, looking up. I hear static for a few seconds, and then the static immediately gives way. Okay... I think I've got it.

"Joker? Do you copy?"

* * *

><p><strong>The Normandy<strong>

I look up as I hear Art's voice come in over the intercom. Well, it's about damn time.

"Art," I say immediately. "Good thing you called. I was going to invite you to the fireworks show up here."

He chuckles immediately. "_Thanks, but I'm good down here where I don't have to get blown apart should any mishaps occur,_" he replies. "_We just got to the heart of the Citadel._"

I frown, looking over at EDI's avatar immediately. "Wait, you mean you're at the bottom already?"

"_Yep,_" says Art. "_I'd suggest that you and your friends get your asses into the Citadel soon. We're going to try and move it._"

My gaze turns out to the space around us, and I watch as more explosions tear into the Reaper in front of me. "Well, I'll just say this: your request couldn't have been better timed. Reinforcements showed up while you were busy down there."

"_That bad, huh?_" he asks.

"Well, no worse than being caught outside in the middle of a rainy day, really," I reply. EDI chuckles at this, even as Art groans on the other line.

"_Trust me, rainy days in Miami are _nothing _compared to this,_" Art replies. I can imagine him shaking his head, and then I hear some background chatter. "_Huh, interesting... Yeah that makes sense..._" I lean forward, looking at EDI briefly. "_Yeah. Okay, Joker, look, you've gotta get the Fleet into the Citadel. Apparently, it won't move unless the arms are closed._"

"Yeah, I figured that it might work that way," I say, my hands beginning to fly across the panels. "We'll be in fast."

"_Good,_" says Art. "_Let us know when you're in. If any Reapers get caught in the Citadel when the arms close, we're not moving until it's dealt with._"

"That won't be a problem," I say, looking at EDI. "I'll call you back."

The comm link is then abruptly cut, and then I look over at EDI. "_It seems we have our work cut out for us, Jeff_," EDI comments.

"Yeah," I say, looking outside. "First though, I think we need to leave a parting gift for these bastards."

"_Fire the Thanix Cannon?_" EDI asks.

I smirk upon hearing this. "You read my mind, EDI," I reply as my fingers fly across some of the holographic displays in front of me. I look ahead of us at the closest Reaper to the Citadel. "Now let's hope that this buys us enough time."

"_My calculations predict that it will,_" says EDI.

"Let's hope you're right," I say. I then look up. "You heard the computer, guys. Fire the Thanix Cannon!"

The Normandy sails straight toward the closest Reaper, and right as we get in close I see the familiar trail of molten metal that rushes straight for the Reaper in question. As soon as this trail collides with the Reaper, I watch as it is rocked by a series of massive explosions that tear the massive ship apart. Some of the chunks fly out into space immediately after, and I briefly lean back in my seat to watch the fireworks. Man, just seeing that again brings back so many memories. Well, except for the part where the debris flew everywhere and caused major damage to the Wards. That part we could all do without.

I nod, my concentration returning as soon as the explosions die out. "Right," I say. "EDI, open a comm channel to everyone else."

EDI's avatar immediately shifts to the avatar I recognize whenever she's opened a line. "_The line's open, Jeff_," she says.

I nod. "This is the Normandy to all ships!" I shout. "Fall back to the Citadel, _now_! I don't care what you're doing, drop it and get your ass in the Citadel!" I look up at the Reaper reinforcements. "Do not engage the reinforcements! I repeat, do _not _engage the reinforcements!"

With this, I watch as EDI's avatar returns to normal, and with that my hands immediately fly all around the displays. "_Shall we leave, Jeff?_" asks EDI.

"Of course," I reply. "Let's do this!"

I look outside as my hands fly across the displays, and the ship turns around very quickly. I set my sights on the Citadel, looking over to EDI's avatar. I look back out, maneuvering it towards the Citadel. I also begin shifting over to the sides relatively quickly, watching as the Citadel sways in the viewport. And... Whoah, is the ship rocking?

"_Be careful, Jeff,_" EDI replies. "_Our inertial dampeners have been affected by the damage caused earlier._"

"Yeah, yeah," I reply, looking up and hitting some of the holograms on a display above me. "I know, EDI."

I turn my concentration back, swiftly flying to the side just in time to see one of those red laser beams flash just underneath us. I angle the ship upward, taking note as the beam strikes another ship just a little ahead of me. I shake my head, turning my concentration back to the Citadel. C'mon, baby, don't fail me now... don't fail me now...!

I see as another of the Reapers' death rays flies past the ship. This time, though, I feel the ship rock a little bit, and then I look up nervously. Shit... "Damage report!" I shout.

"_Our shields have completely dropped once again,_" EDI says robotically. "_Additionally, we have incurred some damage on one of our port side thrusters._"_  
><em>

Port side? Damn... I try to bring the craft to bear to the left side. Huh... Okay, it shouldn't be turning this slowly. This isn't good... Oh dear, this isn't good. The turning is slow enough that we could...

"Dammit!" I say. "EDI, cut power to that thruster, and concentrate on the remaining thrusters!"

I look ahead... Damn it, damage like that isn't going to fix itself overnight. Even worse, I'm basically slowed down...

It's a good thing this girl has a lot of speed on its side, and that we're close to the Citadel by now...

I glance at EDI before turning my concentration back to the Citadel. I start moving up and down quickly since moving to the side is no longer an option. I see the first ships get past the arms of the Citadel, and then I find myself correcting a little to the right. It's not enough to keep us from entering within the arms of the Citadel, though, but it's just in time to dodge another of the death rays from the Reapers. I breathe in and out as the beam dissipates in a few seconds... C'mon, girl, hold together...

I veer to the right again just as another beam comes from the left direction, and that is the point at which I break the limits of the Citadel's arms.

"All right, we're in!" I shout, looking at EDI. "EDI, tell the Commander to get going!"

"_Of course, Jeff_," she says immediately.

* * *

><p><strong>The Heart of the Citadel<strong>

I look up at the Citadel above us. It looks like the fleet is getting in here, though the airspace above us does seem to be getting just a touch crowded. I guess that's what happens with all these ships... Damn...

I just hope none of those ships are Reapers. Though, would there be silence if there was?

Shepard's omni-tool immediately goes off. "_Shepard, we're through!_" I hear Joker shout. "_We've lost some ships on the way here, but it looks like what's left of us are still here!_"

Shepard nods. "Right," she says, looking over at the display console. "Stand back, Joker. This might be rough!"

The commander immediately nods to Jarel, and he activates something on one of the control panels nearby. I look over to the AI... He introduced himself as the Catalyst or some shit like that... I don't know, it's odd that they named this guy too. Anyway, I watch as the avatar hunches over, and then I feel a great shaking around us. I hold on to one of the consoles for support as the Citadel shakes around us. I look up just in time to see the arms of the Citadel close shut. I think I hear something, but it's so distant that I can't make out what it is.

The panel Shepard is in front of then lights up immediately, and she looks over to Tali. The quarian already has her omni-tool open, and Shepard's sight is darting between the omni-tool and the console in front of her. I watch as she looks at us for a brief second, and then she activates it.

I glance at the Catalyst as it seems to look below us. I don't get much of an opportunity to say much of anything before I am knocked off my feet and onto the ground. As I'm knocked to the ground, I catch sight of the edge, very briefly seeing blue streaks in the area just underneath us where there should be a nebula cloud or something. The sound around us is an inescapable clamor that rings as a combination of bangs and scratches. I don't really get to pay attention to what it is, though, for then I find myself hanging on for dear life. I glance up at Verek, who also seems surprised by everything that is happening around us, right before the shaking gets to be its most intense. I squeeze my eyes shut, gripping the floor as best I can with nothing to grapple on to, while all around I can hear the shouts of everyone else and the clamorous sounds of metal banging against metal. C'mon... Shit, shaking... Stop... Stop the shaking, _please_...

And then, the shaking subsides over the course of a few seconds. And all becomes eerily silent. All I can register is the sound of my own deep breathing... Wow, I didn't even know I could breathe that deeply.

In those following seconds, I look over to Shepard. I then look at the Citadel above us, and then back to everyone else. Holy...

For the first time in a while, I don't really hear all that much. It's just... It's eerily quiet out there, but there's something... I don't know what...

"Do you think...?" I ask.

Shepard looks above us. In the silence, the sounds of her getting to her feet echo as if they were in a cave. I look up at her as she looks to the nearby console. "I guess there's only one way to find out," she says. She looks over at the Catalyst, which is now standing there placidly. Shepard then nods. "Open the Citadel's arms, Catalyst."

I then pull myself up to my feet as the shaking begins again. This time, though, it feels like a light rocking from the sides, like the kind of rocking I might get used to as a baby or something like that. I don't know, it just feels weirdly placid. I stand up, looking to the others as they get to their feet as well. Jarel is probably the only one who needs help, but it is Grunt who helps him up.

I glance down immediately for a split second to see that the nebula cloud is completely gone. And then, I look to the sides, stepping out onto the walkway that joins this control panel and the rest of the Citadel together...

No way... that's...

"It's Haestrom," I say, pointing the planet out from where we stand in awe.

And indeed, Haestrom stands there, its sun bearing down on everything. I think I can hear the sound of my kinetic barrier draining, but... holy shit...

I look back to Shepard. "The Citadel..." I say.

"We just moved it..." says Jarel breathlessly. "I'll be damned..."

The rest of us come out of cover, and look out at the scene that plays before us. I briefly look up at the top of the walkway, seeing the ethereal blue light is glowing a little more brightly than before right as I turn my attention back to Haestrom. I find myself smiling, looking at the planet of Haestrom from where it stands idly beneath us.


	43. Chapter 42

_A/N: Wow. Damn, it's been a little tough trying to keep up with everything. It seems that all sorts of shit has finally gone down here, and... well, I've just got a lot of things to juggle now. So bear with me, guys, and I'll get updates out as fast as I can. If I don't update in awhile, I'm still working on it, I promise you that._

_Anyway, now we start to get towards the endgame of MV3. So... How do we get there? Why, with two chapters entirely devoted to talking, of course! And then we go to Haestrom and then... well..._

_I'll let you figure out the rest. We've got a lot of characters to check in with, so let's get going with that, shall we?_

* * *

><p>Chapter 42: Regroup<p>

It took a little time for the Fleet around the Citadel to gather up all of the ground forces they had left, but once that was taken care of they all poured into the Citadel. We lost quite a few good people, but regardless we retook the Citadel from the ground forces. It took some time, but we did it, and now all that's left is to survey the damage done. Well, and to regroup before the Reapers figure out where we've gone and start chasing us to Haestrom. The Council and most of the other people are already convening on the Normandy, and that includes Shepard and our Prothean friends. I imagine they're going to have a _lot _to talk about there. Especially in strategy, given that we've now got control of all the forces in the galaxy. We just need to check in with some people and we'll be golden.

And that gives me some time to reflect. That is always a good thing.

It's thus that I walked over to Mangdalar and Yelena's apartment. I look around... Damn, something did a real number on the place. Yelena's harp is laying on the other side of the room, the instrument laying in a heap of broken wood and snapped strings. There's no saving that thing. I don't see Mangdalar's instruments anywhere, though, which means he probably had them stored in his bedroom. I don't really know.

I step further inside, looking to see that the kitchen is smashed to shit. Really, the whole place is smashed to shit in some way or another. Surprisingly, the only thing that's still intact is the couch on the far end of the room. We always hated that couch, and yet we couldn't find one that was that size to save our lives... Funny how it's the only thing that hasn't sustained some form of damage. Hell, even the window took some damage. It's actually affecting the view a bit, as I see the blue field outside of the window distort what color survived in the Tayseri Ward.

I sigh, looking behind me at Mangdalar from where he stands at the doorway. I blink, swallowing hard as I look at him. Tali and Sturge are both just behind the asari, the two of them surveying the damage.

"I'm so sorry..." I say, walking back to Mangdalar and placing my arm on his shoulder. "I should've been here."

The turian simply shakes his head. "It wouldn't have made a difference," he replies. "Once that large krogan-looking monster was through the window, it was only a matter of time. Nothing you could've done would've changed anything."

I nod solemnly, glancing to the side. "Maybe it would've," I reply.

"You didn't see the thing that broke through the window," Mangdalar replies, holding his hands behind him as he looks around. "I've never seen anything more... _horrifying _in my life. And it just tore through the apartment." He shakes his head. "I don't know when Yelena told me to run. I just ran." He closes his eyes. "I should've stayed."

Sturge shakes his head. "Don't say that," he says. "That's not-"

"True, I know," Mangdalar replies. "I know it wouldn't have made an ounce of difference. It just would've gotten me killed as well. But I just..." He glances at the couch, before turning back to us. "I don't know. I still don't know. Yelena is dead, and..." He shakes his head, looking at the ground with a forlorn expression on his face. "When Yelena and I had the lifespan talk, I told her I wanted her to be happy long after I passed. I never thought... I didn't..." He shakes his head, walking over and leaning against a damaged pillar.

I walk up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hey," I say. "Hey..."

He looks at me, and I notice his eyes are wetter. There's something about the way his eyelids hold themselves as well... I glance down, swallowing and looking directly at him. I pat his shoulder for reassurance, closing my eyes as I do so.

It doesn't take much more than that before he lifts himself up from the pillar, and pulls me into a hug. He leans his head against my shoulder, falling to his knees as he lets out a keening wail. His arms tighten around me a little bit, and then... well...

Sturge and Tali come over immediately, the two of them placing a hand on Mangdalar's shoulder as I pull him in closer. "Hey..." I say. "I'm here. Whatever you need, I'm here."

I hear him sniffle, and then he only leans against me further. I simply hold him closer, looking up at Tali as she and Sturge both join in and make it into a group hug.

* * *

><p>The Normandy's cargo bay is a little full of people right now. But... I guess it's only fitting that we host a funeral of some of our most treasured crew in here. And friends of the crew as well. All of us are gathered in here, looking ahead of us.<p>

I stand next to Tali, the two of us looking right at the coffins that are in front of us. There are six total, though one of them doesn't exactly have a body in it. They found Liara's body a ways up after digging through several Cerberus bodies. Of course, they couldn't find Garrus' body, though I guess that's to be expected when you fall in the protein vats. The rest of them... well...

I shake my head. Damn, I can't believe Jacob was one of the first of us to go. He was a good man, and to hear that he got taken out by indoctrinated soldiers... Damn... I look off to his coffin, seeing Miranda standing there with regret-filled eyes. Oriana is standing next to Miranda, and I can see both of their mouths move as Miranda nods solemnly. Miri doesn't look like she's on the verge of tears, but even a cursory look at the way her jaw is set and the way her eyebrows are furrowed shows us all we need to know about how she's taking that. Maybe in the future...

Of course, next to that is Nadeire's coffin, and I see Will Moskas kneeling next to the coffin. His eyes are very bloodshot, and the light sobs I hear from over there are the only indication I have that he's not done crying yet. Lalia is standing right by his side, only able to pat his shoulder comfortingly as she looks down at Will. My eyes briefly drift over to Brendan's coffin immediately after, with Feron simply gazing down at Brendan and then Liara's coffin. I see the familiar trail of moisture that's stained his cheeks, though it's not quite as intense as the stream of tears I see travelling down Will's. It's very... Damn it all...

And here I am, standing right between Garrus and Madison. Shepard stands at the end of Garrus' casket, while Wrex and Jarel are both standing by Madison. Wrex is behind me, crossing his arms and looking down at Madison's coffin.

Dammit... We've lost so many good people here...

I sigh, my hand rubbing the top of Madison's coffin. Dammit... Dammit all... Out of all of us who were needed, you were the first to go, and while the Reapers are still out there! This is... I don't even know...

I shake my head. Dammit Madison... Dammit... You were a good friend. As were Garrus, Jacob, and Liara. I didn't know Nadeire or Brendan all too well, but... they were nice... Damn it, why'd we have to lose such good people? I mean... It just doesn't seem real. Any moment, I keep thinking she'll sit back up and tell us she punked us all, but I know deep down that not only is it impossible, but that she isn't even that type of person anyway. I just... Why?

I wipe a couple of tears from my eyes, looking back to Tali and nodding. She nods as well, and then the two of us are walking back over to where the crowd that's gathered here is standing. I take a place next to Anahit, Wrex and Jarel doing the same shortly afterwards. I glance at Miranda as she and Oriana walk back to the crowd as well, and I take another look at Madison's coffin. In my peripheral vision, everyone else walks back into the crowd, and all is silent as I bow my head in respect, closing my eyes.

* * *

><p>"This is almost shameful! If we were on Tuchanka, we'd party as if there was no tomorrow."<p>

"Well, Wrex, we're not krogan. We don't deal with people dying the same way."

"Huh. Always thought it was a weakness of you humans. You're too damn sentimental."

"You wouldn't have it any other way, though."

Wrex looks out the window, looking lost in thought. "Maybe," he says gruffly.

I sigh, leaning back in the couch of Port Observation. Kasumi is sitting next to me, and the rest of us are standing around looking at various things. Sturge, Miranda, and Dr. Chakwas are standing by the window, Wrex and Verek are sitting at the bar, Tali is standing behind the couch, and Shepard... Well, Shepard is leaning against the door. Wrex is nursing a whole bottle of ryncol, while most of the rest of us are just going in with water.

I shrug, looking over at the window. The Citadel is just outside there, and it seems odd to have it just sitting there in front of Haestrom's sun. Speaking of which, _that _just hovers off in the distance, its dark hues giving a creepy feeling of foreboding in the distance. I shake my head, looking back into the room.

"I don't know, though..." I say. "Madison was... God, she was incredible. And Garrus and Liara have both been with us since the beginning. It's hard to imagine they're all dead..."

"Yeah," says Kasumi, her voice a little smaller than what I'm used to. "Especially Jacob..." She shakes her head morosely, nursing her glass of water. "And all those innocent people on the Citadel..."

"Civilian casualties are the worst..." I admit.

"We saved what we could," Miranda says from the window. "We did our best."

"It wasn't enough, though," Shepard admits. "We couldn't save everyone." She shakes her head. "I know that it's unrealistic to expect that we could have saved everyone, but... A part of me wonders. Could we have done it?"

I sigh, looking out the window again. Could we? I don't know... It's certainly something to think about. What if... Maybe Madison would be with us right now, reminiscing over how good a man Garrus was, or maybe Will wouldn't have had to lose the man he clearly loved so much, or maybe we'd still be able to get resources from the Shadow Broker...

I catch Sturge turning around at the edge of my peripheral vision. The old man looks at all the rest of us. "Well, I think we all know that this situation sucks," he says immediately. "But you know what? There's a silver lining to all this. We wouldn't be sitting here if Madison and the others didn't go down there and put their asses on the line for us."

"I suppose that's true," Tali replies. "And without them, we probably wouldn't have the opportunity we've been presented with."

"Now we can end this war," Dr. Chakwas adds. "Hopefully, we won't have to allow any more innocent people to die."

"Yeah," Kasumi says. "We can end this here and make these bastards pay for everything they've done."

"Exactly." Verek then points at Wrex. "The krogan does have a point. We should be celebrating their sacrifice. Without them, we could not have hoped to get this far. We laid the foundation for this contingency, but without them it would have been lost to the Reapers."

Wrex chuckles at this. "_There _we go," he says roughly. "Glad I wasn't the only one who was thinking of throwing a party for all that."

Verek glances at Wrex. "I would not be so certain of that, krogan," he replies. "When I said 'celebrate', I did not mean with a... _party_, as you call it. But it does call for something _other _than everyone grovelling about how they are dead. People die. It only matters what they do before they die." With this, the prothean stands up and holding his glass of water. "Commander, if you may permit me, I would like to propose a... toast." He then looks around. "Is that what they call it?"

"If it's what I think it is, yeah," I reply. "You're talking about the thing where we clink glasses and say something good about some concept or something, right?"

"Yes, that is the one," Verek replies.

"I thought you might go for that," Jocelyn says as she shrugs noncommittally. She simply tilts her head forward a little. "If you think it's appropriate, go for it."

Verek nods, raising his glass of water. "To those comerades we have lost," he says. "And to the sacrifices they have made."

Jocelyn nods, raising her glass. "And to their memory," she adds. "May they rest in peace."

I raise my own glass up immediately. "Hear, hear," I say.

Everyone else raises their glasses (and bottle, in Wrex's case) and muttering that phrase. I clink my shotglass with that of Kasumi's and Tali's, and then take a long shot of my water as everyone else does the same. I look around the room as some of us set the shotglasses down.

I set the drink down, and look up at them. "You know, it's almost funny," I comment. "Here we all are again in what could be called a cobbled-back Brotherhood... And yet it's never gonna be the same. Tends to happen when two of the founding members are dead."

"Brotherhood?" asks Verek, his eyes furrowing in confusion.

"Rather long story," Miranda replies. "To tell it now would be to-"

"_Commander, I have a transmission coming in from that batarian dreadnaught you sent to Ilos_."

I look up at EDI's avatar right at the door.

"It's back already?" asks Shepard.

"_It seems that way, yes,_" EDI replies. "_As well, they have returned with something... massive_."

* * *

><p>I look over to Verek. "I think that's our cue that they got the weapon off of Ilos all right," I comment.<p>

"That it has," the prothean admits.

I stare up from the bridge of the batarian dreadnaught we've boarded. The tip of the weapon can be seen right at the top of the window there, protruding out a little bit. I have to wonder how this ship is going to navigate, but then again it is only a small part of the window that is obstructed. It's still a sight to behold, though. I mean... even coming in, the weapon looked impressive as hell.

I glance back to Al and Jack from where they're standing. Al is looking a little nervous, while Jack has the broadest smirk I've ever seen anywhere in this galaxy. Vala and Mubuk are both standing next to them, both of them looking around at the dreadnaught around them. I turn to look at another part of the bridge, seeing Konkwo gesticulate wildly to the batarian he's standing next to. Kaidan is standing there trying to translate most of Konkwo's motions, with some of the batarians glaring at him every once in a while before they reply back with something. And as for Isaac, Ellie, and the others... Well, they're standing over here with Shepard, Verek, Tali, and myself.

"And we're gonna blow Haestrom's sun up with this?" Kal asks from where he's standing right by Verek. Mordin looks over to Kal,

"That's probably going to be a bit... problematic," says Isaac. He turns to Shepard, who's standing right by the captain of the ship. "Are you sure this is going to be effective?"

"Well, you can't go wrong with luring Reapers into a system and then blowing it up," Shepard responds. "If anything can kill a Reaper quickly, it's a whole solar system blowing up right in front of its face."

"And with the Citadel here, it'll lure them in," I add. "At least, that's the plan."

"Of course." Mordin steps forward. "Well constructed plan. Uses knowledge of Reapers, strategy in place. Do wonder about Reapers following Citadel."

"We'll cross that hurdle when we get to it," says Shepard. "For now, we're staying put here." She then turns to me and Tali. "Have you contacted the Fleet?"

"I... I haven't had the chance to, Commander," Tali admits. "This has all been overwhelming for all of us."

"Rael's probably contacted them by now, though," I reply. "And if not him, then Shala and Han certainly would've."

"At least, I'm sure," Tali says. "Either way, they will probably be here soon."

Shepard nods. "And with the Councillors calling all the other fleets to this location..." She nods. "We'll need to meet back in the Normandy to formulate our plan. We have the big part laid out, but now it's time for the details. And that is something we can flesh out once people are here."

I nod. "It looks like we're nearing the final confrontation," I comment.

"That it does," Shepard says. "Let's hope it's quick and efficient."

* * *

><p>Not even a few moments later, the Fleet gets here. By then, we're back on the Normandy to receive the remaining Admirals. The Council will be on shortly, and then we can get on with this damn strategy meeting. But for now... it's been a bit since I've seen Zaal'Koris, and I'm wondering how he's doing. Hopefully he's not too badly off, but... we'll see. But yeah, I'm looking forward to meeting this new admiral that they've voted in. This ought to be interesting...<p>

I look over to Tali as she stands there wringing her hands nervously. I look over to Rael, Shala, and Han as they all stand side by side. Shepard is just behind them, and I look over at the door. Damn it, we've been standing here for a bit... C'mon, give us something good to eat!

After a bit, the door finally opens, and when I do I'm greeted by the sight of a female quarian and a... Whoah!

Rael leans forward, his eyes wide in disbelief. "Zaal, you didn't..." he said.

Zaal'Koris gestures grandly, and I can actually see him brush a hand through his hair. "We did," he replies. "Our scientists have started mass producing Dr. Solus' immunization." He looked up. "Granted, I only recently began to expose my full head according to the recommended timeline, but it has worked wonders so far." He then looks in my direction, nodding. "Ah, Art. It's good to see you again."

"Um... Likewise... I guess..." I say. I then look to the side, before turning my attention back to Zaal. "Sorry. It's just... Damn, I didn't think you'd be out of your suit already!"

"Well, here we are," Zaal says. He then gestures to the woman behind him. "I don't believe you're familiar with Klara'Feela vas Floros?"

I look over to the woman as she comes forward. "No," I reply. I then step forward, extending my hand. "I don't believe we've met."

"No, but I've heard plenty about you from Shala," Klara replies quietly. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

"Likewise," I comment, looking at Zaal. "How've things gone with the geth?"

"It is not always smooth, but we are making remarkable progress," Zaal says. He turns to Rael. "You may be glad to know that our people have begun to set foot on Rannoch."

Rael nods, smiling brightly. "I'm glad to hear it," he says. "This will be good for the quarian people."

"It has been good so far," Klara replies immediately. "The geth have been supremely understanding." She then turns to look at the Commander. "And you must be the Commander Shepard."

Shepard nods. "That I am, admiral," she says. "Good to finally meet you. I regret that I was... _held up _and couldn't meet you."

"It is all right, Commander," Klara says. "You cannot always predict the future." She then looks at Shala and Han. "How have the Council negotiations gone?"

"As well as they can, considering the circumstances," Shala replies.

"It's not exactly our fault the Reapers staged their attack mid-negotiations," Han adds. He then looks around the room, and nods. "I'm not being as literal as I would prefer, but it feels like it."

"But they were progressing well?" Zaal asks.

"Yes, actually," says Han. "They are still rather... _perturbed _about our alliance with the geth. They seem to be trusting our judgment, but I can't say that they don't look at the geth without some suspicion. I can hardly blame them myself: barely a couple of months ago I would have agreed with them." He shakes his head.

"Whatever the case, the Reapers may have inadvertently given all of us a diplomatic advantage," Shala adds. "And now that we are here..."

"Of course," says Klara. "Whatever the Council requests, the Flotilla will be ready."

"We can be certain of that," says Zaal. "And as the liaison between the geth and the quarians, I believe the geth will be ready to lend their force in whatever capacity is necessary." He then looks behind him. "Speaking of the geth, actually..." He then turns to me. "Do you remember your geth friend?"

...

"Yeah," I say, frowning as I look at Zaal. I tilt my head to the side. "What's this got to do with anything?"

"Well..." Zaal looks behind, and then I hear the doors open again. I watch as Zaal steps to the side, and...

And...

...

Oh my God. No way. There's no way that... No way...

"_Legion?_"

I look at the geth platform in front of us, and... it looks a lot like Legion, but... He's standing so... I don't know. The N7 armor is there, but...

I step forward. "Legion...?" I ask. "Legion, I... Is that you?" I blink, looking at this geth's posture. It's... It's almost unnaturally straight and militaristic. It simply looks at us as if we're made of... well, I don't think a geth would think about us as nothing more than organic compounds, but I have to wonder... Is this really...? "Why're you standing so stiff? I just... Are you...?"

The geth regards us silently. I step forward. "Legion...? Legion, are you...?" I frown, looking directly at him. "You're not Legion, are you...?"

Tali steps forward. I look back to her as she regards what may or may not be Legion, though she does briefly glance at the floor. I watch her, stepping to the side as she ponders what to say. After a few seconds, she looks at the geth, and I see that her shoulders are relaxed as she looks at the geth.

"If you are Legion..." She shakes her head, but there's something in the way her eyes are shining. "You need to loosen up. You... You just look so _tense _there. It looks... It looks like you need to release some stress..."

And without another second wasted, the geth turns towards Tali and I, and I can see its headplates tilt up.

"That's what she said."

...

"_Legion!_"

I literally jump on top of the geth, Tali doing the same thing as he stumbles back from our combined weight. I look up at the familiar flashlight head of Legion, and pull myself close as Tali does the same thing.

"Oh God, Legion, you're back!" I say, feeling a tear come to my eye. "I thought you'd never come back, but... Holy shit, Legion, you're alive!"

"Affirmative, *********-Serviceman," Legion replies. "This unit is functional again. We are glad to see you again."

"And man, am I glad to see _you_," I reply immediately. "Holy shit, we've got so much to bring you up to date with."

I step back as Legion regards us. "Creator Zaal'Koris has stated that many events have passed," he says. "We wish to exchange data."

Tali nods. "Well..." she says. "It is a long story..."

"It is," I comment. "And it might be best to save it for a time that isn't now."

"We agree with this consensus," Legion replies while looking around him. "Creator-Admirals have gathered, along with Shepard-Commander." He then blinks. "Shepard-Commander escaped?"

I chuckle, shaking my head. "Actually, Legion, it's more complicated than that," I say. I pat his N7 shoulder. "We'll explain in a bit. For now, let's get you somewhere more comfortable, yes?"

"Affirmative."

* * *

><p>"And here we are again, Commander."<p>

I lean against the table in the briefing room, standing next to Shepard as she looks at all the leaders around us. All of the quarian admirals are here, the Council is here, Admiral Anderson is in fact in here, Wrex is here, Legion is here, Dsrondo is here, Verek is here... we're only missing Aria, but even she is here in spirit, if the comm link to Omega says anything. I glance at Wrex as we wait for the call to go through. Now that everything is repaired, I think we shouldn't have too much of a problem with that.

Eventually, I hear something go up. "_What is it?_" asks Aria's gruff voice. "_If it's those damn Reapers again, I'm going to-_"

"Hello, Aria," says Shepard.

I hear something shift in the background of the call. Before Aria can say anything, though, I notice as Wrex chuckles his trademark deep chuckle. "Oh, Aleena, is _that _what they're calling you now?"

...

Whoah, holy shit!

"_Wrex,_" Aria says immediately. I can almost imagine her sour expression there. "_Didn't expect to hear your voice in this room. I thought you _hated _dealing with politicians._"

"Times change, Aleena," Wrex replies. "I could say the same for you, actually."

"_Well, that changed too,_" Aria replies. "_I found myself this nice little _rock_, played the role of helpless stripper for a bit, and then snatched Omega out from under a krogan. It's no different than the usual hunt._"

I look over to Wrex before leaning forward. However, before I can say anything else, I hear Udina cough nervously. "I hate to intrude on this loving reunion and all, but you do realize that you're in the presence of just about every major governing body in this galaxy, right?" he asks.

...

Hey, _I _was about to say that!

"Sorry," Wrex says. "It's... It's strange seeing old friends again."

"So that is how you know Aria?" asks Dsrondo.

"_Well, of course,_" she replies. "_Unless there was some _other _reason he used a name that I don't go by anymore?_" Here she pauses, and when she opens her mouth next I can hear disdain dripping from her voice. "_Thanks for that, by the way. Now I'm going to have to change my name yet again._"

"Maybe not," says Wrex. "I certainly won't tell."

"Whatever the case, we can save it for later," Shepard immediately says. She then looks at the comm link display on EDI's table. "Aria, a little bird told me that you were preparing forces against the Reapers."

"_We are,_" says Aria. "_We would've been more ready if we had the mass relay network. What the hell is going on out there?_"_  
><em>

"Well, the Reapers interrupted relay travel," says Shepard. "Try it now, it should be fine."

"_So that was the Reapers, huh?_" she asks. "_You better be damn glad they didn't attack Omega, Commander. Otherwise, I would've had your head delivered to me on a silver platter._"

"They didn't?" Shepard asks.

"Interesting." My head turns towards Valern, who is rubbing his chin in thought. "I figured they would have used the distraction to attack other parts of the galaxy."

"Maybe Omega isn't a priority for the Reapers," Han'Gerrel suggests immediately. "Why attack a place if it's not a priority?"

"While Han'Gerrel does bring up an excellent point, you have to wonder why they would leave it in such a sensitive place," says Victus.

"Well, we _did _have to liberate Khar'shan," I point out. "So they probably camped out at the batarian homeworld and were hoping to build their numbers to take the Terminus Systems without too much resistance."

"Or their priorities are elsewhere," Tevos suggests. "Now that the Citadel has been moved here, their priorities will likely shift again."

"Likely," says Shepard. "Which means we have time to prepare to use that weapon." She then looks at the prothean. "Verek, how do we want to tackle this strategically?"

Verek looks at the others. "Our intent is to keep the Reapers within the galaxy, even as we escape." He looks around. "The Citadel maintains a function to... shut down individual relays, if that is the correct term."

"So we trap them here while the relay goes supernova?" Anderson leans forward. "A brutal tactic, to be certain, but it's effective."

"Which is why we should be thankful that there is no active colony on this world," says Shala. She then looks up. "Should we perhaps stay close to Haestrom?"

I look over at Shepard. "Depends on where Haestrom is in this sun's orbit," she says. "We may want to stay relatively close to the relay to ensure a speedy escape." She then looks up. "EDI, bring up a map of our current situation."

With this, a holographic projection comes up, and I see a map of this system come up. I look closer... Hm... "We are here," Shepard says. Immediately, markers come up in close to where Wrex is. I look at those things as a bunch of markers for our ships come up... Hot damn, that's a lot of ships. And then the Citadel shows up there, and... Damn... "The mass relay is here." I watch as the mass relay comes up. It's about on the other side of where Wrex is, give or take ten degrees or so. I look at the relay, leaning on the table and sighing.

"So that's where they're going to come in, then," I say.

"Just about," says Wrex as he leans forward. "So they're going to go around this stupid sun."

"The question is, where do we want to be?" asks Tevos.

"I think it would be most advantageous to stay where we can easily find a way to escape once the weapon is fired," Victus supplies. He then types something into his omni-tool, at which point a bunch of the markers around the Citadel shift their positions so that they're around the sun. "My suggestion is to position several ships capable of FTL at these points. Consider it a kind of line of defense."

But Rael is already shaking his head. "And how do we entice the Reapers to stay in the relay system then?" he asks. "It will be easier for the ships to make a break for it once the Reapers commence their attack, but the Reapers will realize something is happening when our ships flee."

"True," says Victus. He then looks at us. "But we can move the Citadel." He then motions to where the Citadel's marker is, and then I notice... Huh, that marker is differently colored from the other ones. "Notice how the ship with our weapon is there. Even with a Reaper inside, we can fit a considerable number of ships inside."

The salarian councillor seems to catch what he's saying immediately. "So we have some of the ships go for the Citadel?"

"Yes," says Victus. He then presses something on his omni-tool, and I watch as the markers move, with some of the markers heading straight for the relay. However, I notice that a vast majority of them go to the Citadel, only for some of them to fly past the Citadel and make a beeline towards the relay. "In any other case, allowing an enemy to pincer us would be tactical suicide, since escape would normally be impossible."

"But since the Citadel can move, that isn't an issue," Tevos finishes. "But I worry about what happens if the Reapers get _too _close to the Citadel..."

I frown. "Yeah, that would be a problem, wouldn't it?" I ask. I then frown. "Hm... It depends on what ships come back to the Citadel, it seems. Maybe we could have some of the weaker ships be the first to make the beeline for the relay?"

"Or we could leave a pretty large contingent to go into the Citadel," says Valern. "An entire turian fleet plus Sovereign was able to fit."

"I don't know," Anderson says immediately. "It would be a tight fit with this many ships, as well as the weapon."

"Affirmative," Legion adds. He hovers over there, and then opens his own omni-tool. "Statistical analysis suggests that two fleets would safely fit within the dimensions provided by Citadel."

I see Victus shudder slightly, but before I can comment on it he's looking back at Shepard. "Yeah... That seems about right," he says. He then looks at Anderson. "And we must fit the dreadnaught with the weapon, as well." He then looked to Verek. "Verek, how much time would it take our projectile to collide with the sun?"

"From that distance?" asks Verek. He looks intently at it. "I am not well versed in the math, but we programmed the projectile that will destabilize Haestrom's sun to fire at an extremely high velocity."

"So it can go fast, then," says Valern. "How fast?"

Verek leans forward. "I do not understand the equation myself," he says as he opens his omni-tool. "However, Konkwo provided an equation." I then see another marker appear around where the Citadel is. "If we fire this from here, the projectile will take about..." And then, I hear Verek's omni-tool ping. "Three minutes to impact with the sun. Approximately." He shakes his head. "It is a projectile being launched faster than the speed of light..."

"Either way, approximately three minutes," Tevos adds.

Anderson frowns in reply. "Three minutes may be cutting it a little close with the number of ships within two fleets," he adds. "Additionally, we need to account for the amount of time it will take the Citadel's arms to close."

"It is a risky strategy," Victus admits. "But we're fighting an enemy that this galaxy has never seen before."

"Statistical probability suggests all possible strategies against the old machines will involve a few risks," Legion adds. "Risks are analyzed as necessary by all parties?"

"It's a risk we can't take lightly," says Anderson. He looks to all of us. "Unless we can think of a better plan, I'm willing to put my weight behind it."

"We'll see," says Zaal'Koris. He looks at all of us. "We have a vast amount of ships here. Two fleets seems like an awfully small force to leave trapped."

"The idea is to fool the Reapers before releasing the trap," Verek replies. "Hopefully, the Reapers will be lured in with enough time for us to leave the system both ways." He looks up. "I assume we should decide on the particulars of which fleets go where?"

"Perhaps," says Victus. He then looks up. "Aria?"

"_Well, I'd say just draw lots and be done with it, but sure,_" she says. "_You tell the mercenaries I've got where to go, and I'll have it all taken care of._"

* * *

><p>The meeting goes on for quite a bit after that point, but even though it takes a while it zooms right past. It's after the meeting that most of the people in authority leave the ship, though Legion decides to stay aboard and get reacquainted with the surroundings. So he's down with Tali and Jocelyn and some of the others. Oh, and it wouldn't be complete if I didn't run around talking to people, I guess.<p>

My first destination is the lab. I enter the lab with a slightly more relaxed pace. When I enter, I see Jarel typing away at his terminal, with Anahit looking over his shoulder at what he's typing there. As soon as I enter, the salarian looks up at me, and nods at my arrival.

"Art," he says. "Good to see you here." He glances down and to the side. "It's been..."

"I know," I say, walking up to him. "How are your wounds?"

"Better," Anahit remarks. She bows her head. "Thank you. I am glad Jarel was returned to us safely." She glances down, and that... that expression of sadness is almost... _out of place _on a krogan. "To think he was almost killed."

"Mordin could take my place if I bite the dust, you know," says Jarel.

"It would not be the same, I should think," Anahit says quietly.

I shrug. "Hey, it's fine," I say. "Look, Jarel's here, and he's off curing the genophage, right?"

"Yeah," says Jarel. He looks up. He then snaps his fingers. "Speaking of which, I've finally figured something out."

"Really?" I ask.

"Yes," says Jarel. "And if this takes me where I think it will, I should be able to manufacture a cure." He looks at Anahit hopefully before looking back at his monitor. "Now what remains is to figure out how to disperse the genophage cure..."

I nod. "And if you figure that out..." I say. "Then yeah."

"So we'll be on track to curing the genophage before long," Jarel says. "The clans of Tuchanka are going to be pretty happy, even if they didn't get to fight all that much in this war."

"I would not say we have won this war yet," says Anahit. "There is much that needs to happen."

"Yeah, what Anahit said," I reply. I look over at Jarel, watching as he works. "You know... you've been intent on that genophage cure since you met Anahit."

"Well, what can I say?" Jarel asks. "I find the krogan to be really fascinating people." He blinks and then glances at me self-assuredly. "And yes, I say that even though most of them will probably threaten to eat me." He glances over at Anahit briefly before looking back at his terminal. "Sorry. I'm a little-."

"Preoccupied?" I ask.

Jarel nods. "Yeah," he says. "Sorry. It's just... now that I've gotten this breakthrough, I want to see it to where it might go. I'll even run it by Dr. Solus first."

I nod. "Sure thing," I say. I then look at Anahit. "Make sure he doesn't break his own back."

"Jarel is made of sturdier stuff," Anahit replies reassuringly. "He will be fine."

I nod. "I hope you're right," I say. "You two take care."

With this, I turn around, walking right out of the med bay. Hm... Y'know, I haven't really talked to certain people in a bit. It's been a bit since we've retaken the Citadel, and now that we have... well...

I think I need to start playing catch-up with all these people on the ship.

* * *

><p>When I get into Starboard Observation, I see James and M'yask are both engaged in conversation. The Alliance marine is sitting on the shorter couch, leaning more towards M'yask, who's stretched out on the larger of the two seats. They both look up at me, as if I interrupted their conversation.<p>

Uh... Yeah, I think I should get out of here while I can...

I turn to leave, and then I suddenly hear James shift on his seat. "Hey _chiquitín_," he says. I look back to see that he's leaning against the back of the chair. "It's been a bit since we were on the Citadel."

... Ah, what the hell?

"Yeah, it has," I say, turning around and entering right in. I look over at M'yask as she looks up at me. "You were just talking there?"

"Of course," says M'yask. She shakes his head. "He has some rather amusing tales to tell." She looks off to the side. "Apparently, he got quite comfortable with batarians on Omega."

I shrug, looking over at him. "I guess that makes sense," I say. "It would explain why you gravitated to Carhon pretty easily."

"Eh, you know how it is," James said. "Most of my poker buddies were batarians. They didn't like Shepard all that much, but we got along just fine otherwise." He smirks, stretching himself out and looking up. "They were all pretty good guys..." He sighs. "I wonder what's happened with them lately."

"Maybe they're still around," says M'yask. "Omega wasn't hit particularly hard by the invasion, was it?"

"Well, it got hit before the invasion, so that's a moot point," I comment. "But it did actually get hit surprisingly hard."

"And I didn't get to check up on my buddies," James adds. "So there's that." He shrugs. "I dunno, this whole war has been crazy. I can't believe the end is in sight."

"Neither can most of us," I reply. I look over at James. "You doing okay?"

He leans forward, wringing his hands. "Well, I'll be honest: not really," he replies. "It feels like Carhon should be here with us. I just... I can't stop thinking about him. Ever since we left Khar'shan..."

M'yask agrees with him. "Some of our talk went into reminiscing about that, actually," M'yask admits. She looks up. "I still can't believe he's just gone like that. He came back into our lives so suddenly, and then..." She looks over. "I'm sorry. I know it's probably insensitive of me to bring it up at this time."

I shake my head. "We've all lost someone by now, M'yask," I reply. "It's fine." I look up. "You and him were pretty close, huh?"

"Yeah," M'yask says. "I was the first person he ever told about his sexuality. It was a weird day, but... I grew to accept it." She looks up at the ceiling. "And now, after this war... we may finally have a place he would've wanted to live in."

"We'll see," I reply. "I guess the future is going to be crazy for all of us no matter what happens." I then look at M'yask. "I for one look forward to visiting Khar'shan when it doesn't have Reapers or North Korea on it."

M'yask tilts her head to the side. "North Korea?" she asks.

James laughs, sitting back. "Wow, I haven't heard anyone say that in a while..." he says. He then leans forward. "I can tell you all about it, M'yask."

She nods. "So what is this North Korea?" she asks immediately.

* * *

><p>As I walk into the Hidey-hole, I notice that Al and Jack are at their usual stations. However... I see that they've got visitors this time. This time...<p>

"Is she _always _this coarse?"

I look up to see Paellix Mirani standing at the end of the hidey-hole, looking over at Jack as she sits on the table. Al is off to the side, and right next to Paellix is Tidoses. Tidoses is sort of just looking at Jack.

"It's Jack," says Tidoses. "Unfortunately, the only thing that isn't coarse about her is her poetry."

"Yeah," Al says. "But hey, she's honest. I like that about her."

I smile, looking ahead at Jack. My eyes meet with Jack's immediately, and then I see her shift on the table. "And he's not the only one that likes that," Jack says. She then points at me. "Hey, ballsy pussy, get your ass in here!"

... Aw...

"You haven't called me that in ages," I reply. Paellix looks at me in surprise, but Tidoses simply shakes her head. "I'd feel wounded if I didn't find it so adorable now."

"Ha!" Jack says gleefully. "I knew it'd grow on you!" She leans back and nods to Tidoses. "Well, there he is, Auri-girl."

Tidoses narrows her eyes. "I told you not to call me that," she says, before turning her attention to me. "Good. I was... well, I mean, with the funeral in the Normandy's cargo hold, I knew, but..." She nods. "After Jacob died with me around the corner, it didn't seem fair." She shakes her head. "At least I was able to protect the survivors I had with me."

I nod. "Hey, we did our best," I say, patting Tidoses on the shoulder. I then look up at Paellix. "Hm... I don't think we ever formally introduced."

"We didn't," the turian replies with his head bowed respectfully. "Paellix Mirani." He bows down. "I... _regrettably _prosecuted your commander." He shakes his head. "I actually came onto the ship to apologize to the Commander, but... I've been stalling for time. I..." He looks up and sighs. "The Commander is going to be angry, that is for sure."

I shake my head. "So why are you down in the hidey hole?" I ask. I look over at Jack. "Last I checked, Jack doesn't take too many visitors."

"Well, I thought I'd show him around, let him know what types of people were there," Tidoses replies.

Paellix nods. "I do have to say, though, it throws Samara's testimony into a bit of a... I don't know." He shakes his head. "It doesn't matter now since the Commander is essentially innocent according to the word of law, but I wonder what would've happened if I had known that this ship had ex-convicts on it." He then looks up. "Then again, I guess it wouldn't take away from the larger point."

I shrug. "Well, to be honest, most of the people that were on the Normandy SR-2 were in fact hand-picked by Cerberus," I say. I then indicate Jack. "Even the one who _hates _them."

"Well, hated," Jack immediately corrects. "There probably isn't much left after what happened on the Citadel. And thank fucking God for that."

Al shrugs. "It's one of those things," he says, leaning back. "You have to wonder what happened there. First they want to help humanity, and now they're destroying the Reapers."

Paellix nods. "It's strange indeed," he says. "I need to apologize to her. I feel... No, I'm bound by my honor as a turian to do so." He looks up. "Well, that, and she probably deserves it after my behavior in that courtroom." He shakes his head. "You don't think right when you believe your daughter is dead."

"Yeah, that's what it seemed like," I comment. I shrug. "In any case, it's good to see you made it off the Citadel alive. If nothing else, the Commander will be relieved about that at least."

"Yeah, I agree," Tidoses says, going in for a hug. "It was rough, but we pulled through."

"We did," Paellix agrees, resting his arm across his daughter's shoulders. "And by now, I know that my daughter is made of rather... strong stuff, I think is the human term for it."

"Hey, it's not your fuckin' fault she vanished with other guys," Jack is quick to point out.

"Yeah," says Al. "It's hard to blame you for that, really. Hell, I didn't believe Tidoses was still alive until we had her on the Normandy during debrief..."

"Well, we're all fuckin' alive," says Jack. "And we're gonna stay that way even with these fucks the Reapers in town." She then pumps her fist. "Here's to kicking their asses all the way back to where they came from."

I nod. "Yeah," I say, giving her a thumbs up. "Here's to that!"

Tidoses and Paellix respond in kind, with Al nodding as we all do this. I then turn to Paellix and Tidoses. "Well... I'm going to leave you to it, Tidoses," I say. I then turn to Paellix. "Don't worry about the Commander. She doesn't bite. Normally." I look to Jack and Al. "Well, I have things I need to do, so I'll see you two later."

"Later, pussy," Jack replies casually.

I simply shake my head, chuckling as I turn around and leave the hidey-hole. Oh, Jack, I hope you never, _ever _change.

* * *

><p>"Hey Tali."<p>

Tali looks up from where she's sitting on the bed. She looks up at me, and I notice that her omni-tool is open. Hm... She must've been doing something.

"Oh, hi Art," she says. She shrugs, looking at her omni-tool. "Father talked to me about the strategy you're taking."

"He did," I comment, sitting next to her on the bed. I look out the window as she leans against my shoulder. "I just... Hot damn, this war's about to end."

"It's a funny feeling," she admits. "We've fought the Reapers this whole time. It's been a long journey..." She sighs. "To think that it's all going to end soon..."

"Yeah," I say. I look at her. "Isn't Haestrom on the only mass relay route to Rannoch?"

"We have the Citadel, and we can move it," she says. "If we can do that, I imagine we could probably find some way to access Rannoch from another relay."

I nod. "Fair point," I comment. I smile at her. "You know, after all this, we'll be able to settle down somewhere."

"It's so hard to imagine," she says. "Settling down on the homeworld..." She looks at me pointedly. "You do realize we may have to instill quarantine measures for Rannoch, right?"

I shrug. "With that immunization Rael and Mordin developed, I figured that wouldn't be an issue," I reply.

Tali nods. "You have a point there," she admits. "Still. We'll see..." She then looks up. "I can't even begin to imagine what domestic life would be like. I guess we're all going to have to adjust to not living in a cold galaxy where everything was a matter of life and death." She then looks up, and giggles softly. "I'd probably make a terrible cook."

I chuckle, shaking my head. "Leave that to me," I reply. "I mean, I've never worked with dextro recipes before, and I can't exactly taste it to know if it's good or if it's crap, but I could probably work around it. I mean, I'll find some way."

"I don't know," says Tali. "I just..." She sighs. "I may do something with it anyway. If only because I can get to experience it for myself." She looks to me. "It must be nice to have the luxury of being able to make whatever you want, whenever you want it." She looks up. "Is that kind of life so simple?"

I look up. "No," I say. "It's got its own challenges there." I shrug. "I haven't seen them yet, y'know. I was still a college student whose tuition was being paid by my parents at the time." I lean close to her. "That said, though... It can't be all that bad. Two years on the Citadel with roommates can really get you used to stuff. I could get used to it with you."

"I may have to leave home for most of the day, though," Tali replies. "The Admirals will probably still need me for a lot of things."

I snort. "Tali, back in my day, it was practically _expected _that you would be out of your house for most of the day," I reply. "If anything, I'll probably be out too." I shrug. "But that just means I get to come home to you every night."

Tali sighs, and then looks up at me. "Keelah, we're already talking about this..." she says. "I... I don't... It feels so strange to talk about things like this. Before, it would just be the Reapers and the Geth and how we'd fight the next big threat. And then, you know, about other things that set me off. And... Oh Keelah, there I go again, talking too much." She glances to the side. "This is just... I don't know. Are we really thinking about this already? I mean, it's not that I don't mind, but I guess it just bore asking."

"I guess," I say. "It'll be nice to finally settle down, y'know? And as for me..." I pull her into a hug. "I wouldn't do it with anyone else."

"Good to know," says Tali as she leans into me. "Good to know."

I close my eyes, holding her close to me. She doesn't pull away, and in fact I feel one of her arms wrap around me. I sigh happily.

Damn, it's been too long...

* * *

><p>I look up at the ceiling of my quarters on the Normandy. Tali is sleeping a little more soundly to my right, and for the first time in a while I feel confident that she's not going to wake up from a nightmare. From what she's told me, they're less intense than they were before, so hopefully she'll get a good night's sleep.<p>

Not that it would be a real problem if she did wake up, really. I got visited by Thane and Carhon tonight. They were joined by Madison and Garrus, too, and what _they _said... I shudder, closing my eyes and sitting up. No, Art, don't think about that. Well, okay, think about it, but don't get into a hissy fit about it. It was just... It was just the manifestation of your guilt... Because it's all... God damn it...

I sigh, shaking my head and reaching for Orange where she rests in my pocket. Hey Orange.

"_Keeper_," Orange greets. "_I take it there is much going through your mind._"

Apart from the nightmare? Yeah... I just... the Citadel _moved_...

"_Indeed it did,_" says Orange.

Did you know it would do that?

"_I did_," says Orange. "_You would have discovered this function eventually._"

Yeah. And to be perfectly fair, no amount of preparation would've prepared us for the fact that it could actually be done. I still don't know how the hell it's actually possible.

"_It is possible, is it not?_" Orange asks. "_In some ways, the process may not matter so much._"

Hm... I don't know, Orange. Sometimes, the process of how stuff happens can be a bit important. I guess. I don't really know.

I sigh, looking up at the ceiling. The Citadel and Aratoht were two of the prongs, weren't they?

"_They were,_" Orange replies. "_And yet, there is one prong left._"

I sigh, looking up. I guess we're going to deal with that soon, aren't we? I mean... we've just retaken the Citadel, we have a game plan to take the Reapers out, and in a few weeks all of this will be over...

"_Caution, Keeper,_" says Orange. "_Dealing with the third prong may result in a difficult choice._"

I roll my eyes. Well, dealing with the prong at Aratoht caused hundreds of thousands of people to die even when we planned with the intent to stop that. I don't doubt that.

"_No, you do not seem to understand,_" she says. "_The third prong..._" She pauses.

...

It's not Earth, is it?

"_It is,_" she replies.

... Shit. Y'know, I really should've expected that.

"_Perhaps,_" she says. "_But it may be an issue._"

How bad is it?

"_They are swarming over Earth_," Orange replies. "_If they are left unchecked, they can create an army of husks that will make it easy to take what remains of the galaxy. Even your newly fortified Citadel will fall to them again._"

So we'll have to go in and stop it. Do you think they'll take the newly-moved Citadel as bait?

"_Perhaps,_" says Orange. "_After all, control of the mass relays is more important from a strategic standpoint. What use is an army if they cannot travel?_"

True, true. But will it be enough?

"_We shall see,_" says Orange. "_I have difficulty finding visions that pertain to this as of late. Prepare for anything is all I will say._"

Got it.

I put Orange back in my pocket, looking out to the drive core again. Damn it_, Earth _got involved. Well... I guess I should've expected _that _to happen at some point. I mean, Shepard pissed the Reapers off, and then there was the whole thing about humanity being genetically diverse enough that... well. I guess it makes sense that they'd make taking Earth a priority. I guess it also explains why the Alliance has had difficulty calling the portions of the Alliance fleets that are around Earth.

Well, the turian spy drone that Victus ordered sent into the Sol system should tell them what they need to know. I don't know. Either way, we have Haestrom to contend with. If we can lure the Reapers over here, then we can take care of them really easily. I hope. Yeah, that's what we'll do.

So why did Orange give me this feeling in the pit of my stomach that _something _is going to go wrong?


	44. Chapter 43

_A/N: Hey guys, welcome back to MV3. Well, we're moving along towards the inevitable conclusion here, and we're going to keep marching towards the defeat of the Reapers. Yeah, lots of fun times will be had with that._

_But of course, Orange's warning in the previous chapter left something in the air. So... what do we do with that? Well, you'll find out soon enough, won't you? So without further ado, the chapter:_

* * *

><p>Chapter 43: Haestrom<p>

It's been a couple of days since we formed our strategy. In the meantime, things have been falling into place. Aria, true to her word for once, sent in the mercenary fleets, and since then we've gotten our forces organized and ready to strike against the Reapers. And since then, we've basically been waiting. We've been doing nothing but wait for the word that the Reapers are in town.

It's been a tense wait. Knowing the Reapers could come at any time... It's enough to set you on edge. Mostly I've been sitting around trying to take my mind off it. It's here that I find myself composing while looking into the drive core.

Damn... it's felt like several years since I've last put my fingers to the hologram. Or the pen to the paper, but I haven't found any paper lately so that's right out. I don't know...

I look down at it. Of all the times to start a Requiem mass, it had to be now. I don't know, though... I've seen so much in just the past year that it's hard to really put it all down. But no matter what happens, no matter how convenient we make it, a lot of people have died to get to this point. And in the coming battle... Well, I don't know how well the Reapers will fall for this trap, but there's no doubt that lots of people are going to die today even with us employing the weapon on Haestrom's sun.

And hey, you never can have enough requiem mass in your life.

I sigh, looking back at the music. Hm... At this rate, I'll _never _get done with it. Bloody Kyrie movements, always being perfectly generic. I mean, I know they're supposed to fit across all masses, but still! Eh... At least I've gotten most of the proper Requiem bit done. That tends to move a bit faster, 'cause I-

"_Serviceman *********_," I hear immediately.

...

Oh dear...

I turn to EDI's avatar. "How long until they get here?"

"_ETA is approximately ten minutes to get to this side of the system._"

I nod. I then look back at my notation software, and then hit the save button. (Sheesh, even in the future the 'save' icon still looks like a frickin' floppy disk. What's up with that?) I look over to EDI and nod. "I'll be right over to the bridge," I say.

"_Good,_" says EDI. "_Shepard is expecting you._"

She doesn't even say the last word and I'm already rushing out of the door, my fist slamming against the door as I leave the room.

* * *

><p><strong>The Citadel<strong>

I reload, looking at everyone else down here with me. It's actually rather crowded down here, but I guess that's to be expected. This is an important place, after all.

I look over to Wrex as he approaches, pumping his shotgun again. "So... _Ellie,_" says Wrex. "I didn't think you'd have only one eye."

I chuckle, looking down at the ground. "I got stabbed there by a screwdriver," I reply. "Of course it can't be helped." I shake my head, looking right at him. "If this is about weakness, I don't want to hear it."

Wrex chuckles, a low grumbling sound. "Actually, on the contrary," says Wrex. "You should wear it proudly."

... Huh...

"I... wasn't expecting that," I reply, glancing down at the ground. I then turn to checking my plasma cutter again. "I take it that krogan don't have as much of a thing against missing body parts."

"Not really, no." I look behind me to see Jarel chime in with that where he's busy calibrating his submachine gun. "Most krogan see scars as a sign of strength."

Wrex nods at me, and then slaps his hand on my back. I jump slightly from the force involved... Wow, that's a big hand. "Yeah," says Wrex. "And besides, you've gotta respect anyone that's been through a zombie apocalypse and lived to tell the tale." He looks up. "Just keep me alive. I have some catching up to do with Aleena." He then glances over at where Liselle stands right now, before sauntering off to talk to her. I see Liselle's eyes light up as Wrex approaches, but I turn my attention over to Verek as he cocks his weapon.

"You ready for this?" I ask.

"As ready as I can be," he replies. "I have faith in this solution. We will defeat the Reapers with this."

I nod. "We will," I say, nodding as he takes his place close to the console that controls the Citadel's location. "We will."

* * *

><p><strong>The Argyll<strong>

I wring my hands nervously, looking at all the batarians around us. Keelah... There are so many people here... I'm shivering from how many people are surrounding us, but... No Tali, they won't hurt you. They'll be too concentrated on what's going on above to really think about... _that_. Don't worry, Tali, you're in good company.

I hope.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, Tali, you all right?"

I sigh, turning to look at Kasumi. "I think so," I say. Hm... I'm worried, but not just about all the people here. All of that, I think I can try to deal with. But... "It's just... With this weapon..." I sigh. "Do you think it will work?"

"I think it'll turn out pretty good," Kasumi says. She then gestures to where Konkwo is standing, calibrating the panel while one of the members of Carhon's family comments. Vag'rash, I think it is. "I mean, you can't go wrong with overkill, can you?"

"I guess not," I say. "Still, this is a very precarious plan. If even one part fails, or if we get left behind... we lose our best chance."

"We'll see," says Kasumi as she pats my back comfortingly. "But you know what? I think we've got this. These Reapers are in for a surprise, I'll tell you that."

"I guess so," I say. I nod, looking at her. "Okay. I'll trust this weapon."

"There you go!" Kasumi says. I see her smile beam out, and I feel a little more confident now. "And hey, when all this is over, drinks are on me."

I smile. "All right," I say. I then look at Konkwo, who gives us a thumbs up. He's ready.

And if he's ready, I'm ready too.

* * *

><p><strong>The Normandy<strong>

I run over to the bridge immediately, looking past Haestrom's sun. I see the Commander there, as well as Joker, Mubuk, Vala, and Isaac. They all stand around, and I join them with a nod.

"So Verek, Ellie, and the others are in place in the Citadel, and Konkwo and Tali are in place on the _Argyll_?" I ask.

"Yes," says Vala. "And now, we wait..."

"Are you sure Tali's gonna be okay in there?" asks Joker. "You know what happened with her."

I nod. "And that's why Kasumi is there," I comment. "As long as she's there, I think we'll be fine.

Mubuk looks up. "I must admit, I am nervous," he says. "This strategy your Council came to is very tight. Even one mistake could end us all."

"Yeah, that about sums it up," says Joker. "But hey, that tends to happen when you're shooting dying suns with giant cannons." He then looks outside. "I don't know about you, but I just _love _the adrenaline rush involved with blowing up a star cluster."

"Concentrate," the Commander says. "I know you know your skills, but this will be a test of every last one of them."

"Yeah, yeah, I get the picture," Joker says immediately. He then looks forward. "I just hope this works."

"So do I," says Isaac. He then opens his RIGlink again. "Ellie, are you in place down at the Citadel?"

I hear a second or two of silence from Ellie's end, but then the RIGlink opens. "_We're here,_" Ellie says. "_At this point, we're just waiting for the order to input the coordinates and get out of dodge._"

"Got it," Isaac says. "Remember, you need to do this exactly on time. Any later, and we'll be trapped in the star's explosion, or we'll take a Reaper with us."

"_I know,_" Ellie replies. "_The foot soldiers are also in position in case Reaper foot units get over here._"

"Good," says Shepard. "If all else fails, the Citadel cannot fall."

_"We'll make sure it doesn't,_" Ellie says. "_You worry about your part of the plan, we'll worry about ours. Oh, and t__ell Joker to be careful. If he gets you guys killed, I'll find him in the afterlife to kick his ass._"

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," Joker says. "Wouldn't want to deal with broken bones even when I'm dead."

Vala shakes her head as Isaac closes the RIGlink. "You humans are so strange sometimes," she says. "I will never understand some of your sayings."

"Well, there's a reason we're all human," I comment. "Shouldn't we be checking on the weapon?"

"It is in place," Vala says. "I have faith in Konkwo. He will be capable of doing what must be done."

"Indeed," I say. "I hope you're right about that." I then look out of the window and past the sun. "Okay... Reapers, come out wherever you are..."

I look ahead, and nobody says anything for a few minutes. I hear some more footsteps of various people from over in the CIC, it gets so quiet. I find my breath coming in short bursts, and... Fuck, this is crazy. We're about to blow up a sun to stop the Reapers from doing whatever it is they want to do with us... If anything about this goes wrong at any point, we're all fucked. Not just here, but in the long term too. We've got something to show for, and...

Dammit.

I just hope that this works. It's gotta work, after all. I glance at Vala, who only looks out of the window with a steely expression on her face. I breathe in nervously, looking towards the edges of Haestrom's sun.

And that's where I see the first Reaper. I notice that it's chasing one of the asari fleet's ships in our general direction. I don't get to see much else before I suddenly see a whole swarm of ships descend on us. However, it's shocking how many Reapers are there... I just... Damn, they weren't kidding when they said they could block out the skies with their numbers. I just... How many of these things are there? I see our ships there, and then there are the Reapers, and... And then I see all these red eyes appear... It's enough to... Oh my...

My God!

I look over to Vala in shock, and I'm greeted by her face that's only frowned in concentration. I look back, seeing the number of reapers descend on us as if they were a deluge. It's nothing but a slowly advancing battalion of red lights, with our ships paling in comparison...

"Holy shit..." I say.

"How the hell are we supposed to outsmart _that_!?" Joker asks.

"We adhere to the plan," says Vala. "Now, I believe we have a distraction to help, do we not?"

"Yeah, I guess we do," says Shepard. "Joker, bring us in!"

"Aye aye, Commander," he says.

Joker then propels us forward, and I watch as we advance towards the wall ahead of us. Even despite all the red dots, I feel... oddly confident. Yeah, there are lots of them, but all we have to do is dodge them. We're not really setting up an offense here. We're just giving most of these ships time to get the hell out of dodge before we blow the mass relay up, and stalling the Reapers for as long as we can before we fire the weapon.

This is gonna be easy. Or it should be. I hope.

I look up to the wall of Reapers immediately. Joker looks primed and ready to go as we approach, and I grip Joker's chair to steady myself.

Sure enough, there's this Reaper pretty high up in the wall of red lights that charges its laser first.

"Here we go!" says Shepard.

Joker is already ahead of the Reaper, though. The Normandy banks sharply to the side, but I barely have time to notice that the inertial dampeners are fully functional when I see a red beam strike the place we were at barely half a second ago. The Normandy shakes a little bit as we pull away, but I don't hear EDI list off the damage so I guess that means we're good right about now. I glance at Joker before looking back and-whoah!

I duck down out of instinct, but Joker's already ducking beneath another laser. I see us do a barrel roll, looking up at the wall of Reapers around us... Holy shit... I see one of the Reapers charge up another of their lasers, but it doesn't aim towards us. Instead, I watch as it blows a turian frigate into space dust. As Joker ducks under the debris of that frigate, I look ahead to see an asari dreadnaught take some heavy damage to its hull. Dammit... Some of those were supposed to be the ones that fell back...

Dammit... I don't think much of it before Joker weaves past another Reaper.

I look past the mass in front of us to see if there's anything beyond us, and... Mm, I guess not, it's too early in this battle.

I shake my head, watching as Joker dodges yet another beam. I look up, however, seeing that... Wait, what is that?

I see these strange pod-things shoot out from some of the Reapers. Huh, that's odd, I've never seen a Reaper do that before... Wait a smidge...

...

"Shit, you don't think those things have actual Reaper-based units, do you?" I ask.

Shepard nods. "Probably," she says. "Let's just be thankful we have a bunch of foot soldiers on the Citadel. They should be able to handle it."

I nod. "Let's hope," I say.

And that's the instant that something crashes into the Normandy. I look at Shepard immediately, and then turn to EDI.

"_Alert: there is a breach in the hull,_" EDI says as her avatar comes up.

I sigh. "Well, I guess it was too much to hope for that the Reapers would keep their foot soldier strategy confined to the Citadel," I reply.

"And that's why I brought my plasma cutter," says Isaac as he holds his weapon up and loads it. "Where do we need to go, EDI?"

"_The breach is in the cargo bay,_" she says. "_The mass effect fields are fully operational._"

I roll my eyes, looking right at Shepard as Shepard, Vala, Isaac, and I all start running towards the elevator. "Joy," I say. "It's _always _the cargo bay."

* * *

><p><strong>The Citadel<strong>

I load the pistol very quickly, looking over to the entrance of the alleyway. I look up again, watching as some of those capsules seem to edge ever closer to us.

I look down from where I'm positioned a couple of floors above. "Well, I think it was inevitable," I say, looking up. "The Reapers were going to come here eventually."

"You say that like you didn't know that at first, cheerleader."

I narrow my eyes, glancing to the side to see Albert smirking and winking in my direction. "I may remind you I'm no longer with Cerberus," I reply.

"I know," Albert replies as he prepares his sniper rifle. "But still." I look up again as the capsule gets ever closer to where we are. "Jack's going to have a _field day _down there."

"I believe she will," I reply. I breathe in. "As will Grunt. This is our line of defense here, and-"

I suddenly feel a loud thud several meters away from where I am perched. I am not taken off guard by this and manage to keep my balance, but I hear Albert reach a hand out to steady himself. I look down, watching as the capsule lands close by. It takes a couple more seconds, but after those few seconds I see the capsule open.

And from this capsule pour several human husks.

I nod. "All right," I say.

"I'll destroy you!"

I cannot help the chuckle that escapes my mouth when I look down and see Jack immediately rush in there with a biotic attack. The attack scatters the husks away from the hole guarding the way to the heart, and she gives them no time to react before she's on them. I raise my gun immediately, firing on one of the human husks that rises up from the ground. I look around to see a turian husk step out of the pod, but a loud crack just to my left followed by the turian's falling to the ground confirms that Albert is all ready to support Jack down there.

I nod, looking over to the side just in time to witness (and feel) another one of these pods crash close by. I turn my gun over there right as the pod opens, and begin shooting down most of the husks that are visible there. The instant I duck behind the wall and reload, however, I hear the distinct laugh of a particular krogan right as a shotgun blast is fired. I come out of cover again to see Grunt running amongst the husks with the broadest smile on his face, shooting at them with his shotgun and reloading them. I smile, looking over at the krogan before turning my attention to the human husks that are now beginning to swarm the area. I stand up immediately, throwing one of them against a wall before I resume firing at the husks below. Another turian husk steps out of the first capsule, but Jack is at it first, and she takes it down before anyone can do anything else.

I throw a warp at a human husk below, right before I hear the door behind us open. Without wasting a single second, I immediately turn around, seeing a human husk shamble in. I waste no time throwing a warp at that husk's direction, the warp hitting true as I see another husk come in. I bring my weapon up, firing several rounds into it before turning my attention back to the fighting below us. I look right at a lone turian husk down there, my omni-tool opening immediately as I point right it it. I then watch as sparks fly from its body, taking down whatever shielding it had, right before a well-placed sniper shot from Albert takes it down.

I nod, looking down at the fighting. I then look up, seeing many more pods falling down towards our area of the Citadel. Wow... there must be thousands of these things. Any minute, many of them will be dropping at some place around this ward, and this will be their final destination...

"Hm..." Albert says. "You think every other soldier placed on this ward is ready for them?" he asks.

"I think so," I reply. "You know we're prepared when Blue Suns mercs can stand next to an STG unit and work together."

"If you say so," Albert says, readying his sniper rifle and aiming at a target I can't see. "I'll just say that it's a good thing Joc thought about this."

"She wouldn't be Commander Shepard if she didn't," I reply, watching as Jack punches a husk back several hundred feet. "These preparations will be enough, I'm sure of it."

With this, I throw a warp at a turian husk, watching as it takes a step back. Grunt of course runs right up to it, shooting its head off and allowing me to return to scanning the battlefield. I nod, lifting my weapon and letting loose a stream of fire into the husks below.

* * *

><p><strong>The Normandy<strong>

As soon as we get down to the cargo bay, I immediately see... Wow, that's a lot of human husks there... I look out to the supposed hull breach, but find that it's really nothing more than just a pod that got stuck in the Normandy. Hm... Nothing all that major, except for all the zombies we'll have to kill now.

I look over to Shepard as she tosses me a pistol. "All right," she says. "Let's do this!"

Vala glows bright green immediately, and then I see her look at the husks in front of us. "So this is what the Reapers have done to your species," she says. "I will end these abominations!"

And with this, Vala rushes into the crowd, and I see her punch the head right off of a human husk. Damn, protheans have some powerful biotics on their side, don't they? With this, I watch her jump into the crowd, and she seems to waylay into them with the kind of biotic power I haven't even seen from _Jack_. Unfortunately for her, there seem to be a lot of husks coming out of there, which...

Wait, how large is this pod anyway?

Eh, it's not important. All I know is that there are husks, they're all over the place, and we need to kill them all.

I shake my head, turning my attention back to the human husks. I look right at one of them and shoot it in the head, its head exploding as I rush forward. I catch sight of Shepard biotically pushing one of the husks to the ground before plugging an assault rifle round into its head before I turn and shoot another husk in the face. I turn quickly, aiming my gun and-whoah!

I jump to the side, narrowly dodging a husk as it attempts to get me in the face. Instinctually, I kick it in the chest, which sends it sprawling back. I lift up my gun immediately, firing two shots into its head. As it goes down, I quickly turn around, and- Oh god, there's another one! I jump back this time, but the husk is on top of me and tackling me to the ground before I can say anything else. It attempts to bring its fist down on me, but I move my head to the side, its fist banging against the floor of the cargo hold as I reply by bashing it in the side of the head with my gun. I bring my gun down on its head again, and this gets the husk to release its hold on me just a little bit. It's not enough that I can walk away, but I'm able to bring my gun up, and it stops moving after a gunshot or two in there.

I quickly get up, watching as Isaac dispatches of some of the husks with his plasma cutter. Hm... There are still plenty of husks in here, I wonder if-

I then feel a burn in my right arm as if it's just been shot. Fuck!

I duck back behind a crate, and then look up at whatever it is that just shot that. What...? I then look up to see a couple of those strange turian husks standing there, hefting their assault rifles as they look at us. Another comes out from the pod, just before the pod detaches from the Normandy and I realize that... Whoah... Holy shit, that was a sizeable pod!

I then hear more gunshots, and duck back behind the crate I'm hiding behind... Well, shit.

"You know, I liked these husks more when they _couldn't_ shoot at you," I comment.

Shepard gets into cover, looking at those husks. "They're not too hard, remember," she says. "They're just like anything else that shoots at us, you know that. You think there are other boarding parties like this?"

"I don't know," I say. "Either way, we'll see."

I then get out of cover, shooting at one of the turian husks. By now, they've spread out into the cargo hold, and Vala is basically dealing with the last of the human husks. The turian husk looks over, and then simply fires the assault rifle to force me back into cover. I turn to my left as-whoah! I bring my gun up and fire at a human husk that was taking advantage of my position... Okay, that was close... Oh hey, there's Isaac over there.

I turn to look at the direction that he's firing his plasma cutter at to see that he's got one of the turian husks in that stasis thing of his. Hm, he looks like he's fine so far, so... yeah.

I quickly whip around, firing my pistol at the turian husk that Shepard and I had concentrated fire on. The rounds hit true pretty quickly, and the turian husk goes down. I turn to the last remaining one, but before I can shoot it I see Vala rush up to it, biotically punching it in the face. The prothean's punch sends the husk flying straight out of the hole in the Normandy's hull, and then I cringe slightly as I see it go past the mass effect field.

I... Huh, that actually wasn't that bad. I look over at the Commander as she reloads. "Well, that wasn't so bad," she says.

"Do you think they have it worse on the Citadel?" Isaac asks.

Hm... "Yeah, that may be possible," I say. "After all, they do need the Citadel."

"It is possible they hoped to distract us from our objective with these ground teams," says Vala. "In any other ship, I imagine such a force would require quite a few hands."

"Yeah." I rub my chin. "But there's something that's bothering me. Where _did _they get all those troops, anyway?"

"I don't know, but we can't worry about it now," Shepard replies. She then runs over by the elevator, and I follow her. I think I know what she's thinking here... "EDI, what is the status of the other ships?"

"_Most of the fleets have broken the line set by the Reapers,_" EDI replies immediately. "_Many are making their way to the mass relay._"_  
><em>

I nod. "Then the plan is proceeding as mentioned," I say. I look to her. "Should we head back to the cockpit?"

"Yeah," says Shepard. "Come on."

With this, she hits the call button to the elevator, and we all wait for it to come down to take us back to the CIC.

* * *

><p><strong>The<strong> **Citadel**

Another pod crashes down a ways down the street where we are, but I see that the Hierarchy patrol that is set up there is more than capable of taking the Reaper units down. I thus watch as the husks are waylaid with covering fire, right before I turn my attention back to the others.

I reload my weapon, looking behind me. "Come on!" I hear Grunt shout from where he stands a couple of feet away from me. "Where's the fight?"

"I don't know," I hear Albert say as he looks through his sniper scope a few other feet away. "Ever since we've moved down here, there hasn't been much coming in this direction."

"Yeah, all those other fuckers over throughout this place are handling it fine," Jack adds, leaning back against the wall. "You'd think these Reapers would've learned by now."

I look up, frowning as I see only a few more pods trickle into this ward. "Perhaps this is a tactic of... desperation?" I ask.

"Ha!" Grunt says. "They're weak if that's what this is!"

"Well, weak is all these fuckers have been," Jack comments immediately. "C'mon, when'll they give us the hard guys?"

"I don't know," I say, looking up at the skies above as the last pod descends towards our wards. "But I don't believe they'll do that."

"Aw," says Jack. She then looks up. "Now those guys down there don't get anything to do."

"Well, you never know," I say. "Maybe the Reapers sent a pod down there."

"Maybe," says Albert as he stands up, taking his pistol out and looking ahead. "But either way..." He turns to us, a frown on his face. "Am I the only one who thinks this might've been a little too easy?"

"You're only _now _saying that?" Grunt asks with a huff. "I was thinking it after a minute of blasting these things in the face."

"No, not like that," Albert replies. "Just... the whole set-up."

"Well, without knowing the Fleet casualties, we have no way to confirm what has happened," I comment. "So maybe it was more difficult for the fleets, and the Reapers are saving their foot soldiers then."

Jack chuckles. "Well, they're not gonna use 'em now," she replies. "And here I was hoping to fuck their shit up, too."

"We shall see," I reply. I check my ammunition out of habit before I nod to the others, looking around as the last of these husks falls to the many, many soldiers positioned throughout the Kithoi Ward.

* * *

><p><strong>The Normandy<strong>

Right when we get back up to the cockpit, I see that the Reaper line is still mostly intact. Some of them do still seem a little confused, though, as they're starting to mill about. I look over to Joker as he dodges another laser. I duck slightly out of instinct, and then find that gravity really is affecting this ship in weird ways.

"What's the situation, Joker?" Shepard asks immediately.

"They're getting ready to fire the weapon," Joker says. "Most of the ships of these fleets are already exiting the system, if they're not doing so right now." He then looks at us. "Or, you know, if they haven't been overrun by those pods and/or destroyed by Reaper fire, that is."

And it's then that he turns in while dodging a laser blast. I see that there's all kinds of debris out there, ranging from a completely destroyed frigate over on the left to the asari dreadnaught with the massive freaking hole there that looks as if someone took a knife to a dying rabbit and sliced it open. Holy shit, that's a lot of debris. There are also a few ships that look like they're intact, but I can barely make out the sight of Reaper units overrunning the crews inside. I just... Wow. This is... This is going to be a rough day for all of us. I look out of what view I can, and see that the only ships still moving and firing are the ones that were designated to run to the Citadel, which means we've still got the Citadel Defense Fleet and the batarian fleet that our dreadnaught with the weapon belongs to...

Which leaves everyone else...

"Are their losses really that bad?" Isaac asks.

"We cannot confirm it yet," Mubuk says.

"We're going to run the numbers once we leave Haestrom," Joker adds. "We've got a lot of numbers to crunch once this is over."

"I don't think we need a number crunch to tell us that it's pretty bad," Isaac says grimly. "I can tell just by looking out here that it's bad." He then glances down to the side. "Damn it..."

"We cannot save them all," Vala replies. She glances to the side, looking a little hurt before she turns to Isaac. "But as Verek once told me, the best we can do is to ensure their deaths were not in vain. And that is what we must do."She then looks out. "As for the ships that have escaped..."

"Yep, they're headed for the rendezvous point," Joker says. "Because nothing says rendezvous point like the sunny strips of Palaven."

Isaac looks at us in disbelief. "People are dying all around us, and he's making _jokes_?" he asks.

"Wouldn't be Joker if he didn't," Shepard supplies. "It's not important. So far, everything seems to be progressing according to plan, even with the staggering casualties. Now all we need to do is wait for the call and-"

"_This is General Victus to all units still in that system!_" I blink in surprise, looking up at EDI's avatar as it suddenly springs out. "_Our evacuation is mostly complete. We are gathering our intel and counting our losses now! I don't know how many of us made it out alive just yet, but it's fair to say we're good to go with firing the weapon. All units that are still there, fall back to the Citadel! Make sure it's defended at all costs!_"

With this, the link immediately goes out. I hear Joker whistle. "Well, there we go," he says. "I wonder how quickly they high-tailed it out of this system."

"It doesn't really matter," I say. "Now we've gotta get back to the Citadel."

"And something else," says Shepard as she opens her omni-tool. She then brings her index and middle fingers up to her ear, and then I see her look up. "Ellie, this is Commander Shepard. It looks like the units that are leaving this system have already left."

I see EDI come up again. "_Got it, Commander,_" Ellie replies. "_Are you absolutely sure about this?_"

"Didn't you just hear Victus give us the go?" Joker asks.

There's a brief pause, and then Ellie coughs nervously. "_Right, sorry,_" she says. "_Yeah. We'll lock the mass relay right away._"

With this, the link cuts out, and then I look over at Vala. "I think Konkwo will know to get started on firing this weapon right away," I say.

"He does," says Vala. "Let us hope this tactic works..."

"And while we do that, we're high-tailing it for the Citadel," says Joker. His fingers fly across the screen. "Hang on to your hats, kids, we're bringing her in!"

And with this, the Normandy lurches away from the Reapers and speeds off towards the Citadel. A brief look around us shows that the other ships in our fleets have pretty much the same idea.

* * *

><p><strong>The Argyll<strong>

Well, it looks like we're almost done. Only one more cannon shot to go and we can end this mess one way or the other.

"Okay," the batarian captain shouts. "Turn the ship towards the sun. We're blowing these bastards up _now!_"

I nod, looking over to Konkwo as he stands poised, ready to activate the weapon. He looks at me as if for validation. I'm not sure why he's looking to me, but... Well, I guess we all need some assurance about this crazy plan.

I bow my head towards him, before looking ahead. I then turn my head to the left to see the familiar presence of M'shk standing close to where I am. He looks rather nervous about what we're doing. I look back to the windows. Seeing the Reapers advance towards us, I can't really say I blame him.

"Um... Tali, was it?" M'shk asks.

"Yes," I reply, nodding my head. "Difficulty remembering names?"

"Yes," he says. "I apologize." He looks ahead. "Are you sure this will work?"

"It should," I reply, looking at Konkwo. "At least, I hope it does."

"We all do," he says, looking up out of the window nervously. "From here on out, there's no turning back."

"I think we all have that feeling," I reply, wringing my hands. "But we have to trust it. And for what I feel... I think it will be all right."

"Hey, we'll get through this." I glance over to Kasumi as she leans against the walls. "Trust me. We've got this."

"I hope so, Kasumi," M'shk replies. "I hope so..."

I look ahead at the dying sun of Haestrom. This damn thing kept frying our equipment every chance it got, and yet so far it hasn't affected this weapon according to Konkwo and what he's typed on his omni-tool. It's just... strange... To think that barely a year ago I was on an expedition here to find out why the sun was aging so fast...

I guess it doesn't matter now, though. In the end, it's helped us more than we can believe it ever would. And not just the quarian people, either. It's helping the whole galaxy. And for that, we have to be thankful.

Konkwo looks ahead, and it's only then that I realize we're in direct line of sight of the sun. Konkwo looks up, and then turns to the panel he's in front of immediately.

I nod, looking at the batarian captain of this ship. "All right," says the captain. "We're in the line of sight. Fire!"

Konkwo nods, holding his thumb up as he gets to typing immediately. I see him bring up a holographic screen, and then he quickly moves his finger through it as if to press it.

As soon as he presses it, I hear a low hum from above us. In the space of a few seconds, however, this hum slowly evolves into a rumbling that begins to shake the whole ship. My eyes widen immediately, and I find myself instinctively grabbing a nearby panel for support. I look up at the other batarians who only seem to move slightly at the shaking of the ship. Keelah, this is... How can they take this so calmly? I...

I then look to Konkwo, whose gaze is trained straight ahead at Haestrom's sun. I breathe heavily for a few seconds, trying to will my heart rate to slow down. I... Okay, Tali, calm down. This ship will not disintigrate. It isn't as fragile as some ships in the Fleet. You'll be fine, Tali. You'll be fine...

Soon enough, however, I feel a sharp shove from the ship itself that throws me to the ground. I hear the sounds of several batarians grunting, and I briefly see M'shk fall to the ground past the panel I was holding on to for support. Keelah, what was...

Wait, the shaking's stopped...

I then scramble to my feet, looking up at the other batarians as they all stand up. I glance quickly at Konkwo to see that he's pulling himself off of the panel, before I turn my attention back to Haestrom's sun and-

...

Is that...?

Yes, it must be!

"The weapon's been fired!" I shout, pointing at the dark ball of energy that is shooting straight for Haestrom.

I glance at the captain of this ship briefly to see that he sees it too. He then claps his hands together. "And that means we only have a few minutes to fall back to the Citadel!" says the captain. "So fall in! Get your asses on those control panels, and let's get out of here!"

I see the batarians struggle to get into their seats, but before long I see the ship turn away from Haestrom's sun. The batarian captain screams a relayed order to the others, but I tune out of that and look at Konkwo. He looks victorious, and is beaming in pride at what he's accomplished.

I nod, stepping to him on shaky legs and patting his back. "We did it," I say.

"Yep!" says Kasumi as she walks up to Konkwo and I. She then looks right at me. "So, what sorts of drinks do you like, anyway?"

* * *

><p><strong>The Normandy<strong>

I watch the Citadel around us as Joker turns us around. Okay, the Citadel is there, and the sun's over there... I look just past the sun to see the _Argyll _rushing straight towards us inside the Citadel. I look over to the side, glancing directly at Vala as we sit there in anticipation.

"Do you think they'll clear the Citadel's arms in time?" I ask.

"I hope so," says Vala uncertainly.

I then look around as some of the Reapers seem to begin panicking. Most of them are just running straight for the relay, but there are one or two that head towards the Citadel. However, we're already waiting, as some of the ships in the Citadel move forward just a little bit. They begin firing on the Reapers just outside the Citadel, some of our ships flying clear past the barrier we've set up as the safe zone. Shit... The Reapers there begin firing on these guys immediately, and I watch as a laser narrowly blasts past one of the arms of the Citadel. I hear Joker let out a yelp as he shifts the Normandy to the side, narrowly dodging the beam as he looks up in shock.

"Hot damn!" he says. "What's up with that?"

"It is apparent that the Reapers have latched on to our plan by now," Vala says as she looks past where the beam rushed by. "It seems that most of them are attempting to run to the mass relay, but I think only two of them have any sense here..."

"Of course, now it's too late," I comment as our ship flies past the Reaper in question. "They're trapped in here."

"That was the plan," Vala replies. "And it worked quite well, I have to say."

I nod, looking up at the Argyll as it sails towards us. I look up, gauging their place as they rush to the Citadel. Hm... They're getting pretty close. Oh, I just hope that those guys holding the Reaper units off are going to get back in here in time. I look over there as the Reaper fires its laser at one of the ships. The ship thankfully dodges, before performing a corrective maneuver to get back into the Citadel. And not a moment too soon, either, for I then turn my head just in time to catch that indeed, the Argyll has just passed the Citadel's arms.

Shepard immediately opens the link. "Ellie, close the arms!" she shouts.

"_Got it!_" I hear from Ellie's end.

I then look up as the arms of the Citadel close. Okay, looks like we're-

Whoah! What the fuck was that light?

It begins as a flash of purple light, and then I watch as the Reapers that were still firing at our ships within the Citadel turn to "look" at what they see. It's this that I see as the purple-ish light begins to turn white while engulfing everything around us.

It's at that moment that the Citadel's arms close. And it's at that moment that I grab Joker's chair as everything starts to shake uncontrollably.

Before I know what's happened next, I feel myself get thrown back, and I feel myself collide against a wall or something before everything goes black.

* * *

><p>When I come to, I hear groans all around me. I slowly bring my hand to my head, feeling it throb slightly... Ow, fuck, this isn't gonna go a way for a bit, is it? This is... Ow... Ugh... This feels so wrong...<p>

I stand up, gripping what I recognize pretty quickly is a metal support inside the Normandy. I breathe in and out for a little bit, shaking my head as I open my eyes... Damn, it's bright in here... I hold my hands up, shielding my eyes from the light... Damn... That's a bright light... And... Wait, what happened...? I remember something about something else on the Citadel... And in Haestrom... The weapon...

The weapon! Of course!

My eyes open, and I blearily make my way over to the cockpit, blinking intermittently as I get used to the light. I notice Shepard's silhouette standing up off to the side as I slowly walk over to the cockpit, all of us groaning. Oh God...

"Fuck..." I say slowly, resting against a support. "Are we...?"

"I don't... agh... know..." Well, that's Joker all right. He lets out a loud groan of pain. "Shit, I'm surprised my spine isn't shattered right now..."

"Yeah really," I say, shaking my head. "What the hell..."

EDI's avatar immediately comes up. "_I figured you would know by now, Art,_" she says as if she's seeing the most obvious thing in the world. "_That was the weapon._"

"Yeah, but..." I groan, shaking my head and closing my eyes. "Damn... Did we almost get engulfed by the supernova?"

"_Yes,_" says EDI matter-of-factly. "_It seems our timing required some work. __If the Citadel had moved even a split-second later, we would not be alive._"

I nod at this. "So the weapon worked," I say.

"It... It seems to..." I hear a cough, and then turn behind me to see that Vala is getting to her feet. She looks up. "Damn... I cannot believe it worked..." She coughs again. "I guess Verek was correct to trust the Ilos team. They... uh... pulled through for us." She pauses. "Is that the term?"

"Yep," says Joker. "That's... That's the term all right..." He groans in pain. "Fuck, I think that shattered both my arms..."

I slowly find a smile creeping up my face. Wow, I cant' believe... Yeah, this weapon actually worked... Holy shit...

I open up a comm link immediately, looking outside. "Tali!" I say. "Did we...?"

"_I think we did,_" she says. I can imagine her looking up. "_To think that we've actually successfully killed so many Reapers..._"

"I know..." I say. "Holy shit... And to think..."

"_Yeah,_" says Tali. "_We did it... Keelah, this is..._"

I then hear the joyous shouts of many batarians from her end of the conversation. I hear her comm connection click, and then the line goes dead.

I can't really say I blame them for celebrating. I just... Holy shit. We won!

I look over at Shepard, who's smiling as I gain a surer footing on the floor of the Normandy. I look up, smiling at everything. Hot damn, it actually worked. And judging by the view outside, we didn't take any Reapers with us... Damn... That's amazing. This whole thing is just amazing, and... I don't know how, but... And... And we've just destroyed a lot of these things. I just feel... I just feel so damn _happy _for some reason. They don't pose a threat. They bled, and they bled hard! I just... holy shit!

We've won the battle against these things! And they can't do anything about it! We defeated the prongs, and-

...

Wait...

The prongs... Wait, there were three of them, and Orange told me that one of them was on Earth, didn't she?

But Haestrom wasn't on their list of targets... In fact, it was a geth stronghold, so... But...

I frown suddenly, looking at Shepard. "Hold on..." I say. "Something... Something doesn't feel right."

"What do you mean?" asks Joker. "We blew all of them up, right?"

I look down, but before I can say anything, I hear Shepard perk up. "Are we sure?" she asks.

Wait, was what Orange said...

...

_No_...

"How many Reapers did we actually _get _into Haestrom?"


	45. Chapter 44

_A/N: Well hello again, guys, and welcome back to MV3._

_Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're once again approaching the endgame. If you thought last chapter was the end? Oh no. By now, I think I know what I'm going to do with the rest of this: from here on out, it's this chapter, one or two more chapters after this, and then the epilogue. And with that MV3 will be done. And thankfully, now that I'm past the scene on Haestrom, I think it will be smoother sailing from here to the end of the fic. So MV3 will be over with soon._

_And as for any future projects after that? Well... I've got a project lined up, but I think I'll tease you with it later. Besides, depending on what certain other authors do, you might see it begin before MV3 is even finished, so... Yeah. The only thing I'll say right now is that it's a crossover, so... yeah._

_Anyway, on to the chapter!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 44: Ultimatum<p>

I look at Shepard, breathing in and out nervously. Everyone else who's important is in the room as well, but we're all silent. I notice Aria cast a glance at Wrex, with the Council glancing at each other as we sit in the briefing room.

Technically, the battle of Haestrom was a success. The Reapers that weren't caught in the supernova of Haestrom's sun were annihilated by what happened when the supernova caused the mass relay to blow up. So technically, we didn't lose the battle. The Reapers fell for the trap, and we destroyed a lot of them. I mean, sure, we took some pretty heavy casualties, if the fact that we lost just under a quarter of the ships we went into Haestrom with is anything to go by. But there could've been many more casualties, and all things considered we did pretty well in that battle since we destroyed the Reapers.

But now... Now that we actually think about it... Dammit, we we really so convinced this would solve our problems? I just... How many Reapers actually took the bait? I mean, they'd need the Citadel back eventually, true, but... were they waiting on something else?

I don't know.

I glance at Legion where he and the rest of the quarian admirals are standing. He offered to send an intelligence drone into the Local Cluster to see what he could see. Verek is glancing at him distrustfully, and it's obvious to everyone in the room that he isn't happy that the artificial intelligence is doing all the work for us. I'm still not entirely sure what his deal is with AIs, but... I don't know. I'm nervously anticipating the results.

I close my eyes. Shit... I hope to God that was a majority of them in Haestrom. I hope to God that that's what happened...

I then hear a beep from Legion, and then his head light turns towards most of us. "We have acquired data," says the geth unit.

"Good," says Udina as he leans forward. "What... What are the numbers?"

"We do not have an accurate consensus on the numbers of the old machines that were destroyed within Haestrom," Legion begins. "Our data was conflicted." He pauses, looking at us. "Alert: the new data collected from Earth suggests that the force that came to Haestrom was not a massive force."

"Was it large?" I ask.

"Yes," says Legion. "However, statistical analysis suggests the force was not large enough to meet our expectations." He then looks out to us. "The force on Earth is much larger."

"What are they doing down there?" asks Victus.

"And wait, did your drone even get that close?" asks Wrex.

"Yes," says Legion. "Our drone detected that Earth is being... _harvested_." I blink at the change of tone when Legion says "harvested". "Many organics were being... _repurposed_ into husks."

I see Shepard lean forward. "So they were building their army..." says Shepard.

"It was never their intention to take the Citadel right away..." Tevos says, her eyes widening imperceptibly. "They were going to build their army first, and then they would retake it."

"Damn it." I look up as Anderson says this, looking away. "We should've considered that possibility."

Verek turns to Anderson, sighing. "If it is of any comfort to you, I believe we all expected the Reapers to retake the Citadel," he says. "It would only make sense when their greatest strategic advantage has been wrested away from them." He then looks at the rest of us. "But this is not what matters. What matters now is that we must adjust our tactics."

Udina looks at Legion in fear. "How many Reapers are above Earth?" asks Udina.

"Our data indicates that the old machines around Earth number in the hundreds of thousands," Legion replies.

"Which means that whatever force was on Haestrom is going to be child's play compared to this," Anderson says. "Of course, the Reapers took out quite a few of our ships, and that was only..."

"The single-digit thousands?" asks Valern.

"We require more data, but current data suggests that is true," Legion says.

"Which means that against millions of them, we don't stand a chance through conventional warfare." I hear his feet shift uncomfortably. "And that means..." I look right at him, and notice his eyes widening slightly. I look down to his hands, and that's when I notice that his fists are... are shake...

...

Oh no. No, he can't mean what I think he does. Can he?

I suddenly turn to the others, and I notice the horrified way Victus' mandibles drop. Glancing over at the other admirals, I see Rael and Zaal's faces go pale, with the other admirals leaning back in some shock. I briefly notice that Shala has her hand against her breast before I turn my attention to Wrex and Aria. They are just looking around displeased, but Wrex's eyes seem to widen imperceptibly as he seems to understand what's happening.

And then, I return my attention to Anderson.

"Are... You're not seriously suggesting..." I say, looking at Anderson.

"I am," says Anderson. "The..." He pauses, and I visibly see his Adam's Apple shift up and down as he looks out to the rest of us. "The best solution to our predicament may be to... It may be to destroy the Local Cluster."

"M... M-m-maybe there's another way," Udina immediately says, suddenly becoming much more animated. He throws his arms out, and now he looks desperate, his eyes wide in fear. "Maybe we can lure them out of there! Or something! Maybe find another star system, or keep the Citadel out of their range!"

"Or... or something!" Dsrondo immediately throws in, his upper eyes glancing around the room in fright. "Destroying that cluster cannot be the only solution! It cannot!" He leans forward. "W-we were able to lure them to Haestrom, were we not? We can do it again!"

Verek looks around the room, and I see that he has a greatly annoyed look on his face. "Only if you are truly insane," he replies. "The Reapers themselves saw what we can do now. Their losses over Haestrom have caused them to wisen up to our game. They will know not to follow the Citadel, knowing the surprise that will wait for them below. And they will know which ship to fire at first. Therefore, they will wait. When they do finally come, they will come with an army that will overwhelm even the force we could assemble with everyone here." He then turns to Shepard. "How large is the population of Earth?"

"I... Twelve billion, I believe," says Shepard.

Verek nods, looking right at us. "They will have an endless supply of soldiers," he says. "If we stall any further than we have, that is guaranteed. And when they come the second time, they _will _overwhelm us, and all we have done will be for nothing." He crosses his arms. "This is our best chance to strike, and you want to find another way to destroy them?"

"We... But there are twelve billion people there!" says Udina. "That's _exactly _why we can't just destroy that system! There are-there are _innocents _down there! We can't just _abandon _them! More to the point, we cannot abandon our homeworld! The ramifications would be-"

"Your homeworld is already dead," Verek interrupts, looking at Udina. "Once a homeworld has been touched by the Reapers, it cannot be saved. We cannot be moved by such things as-"

"How can you _say _that?" asks Tevos. "It is humanity's homeworld! Imagine the crises that would occur! And what of the innocent people there? You propose leaving them to die?"

"I propose nothing of the-" Verek begins.

"There must be another way," says Udina, swatting his arm out as he looks at Verek wildly. "I will certainly _not _take the recommendation of... the _prothean_."

"The 'prothean' has a name, you know," Wrex points out.

"Then how do you want me to refer to someone who doesn't care about the people we're fighting this war to save?" Udina asks. "We-"

Verek immediately glows green, effectively shutting Udina up. I suddenly feel goosebumps fly up all over my arms as I take a step back, seeing the absolute _fury _that has placed itself on Verek's face. "Do not care?" he asks. "_Do not care? _Councillor, I am sure I know very little about this cycle, but even so my actions are to protect it. Here I am attempting to save another cycle, and you are calling me _callous _for explaining the truth?"

Udina bristles at this. "I will not allow it!" Udina says.

"Then what is your plan, _human_?" Verek asks, leaning dangerously close to Udina. "Attempt to distract the Reapers from Earth again? I should not have to explain why it will not work again." Udina opens his mouth, but Verek immediately cuts him off. "And even if the Reapers do not do what I say they will, what then? They will stay at Earth to gather their army to march against us, and you want us to distract them with something they can reclaim at a later date? How many _more _star systems will we destroy then?" Udina pauses, looking right at the enraged prothean. "I imagine that much of this cycle has many, many lifeforms all around, particularly in colonies. Must we destroy them as well?" My breath hitches slightly at this, and I glance to the side with a guilty expression. "And what of the other homeworlds? Must we destroy them to save yours? How many systems must be destroyed before the Reapers are defeated?"

He then shakes his head, looking towards the rest of us. "We have the Reapers in a concentrated spot, and they may be the majority of the Reaper forces in this galaxy," he continues. "And you would rather allow them to finish their plans in the name of your homeworld than to end it there and ensure that the invasion cannot touch any other species' homeworlds?"

Udina looks up at Verek. "And how do you know there are not Reapers elsewhere?" he asks. "Or even that a majority are there? How do you know how 'hundreds of thousands' isn't a majority of the Reapers?"

"Simple mathematical processes dictate that there can be no more than two hundred and seventy two thousand Reapers that ever existed," says Legion. "Our drone's analysis suggests that at least 85% of that number are present over Earth. Addendum: that number is increasing steadily."

I lean forward. "That many?" I ask in disbelief. "How the...?"

"We must've sent them scrambling to get their army together," Aria adds. She then looks up. "Looks like we just made it worse."

"Or we forced them into a good spot to exterminate them, if that is indeed true," says Verek. He then turns to Udina, leaning forward. "I understand your plight. I was forced to sit on the sidelines while my species was systematically wiped out by the very enemy we face." He then sighs. "I stated your homeworld was dead. I did not, however, say that your innocents were." He then looks at Shepard. "Your homeworld's sun is still young, is it not?"

"It is," she says. She then glances to the side. "But at the same time, the sun can't go supernova."

"It cannot?" Now Verek looks confused. "Why?"

"There isn't enough mass in it," Shepard replies.

He nods. "Ah," he states. "I must consult with Konkwo, then. He will know how to adjust our tactics." He then looks at Udina. "In any event, it may be possible to save any civilians on Earth who have not been turned. I do not expect that number to be very high, and even among the survivors there may be trouble."

"Indoctrination?" Udina asks, sounding defeated.

"Unfortunately," Verek replies. "It happened to many species during my cycle. We may be able to detect who is and is not touched by indoctrination, but we cannot assume that they have been untouched just because they survived." He glares at the asari councillor before looking at Udina. "We can save your innocents. But in our present situation, it will not be possible to save your homeworld." He bows his head. "I am sorry."

Udina looks down, and I see his gaze averted from everyone else. His hands bunch up into fists, and I look at the others. Everyone else has their heads down, especially the quarian admirals. Rael and Zaal look on sympathetically from where they stand, and I... Oh God...

"We'll..." Udina's voice cracks immediately. "We'll consider that in our strategy." He looks at the Commander, and I can see water in his eyes that threatens to spill over. "Commander, we..."

"Yes, I think we've said all that needs to be said," Shepard says. "This meeting is adjourned. For now."

She then nods, and everyone files out of the room. All except for me.

I just look at the galaxy map, unable to say anything. I... What... No, it is true... No way... There's no way this is...

I breathe in, looking up at the ceiling, before I finally walk out of the room.

* * *

><p>Upon walking into the CIC, I notice that the protheans and Servero are all standing there. I see Verek off to the side with Konkwo, with Verek beginning to converse in hushed tones while Konkwo gestures in reply. I look over at Vala and Mubuk, Servero standing tall above both of them as he looks down at us.<p>

I pause in front of them, looking at them intently. I notice that Victus is still looking at the galaxy map, with Shepard sighing as she looks at the galaxy map. It looks like they're discussing something important, so I figure it's best not to disturb them. Everyone else, though... Everyone else seems to be off somewhere else, since I can't see them in the CIC.

So I turn to Servero.

"Is it true that...?" Servero asks.

I sigh. "Yeah," I say. "We may have to blow up Earth."

Vala nods. "I am sorry to hear of it," she says.

I nod, turning my attention at her. "You had to know this was a consequence," I say.

"We did," says Mubuk. "Haestrom being an uninhabited planet turned out to be an extraordinarly lucky coincidence for all of us. But we were under no illusions that we may have to destroy a habited system. We were ready to deal with the loss of a homeworld if it came to that."

I glance over at Verek, feeling a rush of anger at him. "I knew it," I say, crossing my arms. I direct my glare back at Mubuk and Vala. "So you wouldn't have cared if you had to kill civilians."

Vala looks right at me. "I believe you humans invented a phrase 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few," she says.

I turn to the side. "We did," I say. "It doesn't mean we have to like it." I shake my head. "We didn't like it when we had to do it on Aratoht, and we like it even less now."

Servero flashes an apologetic look right at me, and then I turn to the large alien as he kneels. He bows his head, before looking me in the eye. "I believe you must have known this would happen on some level," he says. "Given that you are the keeper..."

...

"I... I don't..." I look away, glancing off to the side. "I was so distracted by Haestrom! I mean, I was _sure _that would work!" I pause, looking to the side. "And okay, maybe I was warned at some point, but I had every confidence this would work, that we wouldn't _need _to go there!"

"Perhaps," says Vala. She then looks up. "Such a situation is rarely simple, though. I must confess, I do not believe anyone would have voted to go to Earth first."

"Better to risk a tactic that can ensure fewer casualties," Mubuk adds. He scoffs at this. "It would have been a foolish hope, I must say."

Servero and Vala both shoot Mubuk a rather nasty glare, and then both of them elbow him, Vala in the ribs and Servero on the shoulder. Mubuk looks between his two companions, and Vala simply turns and nods to me apologetically. "We apologize for him," she says.

I sigh, looking at the ground. "No, it's fine," I reply. "Just..." I shake my head. "I need to go think a bit. I'll see you guys around."

With this, I walk over to the elevator, hitting the call button a little harder than usual. I cast another glance back at the Protheans and the oravore before I hear the elevator approach. I step into the elevator, casting another injured glance at them as I press the button down to the engineering deck.

* * *

><p>The hidey-hole is empty. That's unusual for here: usually, Jack never leaves this spot whenever she's on the ship. She and Al spend so much time down here it's almost ludicrous. And yet, here it is, empty as all hell. I bet Jack went with Al when Shepard went to break him the news about Earth. Or something. I don't know. Either way, it's strangely lonely in here.<p>

I guess it's suitable, really. Of all the places to get some quiet, this would be a place to-

"Art?"

And _there _goes the peace.

I look up from where I'm sitting on the table, immediately seeing Jenny, Kal, and M'yask standing there. I look up, nodding my head grimly as I lean back against the wall.

The group of three immediately walks up to me, with Jenny placing a hand on my leg. "We... we heard about what will happen to Earth," M'yask says as she approaches.

I nod. "Did EDI tell you?"

"Yes, si-Art," says Kal. "I don't know..."

"It's a right ol' hames, it is," Jenny replies. She then sits on the table. "We do all this bloody work ta keep them soddin' blackguards off our galaxy, and what do we get ta show for it? A bloody smolderin' crater where Earth used to be."

"Well, it may be more accurate to say 'nothing'," M'yask replies.

I shrug. "What's the difference?" I ask. "Either way, this all ends with an Earth-shattering kaboom. What are we supposed to do about that?"

"I... I do not know," says M'yask. "Even having gone through the same thing all of humanity is about to go through... It's tough surviving the destruction of your home, but your home _world_..." She bows her head respectfully. "I can't imagine how that must be for humanity. Or how it will be, as the case may be."

"I have to say, it's a good thing this hasn't left the Normandy yet," Kal says. "I dunno what I'd do if I heard they were going to destroy Rannoch, but you'd better well believe I'd be pissed off."

"Honestly, I'm not sure what to feel," I say. "It's... We know we need to do it, but..."

M'yask sits next to me, her hand taking a position on my shoulder. "It is... strange, not to be able to see your home," she says.

I nod. "I know," I say, glancing to the side. "Trust me, I've been there before. But at least I had something that I could've come back to at any time. I thought, anyway. And now we're going to have to blow up the place that was once my home..."

"It will improve with time," says M'yask as Kal and Jenny sit next to me.

"Maybe," I say. "But what's to say it still won't be there?"

"Well, ya can't avoid that," Kal says plainly. "That part'll always be there, I guess. But... Hey, the galaxy will still be here, won't it?"

I look over at the quarian as he too places a hand on my shoulder. "I... I guess that's true," I say. I lean against the wall, letting Jenny take a place right by Kal as they all look to me with concern on their eyes. "It'll feel like a colder place afterwards, though."

"Perhaps," M'yask agrees.

"But 'ey, look at it this way, mate," Jenny pipes up. "Ya got us 'ere. An' 'ey, it ain't all a kick in the bollocks. We've got the whole galaxy sittin' there ta be mates, man."

"Well, except the batarians, anyway," I comment. I then throw my hands up at M'yask. "No offense."

"I can understand the trepidation there," says M'yask. "But even if there are those who hate humanity, they may take pause that we have something in common now. We have both lost a world to the Reaper threat. We can maybe understand why humanity may be... _unhappy_."

I nod, feeling my eyes water. Dammit, here I am getting all teary-eyed again. "I guess so," I state. "I don't know. As a Council race, the Council will probably help humanity out in the aftermath of all this too..."

"And don't forget us," Kal adds. "We know what it's like to not have a homeworld. Hell, if it were up to me, I'd just say 'come on over to Rannoch, the geth tell me the water's great this time of year'."

I chuckle at Kal's comment, patting his shoulder even as Jenny punches his arm playfully. "I guess..." I say. "I think it's good to know we've all got friends even through this..."

"Perhaps," says M'yask. "Perhaps."

Jenny then leans over. "Y'know..." She looks up. "Ya never told the lot of us what kind o' tip your hometown was."

I bark out a laugh at this. "Oh God, the city of Miami," I say. "Holy shit, that is a terrible city, let me just say that." I look at her. "Trust me, not even a summary can tell you how much of a dump that place was."

"Sounds like a place with lots of memories in it, though," M'yask says.

I nod. "Well, I spent a large part of my life there before I came to the Citadel, so I just remember that a lot," I reply.

Kal looks up, and then turns to me. "You mind telling us?" he asks.

I shrug. "Eh... I guess not," I say. "In a couple of days, those'll be the only things I've got to remember that city anyway, so..." I look up. "Hm..."

I then look up at the ceiling, thinking of a random memory to regale to them. Hm... Maybe I could start with that one time I was in senior skip day...

* * *

><p>Some time later, most of us have gathered here in the briefing room again. Well, at least all the military people have. I'm still here, but I can see that most of the statesmen are out on this one. The only prominent one here is Victus, and he's just here because... well, as a military man, he'd know stuff. Anderson, Verek, and Shala are all here, and they're looking right at Verek.<p>

"So you talked to your specialist," says Anderson. "What did he say?"

"He said that the weapon was designed to make suns go supernova," Verek replies. "However, it was explained to me that, theoretically, it should be possible to destroy a mass relay with the weapon as well. I do not understand it myself, but the same reaction that caused the explosion on Haestrom should theoretically be able to overload the mass relay so it explodes."

"So what you're saying is that we shoot the mass relay," says Anderson.

"Yes," replies Verek.

I sigh. "It's a good thing Dsrondo isn't in the room," I comment. "The last thing he needs to hear is more about blowing up mass relays." I sigh. "And for us, too... It's going to be a repeat of Aratoht all over again." I sigh. "You okay, Shepard?"

I spare a glance at the commander, who is standing at the end of the briefing table. I see her fist tighten up, and then she swallows a lump in her throat. Her eyes don't change a wick, though, and she looks around the room with a fire in her eyes. She looks up, and nods.

"I'm fine," she says. She stands up, looking at all of us resolutely. "It's what we have to do anyway." She breathes in, and I notice that she's biting her lip. "But this time, we're bringing the fight to them, are we not?"

"We are," Victus comments. "And yet I doubt our fleets will survive a few seconds in a battlefield with that many Reapers..."

"I don't think they will," Anderson says. "First, we should take care that the Reapers don't escape the cluster."

"Not a problem, with the Citadel in our hands," I say.

"And then we can move the Citadel in," says Victus. "Now where do we set it is the problem..."

"We were hoping to save civilians, yes?" asks Shala. "It seems pertinent to place the Citadel close to Earth in that event."

"Of course..." I say. I then look over at Verek. "Do we need to be close to the relay for the shot to be accurate?"

"No," says Verek. "But at the same time, the path must be clear. These rounds cannot 'punch through a Reaper', as your krogan friend so _eloquently _put it."

"Hm..." Anderson leans forward. "Getting the ship close to the relay would be suicide..." He looks at the rest of us. "But at the same time, it is perhaps the only way to guarantee that the weapon will strike the relay."

"And then the weapon gets destroyed," Victus says. "Are we sure the majority of the Reaper forces are there?"

"They should be," Shala says. "Legion and the others confirmed it themselves."

"I do not trust that machine's numbers," says Verek.

"I do," says Shala. "Is that not enough for you?"

"No," Verek replies.

I shake my head. "Jeez, what is it with you and AIs?" I ask. "Legion is a friend, Verek. He wouldn't lie to us like that for any reason at all, especially not after everything we've been through together."

"I trust Legion, Verek," Jocelyn adds. "And frankly, we have no use for your distrusting it at every turn. Aren't we united against a common enemy here?"

"We are," says Verek. "But that does not-"

"Then this conversation is over," Shepard interrupts. "The geth are just as much a life form as the rest of us. You'd do well to see that, Verek."

Verek shakes his head, glaring at all the rest of us as he crosses his arms. He mutters something under his breath, but I don't say anything else at all. I instead turn to Anderson, who nods at us.

"Then it is settled," Anderson says. "We send the weapon to set off the mass relay explosion. Getting it there may prove to be a problem once the Citadel comes in, though..."

"We could always approach from the relay," says Shala. "It would give the Reapers the chance to escape, but if we send a small force through we may be able to manage avoiding their attention long enough to lock the relay behind our force..."

"Perhaps," says Verek.

"Then perhaps that is what we should do," says Victus. "Send in a small force through the mass relay, have them rescue whatever citizens of Earth are still mentally stable, and send in the Citadel later."

"Wait, and how do we get to that?" I ask. "I mean, we need to position the Citadel in a place where the Reapers won't be able to overwhelm it while the weapon gets fired, right?"

"Yes," says Shala. She then opens her omni-tool. "If you may, Councillor Victus, the crew of the _Tonbay _is on standby. Her crew knows the galactic map's coordinates very well."

"Thank you, Shala," says Victus. "That will be quite useful." He then looks to the rest of us. "I recommend we send in a force consisting of faster vessel types."

"Aren't we trying to save civilians?" Shepard asks.

"We are, but a large ship would be too slow," Anderson says. "We need a craft that can get in and out of a situation quickly, as well as one that can dodge quite a bit. If we do use a larger ship, it should be used to defend the ship with the weapon on it."

"Fair enough," says Shepard. She then looks down. "You say that being on the dreadnaught is a suicide mission, correct?"

"And there would be no returning from it this time," says Verek.

"Indeed..." She glances off to the side. She looks to the rest of us, but doesn't say a word. She then nods. "That will help. For now, we should decide which fleets do what again. Hopefully it will be for the last time."

"Let's hope," I say, bowing my head. "I'm not about to let any more innocents die in this fucking war."

"Then I suggest we send the Normandy in as one of the ships," Anderson says. "She has battled more Reapers than many of these fleets have combined."

* * *

><p>I walk into Port Observation, looking at where-<p>

Whoah!

Kasumi isn't there, and neither is anyone else I know. Instead, I see Udina slouched over the bar, a bottle of Bacardi standing open on the bar right by where he's sitting. I hear a steady groaning come from Udina, and I see that he's clutching a shotglass in his hand. The shotglass is empty, and his head is on the bar like it's been crafted out of concrete or something.

I blink, looking at the Councillor. "U... Udina?"

"Oh, it'sh the kid." The sound comes out much higher than I'm used to hearing from Udina, in addition to being very slurred. "That wittle kid hhho'sh alwaysh wit' the Ssshepard... What wasssh it about lllambsh that one guy shaid?"

I'm immediately over at the bar, seeing... Holy shit, half the bottle's gone! "Holy shit, Udina, did you drink all that?" I ask.

"Oh yessh," Udina replies. "Alll ssshtraight-like... And now I'm ssho hhhhhappy..." He hiccups for emphasis.

I facepalm immediately. "Goddamn, Udina, don't you know you never drink Bacardi _straight_?" I reply. "Holy shit, man, you need to dilute that shit."

"Dirrute?" Udina asks. I look right down to see that he's got the broadest smile on his face. "What do I dirrute?" He chuckles. "I know, I can always dilute that asari Councillor... Mm..." He hiccups immediately. "Now _there _is a fine piece of ass. Just like that asari I fucked on Illium once... Heh..."

I immediately turn around, feeling a blush come to my cheeks. "Right, too much information there, man," I say snappily. "Just for the record, you are going to have a _killer _hangover when you wake up."

"Heh..." He looks up. "I 'aven't tank thissssh much shinsh my college daysh... Ooooh... I losssht it all the easshy way..."

I sigh. "I can tell," I say, glancing back at Udina. "Anything _else _you want to tell me before you blurt too much to the wrong people?"

Udina looks up. "It'sssh all fun..." His smile immediately vanishes, though, and then I notice that his eyes begin to water. "They Counshirers say we're gonna fire a big, big, _big _fing at the fing. An' that meansh de big, big world is gonna go..." He then lifts the hand that's holding the shotglass, which twitches dangerously in his shaky grip. "It'sh gonna go 'pop'." With that, he then opens his hand, and the shotglass falls on the counter. It rolls a little bit to the side, and then I watch as it falls to the ground and shatters. "Like a big ol' wwwat'r berloon..."

Udina doesn't seem to notice, 'cause by then I can only look at him intently. "I... Yeah..." I say. "It's..."

"But there are sssho many peeple there..." he says. I look into his eyes, and see that they're wide as they begin to water. "Whooshe gonna shave 'em? Whooshe... Whooshe gonna..."

At this, he drops his hand, and then looks away from me. "I could'a shtopped it all," he says. "I could'a lishen'd. Or ssshomefin..." He then looks out to the window, only twisting his body slightly. "But I could'na..." He then sobs, the sound coming out choked. "An' now, they're alll gonna d..." I hear him sob. "All 'cause I couldn' lishten ta dat Sssheperd when I hhhhhad a chanshe..." He then lets out a loud sob. "Itsh all mer fffalt..."

And then he just sobs loudly against the bar, his chest heaving. I look at him and cast a guilty glance to the side. Dammit, I shouldn't be here right now. This is Udina's burden to deal with, and it's personal...

I then look at the Councillor. At the same time, though...

I place my hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "Nobody could've seen this coming," I say.

"Eashy for yer te shay..." His hand comes up, but he's too drunk to actually harm me.

I insist, putting my arm on his shoulder. "It's not your fault," I press. "It's nobody's fault. And even then..." I look up, leaning back. "Even then, we can't dwell on the blame. Humanity is going to need people that can stand strong... The galaxy may be more forgiving after this, but even then humanity's gonna need people to guide us."

Udina simply sobs. "Icantdoit," he says in one fast burst of speech. "I can't..." He sniffles. "I can't hhhandle the resh... the reshpir... I couldn't even lishten to Shepard when... I ignored the problem... How am I shuppossh'd ta lead 'em outa thish?"

I blink, feeling a tear come to my own eye. "You'll find a way," I say, swallowing softly. "You'll find a way. And eventually... We'll pull through. It's all we can do..."

Udina stops sobbing, and I feel him move towards my touch slightly. "Shometimesh..." He pauses, and then says nothing for a while. I sit there, but he doesn't say anything. His head remains on the bar, and it doesn't look like he's thinking on moving.

Eventually, I hear his soft snores fill the room. I look over to see his shoulders slowly rising and falling with each breath he takes... Huh, he's sleeping like a baby now. Man, he's gonna have a killer hangover when he wakes up in the morning... I shake my head, tapping the bar. I should probably head out soon. Or something.

I nod, patting his shoulder comfortingly. That's when I grab the bottle of Bacardi, looking at it intently... So Bacardi Silver is still in the future... I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering Jose Cuervo is still around... I sigh, noticing the top on the bar. I grab the top, screwing it back onto the bottle as I look at a sleeping Udina.

"EDI," I say. "Can you find someone to look after Udina, please?"

"_Certainly, Mr. *********_," EDI replies.

I nod, and then begin walking around the bar to place the bottle back in its place.

* * *

><p>"So they're gonna blow up the mass relay. Quite a bit different from blowing up a sun, but the end result is the same."<p>

I look at Sturge as he sits at the table in the mess hall. Dr. Chakwas is sitting right next to him, and she is simply leaning back looking at all the glum faces around us.. Turns out that I didn't need to tell them anything: EDI did it all by herself. Dr. Chakwas herself looks as glum as the rest of us, and I see that Sturge seems very, _very _unsettled. Well, the fact that he's nursing another glass of Serrice Ice Brandy says everything I need to about that.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," says Sturge. He then looks up. He shrugs. "They better have planned for that, or I'm going to hurt something."

"Yeah, have fun with that," I reply. "Well, we at least know what happens when a mass relay gets destroyed."

"We all know a little too well," Dr. Chakwas says. "You know, I remember when all the refugees of Aratoht came on-board... I remember some of them had to come to me. The stories they would tell of their home..." She glances off to the side, and I see her eyes water slightly. "They missed their home. And now, to think that we'll undergo the same fate..."

"It's really something," Sturge replies, taking another sip of his brandy. He looks up. "I mean... at least it doesn't totally destroy our home? We have colonies, don't we?"

"Yeah, but colonies aren't quite the same thing," I reply. "Sometimes, you just need a home to go back to, you know?" I look up. "And now we'll be displacing an entire population of people. Again."

"I guess we'll figure this out as we go," says Dr. Chakwas. She sighs. "You know, I never really occupied Earth much as a younger woman. I was planning on visiting it some day." She sighs. "I guess now we'll never have the chance."

"Yeah," says Sturge. He looks at me. "And this time we can't even visit it. I knew the Earth was due for a mass extinction in the far future, but... I didn't think it would involve blowing the damn place up."

"None of us did," I say. I sigh, looking down. "I mean, how could we, really? It was always asteroids or Yosemite or famine or the Book of Revelation or something. Never something like 'hey, sentient machines are going to come and kill us all'." I chuckle darkly. "I know I shouldn't be putting it in that way, but..."

"It is true," Dr. Chakwas states. She sighs. "I wonder how some of the others are taking this news."

"Not well..." I say. I look up. "I never thought I'd feel sorry for Udina at any point since I first came to this galaxy, but hot damn."

"Yeah, I heard about what Udina said in the meeting," Dr. Chakwas said. "And here I thought he was only interested in being voted into office."

"So did I," I reply. "You never can tell with some people. Sometimes, it takes the worst things imaginable to bring the best out of people..."

"That it does," says Sturge. He downs more of his brandy, and then frowns upon looking at the glass. "Or the worst in them. I haven't quite felt the buzz yet from this."

I blink, looking at the old man. "Damn, I didn't know you could hold your liquor," I say.

"I didn't either," he comments wryly. "Well... I guess it's off to see the bottle again." He nods at me. "I'll be back in a bit."

Whoah, what...? I look over at Dr. Chakwas as he gets up and walks straight to the med bay. "I guess that's how he's dealing with it," says Dr. Chakwas. "Not even I can get him to fully open up about what he's feeling right now."

I shrug. "I can't say I blame him," I comment. "It's not easy to say goodbye twice." I nod to Dr. Chakwas. "Just make sure he doesn't drink more than he can handle, m'kay?"

"Of course," says Dr. Chakwas.

I then stand up. "I better get going," I say. "I'll see you and Sturge around."

"Likewise," Dr. Chakwas replies.

I then walk away from the mess hall, heading towards the elevator and pondering on what I've seen so far.

* * *

><p>I stand in starboard observation, looking out of the window. All the stars are out there... And in this place, it'll probably take years for this system to see the supernova at Haestrom. And after that... After that, they'll watch Earth go up in flames.<p>

I sigh, closing my eyes as I place my hands on the glass. I just... To think that Earth is going to go down in flames and fire and all that... And I was hoping to visit again to see all my old haunts, too. Dammit, not even fate wants me to think about doing that, apparently. I just... How could it have come to this? And how...?

I shake my head, taking a hold of Orange in my pocket. Damn it all...

"_Ah, Keeper,_" says Orange.

I close my eyes. Orange... You knew, didn't you?"

"_About Earth?_" she asks. "_I... I did..._"

I sigh, looking up at the stars. It... It wouldn't have made a difference if we had gone to Earth first, would it?

"_No matter what, all roads lead to Earth,_" says Orange. "_I... I regret that I did not say anything._"

I shake my head. Well, Orange, considering your whole thing about the fact that Earth was one of the prongs, I guess it was unavoidable. And even if you had warned me, what could I have done? I just... There was nothing that could've prevented it. The Reapers were always going to target Earth, and I guess...

"_What is it, Keeper?_"

I guess I understand what the prongs did now. Aratoht was the distraction, the Citadel was the gate, and Earth was the recruitment center. Or something along those lines. And since the vision was... well, special and all that... I couldn't have avoided any of it. So...

"_I see. You have grown much, Keeper._"

I don't know, Orange. I still don't know how to react to this... Soon enough, my home is going to get destroyed. My only regret is that I couldn't have visited home sooner, seen what it was like several years in the future. Maybe it became a better place, I don't know. I mean, Miami was a real shithole, but it was _my _shithole, God dammit!

"_You are not disturbed?_" asks Orange.

I'm... I don't know, Orange. My home was in the past, all things considered. But now that my only semblance of home is about to get destroyed, I just can't get worked up enough about it. I feel like such an asshole, Orange. Here we are about to destroy Earth to keep the Reapers from harvesting us, and all I can feel is indifferent. I don't get it. Billions of innocents are about to die, and our homeworld is literally going up in smoke, Orange! I just... I should feel worse than I do!

"_Perhaps it is because you have already said goodbye to your home,_" Orange suggests.

Yeah, but if that's the case, why do I want to see this Miami so badly? I know it's there, and I know the place that held all of my memories is in the past, but why do I still want to see it?

"_Hm... That one, I cannot answer,_" she says. "_Are you... _impelled _by curiosity?_"

I blink, turning away from the stars and looking at the door. I... I don't know, Orange. Maybe... I guess I'm just curious is all. I want to know what became of all the people I cared about. Well, if they even existed here. I don't expect to find anything, but even a little something would be welcome. Maybe a little something to know how they evolved in a world where I wasn't a thought, or was but died young. I don't know... I feel impelled to know.

I sigh. Maybe you're right, Orange. Maybe that is what's going on here...

I can sense Orange nodding. "_Indeed,_" she says. "_I know you too well by now, Keeper. In fact... I feel that you have another question to ask._"

Yeah, I do. I just... I don't know why I thought of this, but... You can see into visions of possibilities elsewhere, right?

"_Yes,_" she says. "_Why?_"

I... Y'know what? Never mind. It's nothing.

"_Does it concern you?_" she asks.

No, it's just... It's a silly little idea I had. Don't mind me.

"_Very well, Keeper, I shall leave you to your thoughts._"

I nod, placing her back in my pocket. I then sigh, looking up at the ceiling. I guess... I dunno. Yeah, Orange was right. This is a question of curiosity.

I walk towards the door, looking back to the stars. Hm... All this stuff has changed. And somehow, I get the distinct feeling it wouldn't have ended like this. I think. If I know the writers of BioWare, they probably wouldn't end it with the destruction of a planet. Most players don't like an ending this bleak. Even if we win the war, what then? How do we rebuild?

I sigh, feeling my eyes water. I just... I don't know...

Was I somehow responsible for all this?

* * *

><p>Wow... after all these years... After all these years, it comes down to this.<p>

I look at the hologram of the rosary that is laid out before me. Damn, I thought here that I'd never return to the faith of my own volition. I mean, I haven't been to church for... what? Five years by now? Six? I don't know, and I felt a little miffed at the institution of the church even now. And it still feels weird to be looking at an object that I haven't really wanted to look at for years.

But I don't know...

I look at the cross at the beginning of the rosary, pausing in thought. Hm... I know we start at the cross, but what am I supposed to start with? Shit... It's not the Our Father 'cause those are on the larger beads, and it can't be the Hail Mary because those are all the tiny beads... Shit...

Maybe this was a bad idea. I've never prayed an entire rosary cycle in my life, not even when I was devout as hell back in the days of-

"Art?"

I blink suddenly, looking up from where I'm kneeling by the bed. Tali is standing there, looking right at me in surprise. She looks down at me, and the door closes behind her as if for drammatic effect.

"Oh... Uh... Hi Tali!" I say weakly, adding on a forced smile.

She looks at the projection of the rosary on my omni-tool. She then walks over to where I am and kneels down next to me. "Is that a... a rosra?" she asks.

I blink. "Um... "rosary" is the proper way to say it," I say. I glance off to the side. "But yeah, it's that. How'd you even guess what it was, anyway?"

"Sturge might've told me what it was at one time," Tali replies, looking at it as well.

"Yeah," I say, nodding. "He did tell me he rejoined the Church when I was gone..." I frown. "Wait, why'd you ask him anyway?"

"I got curious," says Tali. "I just thought you wouldn't like to answer that."

I nod. "Fair enough," I say. "I did have a thing against religion for some time..."

"I was about to ask about that," Tali says. "I thought you didn't like religion, and yet here we are, looking at this... rosary thing."

"Well... I guess it was the whole organized institution of it that I didn't like more than the idea itself," I comment. "I dunno. I didn't think I'd ever go back to it, but here I am."

Tali looks at me, and I can see in the way her head tilts that she's worried. I feel a three-fingered hand place itself on my shoulder, and then she looks at me intently. "Hey..." she says. "Is this because of Earth? I haven't seen you do anything like... well... this."

I sigh. "I... I think so," I say. I then look at the cross on the rosary. "I dunno... I guess the thought that there's a God like ours is helpful when we're about to destroy a planet and probably be unable to save countless civilians..."

Tali nods sympathetically, and then she pulls me close. I look at her expecting her to say something, but instead she just kneels there, not saying anything but keeping her head tilted towards me... Is that...?

I swallow. "I... I just don't know," I say. "One of the central tenets of our faith was that God sent his only son to die for our sins. You know, eternal life and all that. And that God loves all of us, even when we do really horrible things."

"That..." She frowns. "He sent his only son to die? Why would he do that?"

"Well, God works in mysterious ways, and in that case said 'mysterious ways' involve having said son be a preacher whose ideas were considered dangerous by the people of his time," I reply. "And then they crucified him."

"Your God would've been exiled by the Fleet," Tali says dryly.

I chuckle at this. "Maybe. But according to our holy text, we lost the way." I shrug. "And hey, it formed the basis of a massive religion that has followers all across humanity, so it must've worked somehow, right?"

Tali nods. "Perhaps, Art. Perhaps."

"Yeah..." I close my eyes, leaning into Tali's touch. "I don't know if it's really true or not, Tali. I don't know if my God actually exists. But... It's comforting, I guess. It's comforting to know that there's an all-powerful being there who cares and loves us even in our mistakes. And it's nice to feel that, if we want it, he'll be ready to forgive us for our sins. I don't know if it's true, but it's a nice thought, especially at a time like this. Don't you think?"

I feel, rather than see, Tali nod. "I suppose so." She leans away from me, but doesn't let go of my hand. "If you want..." she says tentatively as she grabs my hand. "We could..."

I open my eyes and see that she's looking at the rosary. I get her meaning immediately, and I flash her a sad smile.

"I... I'd like that," I say. I then turn to the rosary. Hm... No, it wasn't the-

Aha! I remember now.

"Yeah," I say as Tali places her hand on the bed. "Now, this is all kinda complicated, so you don't have to repeat after me."

"That's all right," says Tali. "But it would defeat the purpose if you said it alone."

I nod. "Very well then," I say. I then look at the cross. "Now, I've never actually done this before, so bear with me."

Tali tilts her head towards mine in reply, and then she places a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I find myself looking right at her, seeing how her eyes shine with concern behind her glass mask. Y'know, this almost feels... normal. Here she is, helping me through a time of need just through a simple gesture like this. Maybe she doesn't believe in all this stuff, but... I appreciate it anyway.

I smile warmly at her before I turn my attention back to the hologram rosary. I then breathe in softly, and then recite the first words of the rosary cycle.

"I believe in one God, the Father the Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth..."


	46. Chapter 45

_A/N: Hey guys, it's me again, and welcome to the last action chapter of MV3! It's been a hell of a ride with this series, and it's gonna feel a little strange to let it go out into the world. But hey, it's been great, y'know?_

_Anyway, I won't say too much here. I'll just leave you with the chapter. I hope you guys enjoy!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 45: Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 6 "Pathetique"<p>

"All systems are a go Commander. We're ready to start the ShockPoint jump on your orders."

"_Very well then. Do it._"

"Aye aye, commander."

I look over to Isaac as he begins flipping the usual controls to start the ShockPoint jump with. Ellie is sitting right beside him, the two of them manipulating their respective controls as I lean against the wall. I look over at Tali, Vala, and Mordin from where they're standing close by. The prothean looks on as Isaac and Ellie do their thing.

"I still can't believe we'll need to cram civilians into this thing," Ellie says. "It's not going to end well."

"Well, we don't really have a choice," says Isaac. He then looks up. "I can't believe we're actually going to do this..."

"Yeah," I comment. "You were born on Earth too, weren't you?"

"Yes," Isaac says. He shrugs. "And the worst part has to be that I was looking forward to seeing an Earth that wasn't a complete shit-hole." He leans back in his seat. "Things improved, but I'll be damned if it didn't suck there."

"And the whole system too," Ellie adds. She sighs morosely. "This plan better work. I don't think anyone wants to blow up Earth only to find out it didn't work."

I nod. "I'm sure it'll work," I say. I cross my arms, though, and look down at the ground. "I... At least I'll get a chance to see it one last time..."

Vala nods sympathetically as she places a hand on my shoulder. "That is always a comfort," she says. She then looks up. "But remember, the main objective is to save civilians. We cannot afford to waste time admiring the scenery."

"I know, Vala," I say as I walk towards Tali. "I know."

Ellie glances back at us ever so briefly before she looks ahead. "Okay, brace yourselves. We're entering the ShockPoint Jump in three... two... one..."

The ship seems to rush forward for a second, and then before I know it I see the grey cloudiness that is typical of the ShockPoint jump.

* * *

><p>When we exit the jump, I see the mass relay right in front of us. Isaac steers us off to the side, and it's then that we all see the first of the ships on this force arrive. I recognize the batarian dreadnaught as it enters the system. Yeah, it's sure looking as majestic as ever in what's likely to be its final voyage. It cruises in, with a lot of frigates behind it. I also notice another two ships that look just like ours... Hm, looks like the rachni have been busy building. Good to see they were able to donate those ships to the evacuation effort. It's not much, but it's better than us being the only ship that doesn't need the mass relays to exist the system when it blows.<p>

I sigh as Vala looks to the ship. I see her eyes mist slightly, her hands clenching. I nod, walking over to her and patting her shoulder comfortingly.

"It's all right, Vala," I say.

"Verek is on that ship," she says, her voice a little colder. "And he will die when the relay explodes." She turns to me. "I trust him enough to understand that he knew what would happen when he boarded that ship, but it still..." She pauses, looking down and to the side. "It still feels wrong."

"This whole situation feels wrong," Tali says from where she stands close to me. "Destroying a homeworld... The very thought of it is horrifying enough, but that we can't stop it..."

"It's fucked up is what it is," Isaac says. He then looks out as the Normandy comes into view by the mass relay. "But at least Verek didn't rule out the possibility of saving civilians."

"Potential for so-called 'bright side' rests there," says Mordin. "Question is, will rescuers survive the attempt?"

"I guess we'll see," I say, opening a comm link to the Normandy. "Shepard, it seems like everyone's about in place now. Do I read you correctly?"

"_You do,_" says Shepard. "_I just hope the Reapers can't see the mass relay stuff from here..._"_  
><em>

"They probably can't," I reply as I look up. "So we're going to send out the shuttles soon, right?"

"_Yes_," Shepard says. "_The order is going out soon._"_  
><em>

I nod. "Okay then," I say. "We're ready for it whenever you are."

"_Go on standby, then,_" Shepard says.

I nod, looking to the others as the line cuts. "And maintain radio contact with the other teams," I add.

"I thought that went without saying," Ellie replies.

"It does," I comment. "But... you know."

Ellie nods, and then looks out. "I wonder how Kaidan will do," she mentions.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Isaac comments. "He's part of a good team. Even when they do run into those things..."

"I know," she says. "Still, without Shepard there you have to wonder how they'll do..."

"We'll find out soon enough," I comment. I then turn to Tali. "You ready?"

"As much as I can be," she says. "And whatever you need... If you need anything, I'll be right here."

I nod, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks, Tali," I say. "I'm glad you're here."

She nods, but before she can say anything more I hear the comms come to life. "_All right,_" she says. "_It is time to save as many of Earth's people as we can! We've come too far to surrender_ _now._" She pauses a little bit. While I think most of the troops are taking this as a pause for effect, I can tell that she's probably not seeing it that way. "_The Reapers have... They've taken everything from us. They've taken our Citadel. They've taken many innocent lives. And today, one way or another, they have taken our homeworld away from us. But that is not what is important. We are here today to put an end to their taking. They have taken so much away from us. Today, we say to them: not one thing more. We don't know what they want, or why they want it. But what matters is, we need to stop them. We may not win this war with our dignity intact, but we can at least destroy a threat that would topple the rest of the galaxy! And is that not worth fighting for?_"

I see her pause as if waiting for a cheer. I imagine some of the other ships might give her that, but...

"Oddly off-topic, considering mission objective," Mordin says. "Still, must keep troops positive, focused."

"_Then there is a force we must stop._" I hear a soft thump, and I imagine it's Shepard pounding her chest. "_To arms! Let's rescue those civilians!_"

I nod. "And that's our cue," I say.

"Of course," says Mordin as Ellie and Isaac kick the ship into gear.

"Well, it's off to Earth," says Isaac.

I nod. "Yep," I say. "Miami, hang in there. We're coming for you."

* * *

><p>The ship lands rather quickly. I guess it's good Isaac found this little spot over where Reapers can't find us if we land. All those Reapers just standing around imposingly like that aren't very good for that, and they've been firing at us the entire time we've tried to land. Just landing took a lot out of us, until Isaac managed to find this spot. If nothing else, we'll need to get out while we can, and in this spot... this spot...<p>

The door opens, and... Wait a minute...

I step out, looking around. And... No way. This has gotta be a coincidence...

I pause, looking around as Tali stops right next to me. "Art?" she asks.

I look up, recognizing... Yes, this building is what I thought it was. "How'd we end up here of all places?" I ask. "And... No way."

"You recognize the place," Tali immediately guesses.

I nod, looking out to the large building around us. "I used to come here all the time when I was growing up," I say. About five stories high, and it's... Yeah, the AMC would've been over there, with the arcade literally right behind us... I smile as I look around. "This used to be a mall. I'm surprised it's still here after all these years. You'd think that with the high-rises going up all around it..."

"A mall." Isaac's snort can be heard from within the ship. "We landed in a mall."

"Yeah," I say. "And it was a pretty big one, too." I look ahead, pointing right ahead. "There was a movie theater here. It was the closest one to my house, so we used to go there all the time. I mean... the building only went up when I was around seven or eight years old, but it still holds some fond memories..." I look up. "I wonder if there was any vendor change... Is it weird if I tell you that I still remember exactly where all the shops were? And that I still remember the times I'd come here with friends and family?"

I hear Vala step up behind me. "This is no time to get sentimental," she states.

... Yeah, this is all going to get destroyed soon, isn't it? And we're on time limit. Again...

I nod. "I know," I say. "But it's going to be pretty difficult _not _to get sentimental. This was my home for so much of my life..." I nod, pulling out my shotgun and cocking it. "But... I know what I've gotta do. Search for survivors." I nod as Mordin, Ellie, and Isaac all step out of the ship behind us. "We're right in the middle of South Miami right about now. This was a pretty big residential area last time I was here."

"So _that's _why this area looked like it was hit so hard," says Ellie. "Why is it so short compared to all the other ones?"

"Probably because this is the oldest building here, but we can't worry about that," I say. "For now... For now, let's get moving. We have survivors to find." I nod. "Tali, you're with me at all times. The rest of us can split up within a small area. Keep radio contact at all times."

"Got it," says Mordin. "Will do best we can."

And with this, we begin moving throughout the remains of this mall, our first destination is heading towards where Sunset Drive would be...

* * *

><p>"Strange how this area seems most intact," I comment as we move along. "But then again... I guess that's to be expected."<p>

I look into a familiar side street. Well, it's not so familiar now, but from the tumbled-down signs I recognize one of my old haunts. I smile ruefully, looking at it with some amount of sadness.

Tali catches on immediately as I see Isaac and Ellie rush towards a building in the distance. "I take it this place was familiar," she says.

"It was a restaurant," I reply. "I'm actually kind of surprised it's still here after all these years. Restaurants don't typically last that long, but... I guess that one did."

Tali spares a glance towards me. "Not in that building, though," she says.

"Oh God no," I reply, glancing up to see that it's part of what's now a five-story building. "It was just the one building originally." I shake my head. "Still, I remember sitting there with my grandmother whenever I'd visit from college. She'd always order the same thing every time we went, and I'd always order the same appetizer myself. And sometimes, if there was a news channel in the background, we'd turn the discussion to politics. And she always had some interesting insight on that." I chuckle. "And when that wasn't there, we'd just sit there and talk about the topics of the day." I look up, feeling my eyes water. "Good times."

"It must've been nice," Tali says.

"Yeah," I comment. "I guess it's nice to see it's still running."

"Aren't you going to chck up on your old school?" Tali asks.

I shake my head. "There'd be no point," I comment. "That was in downtown, and considering the stuff Sturge told me about its state when he came here, it doesn't sound like it was in any great shape. It's probably not there anymore." I look further down the street to some...

Whoah, the rail line changed a _lot_, didn't it? I mean, it's rubble, but there looks like it was given a substantial appearance upgrade. The parts that are more intact... well, they look a lot nicer than I remember, they really do. I don't see any trains anywhere, but... if the line is that nice, I can't imagine how sleek the new trains look...

Tali follows my gaze and looks at it. "But that is," she says.

"That's what I'd use to get to downtown for school every morning," I reply. "It didn't look like _that_, though..." I smile as I look at this. "It looks like the city finally invested their tax dollars right."

"Really?" she asks.

"Yeah," I say. "That line used to look a lot dirtier than it does now. And on top of that? The damn thing only went in two directions. Up and down. That was it." I shake my head. "I wonder if that changed too..."

"Probably," says Tali. "I can't imagine they would keep that for too long, and I have never lived in a city."

"Yeah, it wouldn't have stayed like that," I say. "Still, it was a hell of a ride over there. I got to see most of the city that way. I guess the view was nice-ish. It wouldn't blow you away, but you got to see just about everything in the city, really. Except South Beach."

Tali nods. "Can we-?"

"No," I reply. "It's too long a walk to justify it. Besides, knowing our forces, there's probably an Alliance group going in doing some evacuation of their own. Wouldn't want to impinge on that." I sigh, looking at the old rail. "Still, it's nice to see that this damn city probably cleaned its act up a bit. That makes me pretty happy."

"I guess," Tali says. "I wouldn't know about that, but I trust you to know this place more than I would." She looks around. "We should keep moving."

"Yeah," I say. "Yeah, we should. Come on."

With this, we move closer to the ruins of the MetroRail, with me checking my ammo once again.

* * *

><p>I look up at all the larger buildings, hearing the stomping of the Reapers in the distance every so often. I cock my shotgun again as I raise it, peering around the corner to find... absolutely nothing. I move forward, Tali following my lead as I cross the ruined street. I look at where we just passed by, shaking my head as we move.<p>

"Did I mention this area has changed a lot?" I comment.

Tali joins me as we both sidle up against the side of a tall building. "The landmarks you recognized were still there, weren't they?" Tali asks.

"Yeah, but that's the only thing I recognize around here," I reply, gesturing to the building behind me. "There was a school on this property the last time I was here, and now it's..." I turn to look at a nearby sign. "Um... apartments. Apparently." I shake my head, looking up at the sky briefly. "This city changed a lot more than I thought it would..."

"Evidently," the quarian replies. "This building is already being checked, right?"

"Isaac and Vala are going through it as we speak," I comment. "We should move on. Maybe..." I pause, looking down the street. Maybe we could... It's a bit of a ways away, but it's nothing that we can't cover by moving pretty quickly. I don't...

"Art?" Tali asks.

I lower my head. No, it's just... "Nothing," I say, looking at her. "It's just... It's a stupid little idea I had."

She leans forward, and I can tell by the way the lights of her eyes are furrowed that she doesn't believe me. "What were you thinking?" she asks.

"Well..." Eh... Well, this is Tali. I guess I won't lose any points if I just say it. "We stopped off close to where I grew up," I reply. "I mean, I grew up in this area, but... we're close to the house I grew up at. It's not terribly far from here, but if I remember this place right, my childhood house would..." I shake my head. "It was a stupid thought. It's probably not standing anymore. I mean, the times have changed so much it's probably not there anymore, y'know? And even if I were to go there..." I sigh. "There's probably no trace of my family left."

"But you came down to see this city," she says.

"I came down to see it, yeah," I say. "And I've seen a lot to think about here..." I then look around. "But I don't know if I'd go that far..."

"Well, knowing you, I think you want to know if there _is _a trace to be found," says Tali. "You came to see what became of your hometown, yes?"

I glance to the side, looking down the road. Do I...? Hm... "Y'know what?" I ask. "Even if there's no trace, I guess it would be nice to see what became of the property." I look over at her. "What's even there right now?"

Tali nods, taking my wrist in her hand. "Well, there is only one way we'll know for sure," she says. "Come on."

I blink. "Just like that?" I ask.

"Of course," she says. "Besides, there may even be civilians in that area."

I nod. "Of course," I say. I smile at her as she peers beyond the corner. "Thank you, Tali. For understanding."

* * *

><p><strong>The Normandy<strong>

"Well, Commander, this is going rather smoothly," says Joker as he maneuvers past a Reaper.

I instinctively duck as a Reaper laser nearly grazes us. "If this is what you call smooth, I'm not sure what you'd call rough!" Al replies.

"_I should think you would know Jeff's definition of 'rough' by now, Albert,_" says EDI._  
><em>

"That's what she said."

Al groans at Legion's joke. "Too soon, Legion," Al replies. "Too damn soon."

"Yeah, really," Jack adds. "Here we are blowin' up Earth, and you're sitting her making jokes?"

"We attempted to decrease stress levels present on the ship," Legion replies. "Analysis suggests that laughter is optimal to acquire the desired results."

"Yeah, but there's a time and a place, Legion," Joker adds. "And this isn't exactly the time or the place for that."

Legion nods. "We will store this data," says the platform.

We're crowded around the cockpit, watching the battle beneath us unfold. I move to the side out of pure instinct as Joker dodges yet another laser, knowing it's futile but not being able to help the reaction. I cast a glance at everyone else in the room, noticing Al look over at Legion. The geth remains looking forward, though I notice his single eye remains fixed on Earth beneath us.

"What's bothering you, Legion?" Al asks.

The geth platform looks forward. "This platform wishes to pose a query to Shepard-Commander," says Legion. He then looks right at me. "Shepard-Commander, what are your feelings?"

I blink, looking at Legion. "Why do you ask?" I say.

"When the geth exchanged data with the Creators after their return to Rannoch, we told them... a welcome," Legion replies. "We also gave the following query: 'how is it to be home'. When the geth posed this query to the Creators, some..." The machine pauses.

"They talked about how good it was to be home?" I ask.

"Yes," says Legion. The geth then looks at me. "Shepard-Commander... This platform wishes to extend condolences to your entire species on behalf of the geth collective."

Huh? I blink, crossing my arms. "Why?" I ask.

"The geth have difficulty understanding the feelings of the Creators when they left Rannoch," Legion says. "However, the collective suspects the feelings were... _negative_. Humanity has a high probability of losing its homeworld, but they cannot acquire it back. We felt that... condolences were necessary."

I nod, looking at the others in the cockpit before I turn my attention back to Legion. "Thank you, Legion," I say. "I don't think it'll be enough, but it's a start. On behalf of humanity, I'd like to-"

"_Commander!_"

I blink. Wait, what was that? That can't have... No, it must be!

"Verek?" I ask. "Is everything under control?"

"_I would not have called if it were,_" Verek replies. "_Our ship is being assaulted by an unknown force. They look human, but I doubt they are on our side if their armor is any indication._"

Jack growls. "Dammit, it's Cerberus," she says. "It's _always _Cerberus that's trying to fuck with us!"

I shake my head, looking forward. "Are you able to handle it?" I ask.

"_It is difficult, but we can handle it,_" says Verek. "_All the same, it may be fortuitous to bring someone here_."

I nod. "I'm on my way," I say. I disconnect the line, and look to everyone around me. "EDI, tell Jenny to prepare the shuttle."

Before I can turn away, though, I feel someone grab my wrist. "You're not going there, are you?" I turn to Albert immediately, seeing him there with his eyes wide in fear.

I glance down, and then nod. "They may need a little help," I say. "I'm not going to promise I can come back, but I promise I'll help them do what has to be done."

"This platform would not recommend that, Shepard-Commander," says Legion. "There is a-"

"I know, Legion," I reply, turning to the machine. "I know." I look to Al, smiling softly at him. "Al, you're in charge of the Normandy. If things come to the worst, I'll call the ship again."

"I just... I don't want to lose you again," Al replies, his expression crestfallen as he looks at me. "Losing you one time was hard enough, but-"

I bring my other hand around, patting him lightly on the back. My brother ends up looking at me, and he offers no resistance as I pull him into a hug. His arms wrap around my body, but it's only a temporary hug before I pull back.

"Don't worry about me," I say. "If I go down here, I'm counting on you to keep it up, okay?"

Al nods. "Just... Just don't hesitate," he says. "Not now. If you're going to do this for the galaxy..."

"I promise you I won't," I reply. I then turn to Jack, pointing at Al. "Jack, you better take good care of Al, otherwise I'm going to find a way to come back from the dead to kick your ass."

"Ha, I'd love to see you try," Jack replies. She then scoffs. "But seriously, Commander, I will. I'm not lettin' Allie-boy go that easy!"

Al can't even muster the energy to be embarrased at that point, and so I nod. "Atta girl," I reply. I look to the others in the room. "It's been an honor. I'll send Jenny back here when I'm on the Argyll."

"All right," says Al. "Do what you must, Jocelyn."

I nod, and then turn away. I briskly rush over to the elevator, keeping my shoulders high as I walk over there. Well... here I am, about to walk to my own death, I'm sure of it. I have to keep my composure, though.

It's... I don't know if I'm ready to leave again. Maybe there is too much here right now for me to leave to make this worth it. Maybe...

I shake my head. There's no time to worry about that now. It's do or die time. And if I think about it like that, nothing's going to get done, and the entire galaxy will be in danger for it.

I need to get my head in the game.

As soon as I think this, the door opens with a hiss, and I step onto the elevator to go down to the cargo bay for the last time.

* * *

><p><strong>Miami<strong>

I take another step forward, and then look up at the building in front of us. Compared to the buildings closer to where the mall was, it's rather small, and constructed out of concrete. It looks like the kind of place that would've been a nice place to live in once, before the coming of the Reapers. As it is now, there are large sections of the building that look to be in disrepair. There's even a long line of debris that looks like... well, I guess the best way to describe it is as if someone with a giant knife just carved right through the building. Or something. Either way, it looks very not pretty.

Tali steps up from behind me. "Well...?" she asks.

"I... This is where I grew up," I say. "Well, except that my house isn't there and all that." I look at the building. "Looks like an apartment complex, actually." I look to the street behind us.

"It must've been a nice street to live on," she says, gesturing back to the road. It's actually quite out in the open, with a park that the Reapers seem to have destroyed.

I shake my head. "It used to be _radically _different from this, believe me," I reply. "It used to be a very woody street. The trees sort of provided a guard against this place. But it was nice." I look over there. "We even had trees in my back yard."

"Your house had a back yard?" she asks.

"Yeah," I say. "Expansive, too. I remember a lot of great things there. I still miss all the times when dad would build a pit in the back every Christmas Eve so we could slow-cook our dinner that night. It was a pain for everyone, but the meat that came out of that pit every year was very much worth it." I smile. "And then... there was a tree-house in the back yard. I have so many fond memories of that old treehouse. It wouldn't be standing today 'cause it was falling into disuse even when I was still there, but... I still remember all the times my sister and I would go there. And me and my friends."

"It sounds like it was a nice place," Tali says.

"The best part was we never had to move anywhere," I comment. "So really, we'd just stay put and do the same old thing. Mom and dad would both wake us up, mom would pop some instant waffles in the toaster oven for my breakfast, we'd go to school, we'd come home... and on the breaks, we'd either take a vacation or sit it out here." I pull my shotgun close while taking care to keep the barrel away from my face. "And there were so many memories here. How I'd set the train up every time the Christmas season came around, how my sister would use the back room for dance practice, how my dad would always work in his office and how much fun I had ordering music scores on his computer whenever I had the itching to get some, how little Augie always used to have to run to his room to put on his shoes every time we left the house, how mom always reheated dinner... It was all good times."

I sigh. "And now, the last vestiges of those memories are going away forever..." I look down. "I guess I'll always have my own memories, but... there's something about having a place to attach them to that makes them all the sweeter. It won't be the same without this patch of land in this universe, I'll tell you that now."

Tali wordlessly walks next to me, placing a supporting hand on my shoulder. I close my eyes as she slowly rubs the shoulder supportingly. "I'm glad you're here," I comment.

Tali says nothing, pulling herself a little closer to me as we look at the ruins of whatever this place is. I don't know what this place was, but damn it... I kind of wish I knew what it was that sprung up here...

I shrug, turning my attention back to the building in front of us. "I didn't think there'd be anything of my family here, but-"

I then catch sight of a portion of a sign that was knocked down. Well, partially, anyway: it looks like one of those glass signs that's lit by a fluorescent light bulb. I pause immediately, looking at it as it... Wait, no, that can't be...

I immediately turn towards the fallen part of the sign, walking towards it with quickened step. Tali follows without being ordered, but she stops as I kneel at the ground in front of the sign. Wait, that last name is... No way!

I lift up the piece of the sign...

"Agustin Rodriguez Mem..." I read out loud, my lower lip quivering slightly. Holy... I look back at the building in front of us, my eyes watering slightly. No... This place...

I hear Tali shift her weight on the debris behind me. I close my eyes, sniffling slightly. There's no way... They still existed. The whole family still existed in this universe... I should've expected it, but my God... I bring my hand up, wiping my eyes. No, dammit Art, don't cry, not now. Whatever you do, don't cry now. This isn't... There's no way...

Augie...

When I open my eyes, I look over to the building ahead of us, and I get up on shaky feet. I take a few steps towards this building. It doesn't look like anyone's home, but maybe there's something... There's _gotta _be something in there, I know it! Even if my family never lived here in this timeline, I have to know...

"I have to see..." I say. I look to Tali. "I... I know we should be getting back to the ship and all, but... there's gotta be more than just that. There's gotta be..."

Tali nods understandingly. "I'm right behind you," she says. "You know you might have to brace for disappointment, right?"

"I know," I say. "I know. But I just have to see..." I look at the building ahead of me, noticing that its door is in complete disrepair. It's then that I realize my hands are shaking almost uncontrollably. Okay Art, just breathe in... Breathe in... you got this. Just calm down, and keep light...

Okay... Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Okay. My hands aren't shaking anymore... Good... You can do this.

I open the eyes I didn't realize I closed, and then I walk to the entrance of the building. I step up a concrete step right in front of the door, and then gently push it open. I raise my pistol just in case there are any Reaper units in there, and peer inside as I step into this... _home_, apparently.

When I push the door open, I'm greeted with the sight of a courtyard of some sort. There's a huge gash in the ground, and the stench of melted plastic and metal fills my nostrils immediately. I grimace at this, stepping into the place slowly. Huh, it looks like this place was really, _really _badly fucked up in here... And also like some of those complexes that used to pepper this part of Miami. It's only about two stories...

I advance forward cautiously. I feel the urge to call out to anyone, but... There might be husks in here. I don't want to attract their attention to me just yet. I step forward into it, looking around me. The doors all look open, and the place looks pretty much abandoned. Did everybody in here get out okay? Or is there...?

I walk past the rather large gash in the middle of the courtyard, and that's when I hear a soft breathing from somewhere. I also hear someone muttering a short distance away... It's soft, but I can hear it... And that muttering...

...

I know it's stupid, but...

"Hello?" I ask. "Is anybody out there?"

The muttering stops immediately, and I step forward. The silence becomes arresting, and I look up.

"Hello?" I ask, louder this time. "Are you okay there?"

"I... I'm fine," a voice responds from the second floor. "I'm fine, but... I couldn't get help... I've got a kid with me, he's really badly hurt... I don't know-"

"Sit tight," I say. My eyes are immediately scanning for... stairs! Over there! "We'll be right over!"

I nod to Tali, who's following me immediately. We both rush up the set of rickety spiral stairs pretty quickly, and find that there are all sorts of doorways that're open. I look through each doorway, before finally peeking into one. I see an older woman sitting there, holding an injured child close to her. Hm, looks like the Down's Syndrome kids Augie used to know, and on his leg is... Holy shit!

I run on over to the kid, looking at the leg immediately as Tali stands at the doorway, looking outside to make sure any intruders don't get in. "Holy crap, that looks bad," I say, opening my omni-tool as I look at that gash there... Holy crap, I can see bone! "Hold on, I've got a little something..."

I then apply medigel to the area affected. I nod to the older woman. "There, that should keep him stable." I nod to the older woman. "Are you all right?"

"Just shaken..." she says. She lets out a choked sob, and as I look to her slightly wrinkled face I notice the residue of tears in my eyes. "Please help him... He's the only one left..."

I nod. "Don't worry about him," I say. "We've got a medical professional on the ship. Right now, we have to get both of you out of here."

"Y... Yes, of course," she says. She stands up, brushing some graying hair out of her face as I take the child in my arms. "I didn't think anyone would come. Communications have been down, and no matter how often I've called for help... And all my children were in the panic room, but that was destroyed when..."

"It's not your fault," I say, patting her shoulder comfortingly as I prop the child against me. "Against these guys, I don't think there was much you could've done. You're... you're _very _lucky the Reapers didn't find you."

"The Reapers..." She then looks up. "Is that what those giant things are?"

"Yes," says Tali.

"What are they doing?" the older woman asks.

"They're... It's complicated," I say. "What it boils down to is: they're trying to destroy all life in this galaxy, we don't know why, and we're intent on stopping it." I turn to her. "But right now, we can't worry about that. Right now, we've gotta get you out of here, to somewhere safe."

The woman nods. "Away from this home, then," she says. "I understand. Just, one thing: where are we going?"

I blink, watching as Tali turns to look into the room. "We're... we're going off-world," I say. I swallow the lump in my throat that forms. Shit...

"Off-world?" she asks. "Isn't there a base camp around here? We should be safe there, right?"

I pause, looking at Tali. The lump in my throat seems to grow ever larger, and I turn to her with a sad expression on her face.

"It..." I sigh, looking to Tali. "It's a long story. Tali, would you keep watch?"

"Of course," she says, pumping her shotgun before stepping outside. She closes the door behind her, and then I turn to the older woman.

"W... What's going on?" she asks, fear entering her voice.

I sigh, patting the child I'm holding. "Something that I don't think any of us will be able to forgive ourselves over..." I say softly, my voice quavering.

* * *

><p>"And this is the only way?"<p>

I nod. "It is," I reply. "This'll be the last time anyone ever sets foot in this home. Well, and the whole world, that too." I close my eyes. "I'm sorry."

The older woman is tearing up, leaning against the wall for support. "I see..." she says. She then swallows, looking up at me. "This is horrible..."

"I know," I say, looking down at the ground. "I know."

She nods. "You came, at least," she says. "We... We should get going, then. If we stay here much longer, then your whole venture will be meaningless."

I nod. "I was just thinking the same thing," I say. I then walk over to the door. "We're further down Sunset Drive, if you want to know how far away we are. I don't expect much resistance because I haven't seen much of it here, but..."

"No no, it's fine," she says. "I can make that distance." She looks down at the child in my arms. "I better hold him, though. If you're one of two soldiers defending us."

I nod, transferring the child back to her. She nods, holding the child close to her chest. "Yeah," I say. I sigh sadly. "Is there... is there anything you need here? Anything at all?"

"The things I needed most were the children," she says. "And most of them died when the panic room was destroyed. I..." She tears up, and I see a few roll down her cheek. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't be..."

I nod, placing a sympathetic hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it," I say. "We can talk about everything later. If you want."

She nods. "Thank you," she says. "For coming for us. I thought nobody would come for us, and yet..."

"Well, I'm here now," I say. I walk towards the door. "And we're gonna get you and that child out of here." I frown... wait, I forgot to ask her name. "And you are..."

"Joenna," she replies. "Sorry, I should've introduced myself."

"That's fine, ma'am," I say. "I'm Art. We'll talk a little more when we're safe." I nod, opening the door and gesturing to her. "Once we're out of this home, I want you to stay between me and the quarian. Her name's Tali, and I trust her more than anyone else in this galaxy. If you stay between us and keep both your heads down, you should be fine."

Joenna nods. "All right," she says. "Lead on."

I nod, gesturing to the doorway. "After you," I say.

She walks forward, and then exits the room. I take a final glance at the room, noticing... this was a bedroom, wasn't it? It looks like a standard children's room with the bed over there... It looks kinda nice, actually. If a little out of shape thanks to what happened, but that can't be helped. For a second, I almost recognize my room in this place... Just change the color of the wallpaper and add that poster that dad got from when he visited Bayreuth while on business...

I shake my head as I exit the room, closing the door behind me. Well... at least I know what could've been...

* * *

><p><strong>The Argyll<strong>

I run ahead, holding my pistol up. I slam my hand on the door immediately, and suddenly the sounds from the bridge hit my ears at full force.

It's then that I see the scene laid out before me. Verek and Konkwo are both huddled against the console, with Verek glowing green. He eyes me briefly before turning his attention back to something that is firing at them. I look around the corner and-

Damn it! I thought we dealt with these guys at the Citadel!

I rush forward, looking right ahead as Verek flings a Cerberus trooper into the wall. I get into cover, taking enough time to notice that most of the batarian bridge crew is dead. Only the captain remains, and he's taking cover and firing a few potshots at us. I slide into cover next to Verek, taking a second to fire at a Cerberus trooper that's out of cover.

"Where the hell did _these _guys come from?" I ask.

"I do not know," says Verek. He then looks from where I came. "No reinforcements?"

"I came alone," I reply. "I'm not putting anyone else in danger of being blown up."

"Foolish," says Verek. "But I can see your reasoning." He then looks up. "There will be time for talk later."

"Yeah, I thought as much," I say. I then glow blue ever so slightly, and come up out of cover. I rush straight at the nearest trooper, my fist splaying out and connecting with the trooper in question.

"No!"

I then hear a few gunshots. I turn immediately to see Konkwo jumping out of the way as the rounds ping off of Verek's shields. I turn to the source of the gunshots and pull my pistol out immediately, but before I can fire, I hear the sound of a mass accelerator round penetrating skin. Verek's grunt of pain beside me clues me in that he's been shot, but I can't worry about that now. As Konkwo scrambles to cover, I fire once or twice at the direction the gun came from, hearing a rather loud grunt as I stand behind cover.

"You're making a big mistake, Shepard!"

...

Wait, I know that voice. It cannot be...

I turn my corner around, and sure enough, I see the Illusive Man walking into view. He looks a little worse for wear and he definitely hasn't been around those damn cigarettes of his, but that's him all right.

"You," I whisper. "Illusive Man."

"In the flesh," he says.

"I didn't think you were the type to do everything yourself," I reply.

"Normally, I'm not," says the Illusive Man. "But this... This is a very _special _case, Shepard."

I chuckle. "I didn't think blowing up Earth would get your attention," I reply.

"But of course it would," says the Illusive Man as he begins walking around. "It's hard to ignore the intentional destruction of humanity's strength in the galaxy." He then turns to where I am. "Think about what you're doing, Shepard! You're destroying our homeworld!"

"And?" I hear Verek say. I turn my attention to him, his hand clasping his stomach as he shakily gets up. "It is for the better of-"

The Illusive Man immediately turns around and shoots Verek point blank in the chest. Verek can only muster a look of shock before he's gunned down again. "The galaxy," says the Illusive Man. "I've heard that. But the cost to humanity would be _enormous_!"

"The cost to humanity would be even _worse _if let the Reapers go," I reply. "And the Reapers have to be stopped, regardless of the cost to humanity!"

"This could have been avoided!" the Illusive Man replies. "We could have stopped this, Shepard! We could have prevented it from getting to this point!"

"At what cost?" I ask. "The rest of the galaxy? Look around you, Illusive Man! The Reapers are all contained in this small area! If we don't destroy them here we'll be locked in a deadly war where billions more will be killed!"

"We could have used your crew member, found out a weakness!" the Illusive Man replies. "Perhaps the solution was to play along with them! We could have waited until we were ready!"

"And what was your plan then?" I ask. "Get indoctrinated so that any attempts at subverting the Reapers wouldn't work? Don't be ridiculous."

"It would be a better solution than to destroy Earth!" he says. He then looks to me pleadingly. "Maybe it's not too late. Maybe we can still pretend to be their servants, Shepard! We could save humanity, and avoid all this unnecessary bloodshed!" He then looks at me. "Think about it, Shepard! This approach will bring humanity to its knees! Think of the political ramifications!

Damn it all... Still with that safety of humanity bullshit, and all at the cost of everyone else. I can't blame him for being paranoid about losing so many civillians, but... I breathe in and out, shaking my head. I can't get through to him... Hm... Maybe...

"Think, _Jack_," I reply. "You told me back on the Collector base that I choked on the hard decisions. I understand your fury then. I would have given that base away, except I didn't trust your intentions with the base. Now we've got an even harder decision to make. Even if our homeworld is destroyed, we have colonies all around! And they will take up the strength of humanity as best they can! I will not hesitate to save the galaxy, even if it means destroying Earth. You've lost sight of what's important, Jack! You've fallen under the sway of the Reapers! Don't be short-sighted!"

I pause, glancing over cover with my pistol still at the ready. I look at the Illusive Man as he stands there, looking at me rather blankly. He's frowning in my direction, but I can see in his eyes.

"I... I've never heard anyone use my real name in thirty years..." he says, his voice quavering slightly. He looks at the ground, and I see a moment of clarity as his eyes widen slightly.

I then watch as he raises the gun, leveling it at his own chin.

"Shepard... Do what I couldn't," he says, looking right at me. "For humanity."

He then pulls the trigger, and I watch as his head explodes in a mess of blood and gore. I jump slightly as his body hits the deck, splaying out as his gun slides away from him.

I immediately rush towards him, but I know by the time that I get there that he's dead. _Nobody _survives a self-inflicted wound like that... Not even the Illusive Man. As I kneel next to him, though, I find myself looking down at him.

"You've got some crazy friends, human," says the batarian captain from above. "What was he blathering on about?"

I shake my head, turning to face Konkwo as he gets out of cover. "Something he felt very, _very _strongly about," I reply. "Even to the end, he cared about his species." I look to Konkwo as he feels a now unconscious Verek for a pulse. "I don't agree with his approach, but I can see he felt strongly about his species."

I then stand up, looking to Konkwo. However, he looks right at me after checking his commander's pulse, and I see that his eyes are wide, like a kitten when it wants your attention. His hands are shaking slightly, too, and before long he looks down.

I nod, kneeling next to Verek's body. Damn it...

I stand up, looking around at the bridge. "Well... I guess it's up to us three to keep this ship on schedule," I say, turning to the batarian captain. "Can the two of us pilot this dreadnaught so it faces the relay?"

"Of course," says the batarian captain. "I'm with you."

I nod, looking at Konkwo. The mute prothean stands up, his shoulders down as he looks up at me. "Don't worry, Konkwo," I say. "I plan on finishing this. It's what Verek would have wanted. Let's not make him disappointed, shall we?"

Konkwo nods, and then turns his attention back to the panel. I look up at the batarian captain as he makes his way to a chair on the bridge. Seeing his motions, I follow his lead, dashing over to the terminal on the far end and shoving the dead batarian pilot out of the seat. As I push him out of the way, I look at Konkwo for the last time as he breathes in and out. As he looks out the window, I see an expression cross his face that I haven't seen before. I didn't think a prothean could look more determined than Verek, but there it is.

"All right," I say, turning my attention to the window. "Let's turn this ship around!"

* * *

><p><strong>Miami<strong>

Joenna has just climbed over a piece of rubble when I catch sight of Isaac and Ellie looking right at us. I see that they've got a group of four teens with them, and they're all standing there looking very afraid. I look past them to see Vala and Mordin, with Mordin cradling a small form in his arms while Vala is busy tending to the wounds of what looks like two little boys and a woman looking to be in her mid-twenties or something. I look over to Tali as we all move close to Isaac.

The CEC engineer stands behind us. "There you are," he says. "We've been waiting a bit."

"Sorry," I reply. "We travelled a larger distance than I thought we did."

"They're here now, though," says Ellie. She then looks to everyone. "All right, if this is everyone, we're out of here."

I nod, looking at Vala. "It seems like we've found so few people," I comment.

"As you say, this was a residential area," Vala says. "In my cycle, that was a primary source for the Reapers. We were lucky to find this many civilians."

"True," Mordin says. "Cannot waste any more time." He looks to the survivors. "Into ship. Will bring you away."

"Good," one of the teens standing next to Ellie says. "We need to get far away from this hell-hole."

I nod, turning around and pointing my gun. "All right," I say. "Survivors first! Make it snappy, people, we're kind of on a time constraint here!"

The survivors nod, and then I turn around and look at Isaac. He comes up next to us as the survivors start to pile into our ship. I see him look up with a determined look. Hm... He doesn't look like he's had any _encounters_...

"And they're clean," I say.

"Well, Nicole hasn't appeared anywhere around here, so I think we're safe," says Isaac. "If the Reapers were ever here, they're just as scattered foot soldiers."

"So they moved on to greener pastures, then," I comment. I glance down. "I should've seen this coming. Maybe if we had, we would've found more civilians."

"We did what we could," says Isaac. "And that's all that matters." He looks back at the survivors before turning his attention back to me. "Now we've gotta get them out of here."

"Good thing we can just bypass the Citadel and go straight to ShockPoint," I say.

"Don't count on it," says Isaac. "But yeah, if we can get there, then yes, that will be great."

I nod. I turn back to see Vala board after the last of the survivors boards, and then I turn my attention to Ellie as she gets on as well. "Well, here's hoping this all turns out well," I say.

"Yep," says Isaac. He then jumps into the ship, and I'm left with only Tali.

I cast a final glance out to everything. Well... Well, Miami, it was fun. I never thought I'd have to say goodbye forever, but here we are, on the eve of the whole world's destruction. Maybe I should've gone to Boston, but the truth is that this is where most of my memories lie. You were a shitty city, Miami, but I still loved you anyway. I'm... I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry...

I nod, and then jump onto the ship. The door closes behind me and Tali, and then we all look out as the ship begins to lift off. The survivors are huddling close together, most of them not saying anything. One of the teens casts a final glance out the window as we hover above the ground, and then the ground disappears beneath us as we climb to the top of the atmosphere.

* * *

><p><strong>The Argyll<strong>

I look to Konkwo and the batarian captain. The mass relay is in full view now, and the weapon has been primed.

"We are ready to fire the weapon, then," the captain says.

"We should be," I say, looking up at the mass relay again. "Now all that remains is to allow the remaining ships to escape."

"Indeed," says the captain as he looks at the terminal. "According to the progress reports I've been receiving, many of the shuttles are starting to take off."

I nod. "Then it's time to bring the Citadel into the playing field," I reply. I then open a comm link to the Normandy, looking ahead. "Joker? Are you there?"

"_I copy, Commander,_" says Joker. "_Reports from the field are that most of the shuttles are kind of standing around dodging Reaper blasts. Is the order going to come out soon?_"

"Right now, in fact," I reply. "Joker, send word to everyone: it's time for the Citadel to come in."

"_Got it, Commander_," says Joker. "_Shepard, we're..._"

"I know, Joker," I reply. "I know."

Joker is silent as he cuts the link. I shift uneasily in my seat, and then glance back to Konkwo. "Don't fire until I give the word, all right?"

The prothean nods, and then we all look back to the mass relay. My heart races a little bit as I look at it, but by now I'm at peace. I briefly wonder what the afterlife is going to hold for me again. It's... _strange_... I'm concerned that it's going to end rather badly, but this is the only way, I can think. I've done what I can.

It's up to everyone that follows to do what they may.

* * *

><p><strong>Above Earth<strong>

Right as Isaac and Ellie pilot our ship so it breaks the atmosphere, I see the Citadel warp in quickly.

I look straight ahead at the Citadel. "That must be the signal," I say. "Come on, Isaac, let's get going."

Isaac casts a last glance at Earth. "Yeah," he said. "Let's get going." He nods, looking to the controls as Ellie moves in tandem staring up the sequence for the drive.

Vala looks down, and then looks at the rest of us. "For what it is worth, I am sorry," Vala replies. "In another time, and another place... perhaps I would have liked to visit this place."

"As would I," says Tali. "Even in the destruction, there was something there..."

I look up, glancing at the other innocents in there. I keep my gaze trained away, though I can feel my eyes water at the thought. "Yeah..." I say. "Yeah. There was something in there after all..."

I shake my head even as Tali places a hand on my shoulders. I look over to her as she pulls me close, and I offer no resistance. Mordin remains tacit off to the side, and the innocents we've saved sit there in silence.

"Well, here we go," says Ellie. "We'll enter the ShockPoint Drive in-"

And then, I hear something spark at the control panel.

I lean forward, looking at the panel. "Oh shit," I say. "That's not good."

I hear Joenna stand up. "Was that supposed to happen?" she asks.

"No," replies Mordin. "Anomaly in something, cannot tell what. But-"

Isaac suddenly lets out a scream that's loud enough to make the windows ring. His hands come to his head immediately, and he closes his eyes as if he's just seen a ghost. As he leans back, Ellie is already out of her seat asking what's wrong. This gets Mordin right by Isaac's side, and then I hear one of the teens in the back start to freak out.

And then, I see a hologram appear on the control panel.

...

"_Harbinger..._" I whisper.

The squid-looking being seems to stare straight at us. "_Human,_" he says. "_Your cycle has become an annoyance_."

I look right at Harbinger, butand feel my heart race not in fear but in fury. "Well, soon enough you won't have to worry about _that _anymore," I say bitingly. "Or much of anything, really." I glare at Harbinger's hologram. "If you're here to go on about how the Cycle will never end, you can just disconnect right now, 'cause there's _no _chance of you coming out of this as the victor."

"_You know not of that, human,_" Harbinger says.

"And why not?" I ask. "In case you haven't noticed, the relay is blocked off, the weapon is in place, we're on our way out, and the Citadel is fortified in ways you can't even fathom."

"_And yet there are possibilities unaccounted for,_" he says. "_We outnumber you infinitesimally. Our soldiers are endless. The night shall end._"_  
><em>

"Which is exactly why we won't be around here long enough for anything you can do to make a difference," I reply. "Just face it. You've failed, Harbinger. Give it a rest already."

Harbinger remains quiet, and then seems to look straight at me. "_Oblivion is inevitable,_" he says deliberately. "_No matter what happens, oblivion always occurs to those that do not ascend. This ascension is the true answer, and yet you and your cycle have vehemently refused our solution. __You refused our ascension, human. You will soon discover that this was the greatest mistake of your cycle when you make the inevitable descent into the uncertain. You fought against an assured ascension, and for what? A future that you cannot comprehend?_"_  
><em>

I frown. "I don't know yet," I say. "But if you're trying to tell me that being comfortable is the way to go, you're looking at the whole thing wrong." I shake my head while looking to Tali. "Tali, cut this message."

And with a last fizzle, Harbinger's hologram disappears from our sight. Isaac groans, and his breathing steadies as Mordin and Ellie sit him up.

"Wh... what the hell was _that_?" asks Joenna immediately.

"That was our enemy," Vala replies. She then looks at me. "Are you all right?"

I nod. "I'm fine," I reply. "That was more of an annoyance, really." I look over at Isaac as he calms down. "You okay, Isaac?"

"Yes, sorry," says Isaac. "When Harbinger came in, I just... I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," I reply. I then look at Ellie as she takes her seat.

"Well, we can't use the Shock-Point Jump right now," Ellie replies. "Your friend Harbinger reset the whole cycle, and I don't think we'll have time to get it started."

"It's a good thing we're close to the Citadel then," Tali says. "We should get in there while we have time."

"I was just thinking the same thing," says Ellie as she brings the ship in gear. "Isaac, you good to drive?"

But the CEC engineer is already grabbing the wheel. "Yeah, I'm good," he said. "Come on. Let's get away from here."

And with this, the two CEC people move this craft towards the Citadel. Isaac dips down and narrowly dodges a laser from one of the Reapers, and then we're on our way.

* * *

><p><strong>The Argyll<strong>

I look to the batarian captain and Konkwo as we look at the relay. My eyes dart back down to the terminal in front of me as ships begin to confirm that they're within the Citadel. Slowly, one by one, I see ships report in, and I feel my breath quicken. I look up at the relay...

"All right," I say. "We have only one chance to do this," I say. "Let's make it count."

I look over at the batarian captain. "You ready?" I ask.

"I'm nervous, but... I'm ready," he says.

I nod. "Konkwo?" I ask.

The prothean simply nods, and then turns his attention back to the terminal he's at.

"Prime the weapon," I order. "We'll fire it on my order."

I then turn my attention back to the terminal in front of me as more reports come in. I hear Konkwo type away at the terminal, and then look up at the relay.

* * *

><p><strong>Above the Citadel<strong>

I breathe in nervously as I see various ships within the Citadel. Some of them are firing at the Reapers outside. There isn't enough force to kill them, but they're just keeping the Reapers busy while the rest of us get inside. I find myself looking into the Citadel as more shuttles rush in. The Reapers' death-lasers are firing everywhere, and in a few cases I see them strike true in some way or another.

I watch as Ellie and Isaac dodge another powerful laser blast from the Reapers. I hear one of the teens whimper in fright, but Joenna is already on it comforting that teen as she looks out the window to where we're going. I can't blame them: I'm feeling a bit nervous myself. I'm sure my hands would be clammy, but... We've only got one shot at this. I just hope that Verek is ready over there.

I just hope... Yes! There's the Normandy! Okay, it's gonna be fine... and now we're above the Citadel. Excellent! I hope Mubuk and Servero are ready down there, otherwise we're all fucked...

I then look up as we get closer to the center of the Citadel. Above us, a frigate moves into place, its bay doors closing ever so quickly. Good... We're getting into place.

"All right," says Ellie as she opens something at the navigation thing. "We're sending that status report in... _now_."

I nod, looking up as lots of other ships start to enter the Citadel. I glance over to Tali nervously, and then feel her grip my hand as we settle into place close to a turian cruiser that's shooting at the Reapers beyond the Citadel's walls. Okay... Just calm down, Art... Everything will be all right.

It's about three minutes of anxious waiting later when I finally see the Citadel's arms begin to move. As they close in on us, I look outside the window, hoping for a last glance of Earth. I move my head every which way trying to get a view between the arms of the Citadel and all the chaos going on outside.

And then, for a brief second, I catch an un-blocked view of my home state. It looks pristine from here, all land and no clouds surrounded by the sea. I always did think of dick jokes whenever I saw that place, but now... Now all I can think of is that my home is going to become space dust in a few minutes. Everything I've ever known, everything that could've been... Oh God, I can't...

A Reaper flies over the spot just as soon as I've processed this, and then one of the Citadel's arms covers that Reaper.

A few last shuttles manage to get through the arms before they close completely, and that's when I notice that there are no Reapers inside of the Citadel. I pull myself close to Tali, feeling my heart begin to race at what's to come. Ellie and Isaac exchange a concerned look, and I see Vala glance at the ground as one of our survivors ends up sitting next to her.

I then feel a force act on us. It's a subtle force, nothing like what I felt the last time I was in a ship that was moving with the Citadel. It just leaves me feeling a little side-tracked, but the motion in my stomach does nothing to calm my mood.

And then, the feeling stops. I look at Tali, glancing at her as she takes her other hand and rubs my arm comfortingly. I then turn to Ellie, watching as she brings up the galaxy map. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see the arms open. Oh God... Here it comes...

* * *

><p><strong>The Argyll<strong>

"_Shepard, the Citadel is out of the Local Cluster_."

I blink as I look over at the terminal. That was Joker's voice. "All right," I say. "I understand. Is Albert still there?"

"_I'm here, Joc,_" Al replies. "_I'm here..._"

"Good," I say. "Take care of mom for me, okay? And make sure this galaxy is a good place."

"_I will, Joc..._" His voice seems small. "_Goodbye..._"

I nod, feeling my eyes water. "Goodbye..."

The link cuts immediately, and then I look at the mass relay. My heartbeat quickens at the thought of what I'm about to do, what I'm about to experience all over again. I feel my eyes water at all the things I don't think I'll ever do... Now that I'm here...

No, I can still do this. I have to do this. Even if it results in the loss of my life.

I then turn to Konkwo, and nod. "Go on," I say. "Fire the weapon."

The prothean nods, and with a few more taps on the terminal, I hear a hum from above us. That hum eventually turns into a sound that shakes the entire ship rather quickly, and then I feel the ship get displaced slightly as a loud boom sounds from above.

I turn to the window just in time to see a missile of what looks like pure energy racing towards the mass relay. It takes one, two, three seconds for the energy to rush forward, before I then see the energy collide with the mass relay. The energy holds there for a second, I see the relay begin to speed up...

...and then, I watch as the mass relay falls apart, the light around its center getting brighter and brighter with each second. I feel Konkwo put his hand on my shoulder, and then I look directly at the light as it consumes everything.

* * *

><p><strong>Above the<strong> **Citadel**

A bunch of red circles begin to emanate out from where the local cluster originates. I watch this, not moving an inch as the circles touch everything around it. It's just like it was over Aratoht, with the red circles erasing another part of the galaxy map.

And then, the red circles die away. And what's left is nothing.

All is silent within this ship as this processes in our minds. We just... We just destroyed... Holy shit... I...

I then sniffle loudly, sinking to my knees as the first of my tears comes to me. I'm only able to cling to Tali for comfort, and... Oh God... What've we done? We... Holy shit... No no no...

Tali simply puts her hand on my head, and that's about all I can take as I pull her close and weep into her. We defeated the Reapers, but... But that doesn't...

Oh God... Oh my God...


	47. Chapter 46

_A/N: Okay ladies and jellyspoons, and welcome back once again to the final chapters of Mass Vexations as a trilogy!_

_Well, I'm gonna let the chapter speak for itself, so... here we go!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 46: Departure<p>

"What've we done...?"

Anderson says this as he stands around the conference table for what may be the final time. I look up, Al standing in Shepard's place. He's keeping his gaze trained on the conference table, with the Council and the admiralty board and Dsrondo and Legion and even some guys I don't know. Mubuk and Vala are here too, both of them standing in for Verek. I find myself breathing in and out rather harshly as well, turning to look at Rael yet another time before looking back to the conference table in front of us. Wrex has a hand on my shoulder, which he holds there rather steadily.

"What've we done indeed..." says Victus quietly. "Earth should never have been destroyed. There was no other way, but... I wish things had been different."

"We all do," says Councillor Tevos. "This has been..." She glances down at the ground, her head bowed in respect. "_Goddess..._"

"Billions dead, and a homeworld wiped off the face of the galaxy," says Udina. "We should have looked for another solution! We should have searched for something..." And then I see his eyebrows shift slightly, his eyes watering. "We should have... we should have _listened_..." He then leans against the table. "This is our fault. If we had just listened, we could've stopped this!"

"How?" I ask. I then look at Udina, but maintain my glance at him.

"I..." He shakes his head, closing his yes and shifting his posture against the table. "I... I don't know. But anything would have been better than this..."

"Perhaps," says Dsrondo. "Perhaps."

"I believe this is... the ninth time that has been said," Rael observes. "And by now, we are speaking in information that has been well established by this point." He glances down darkly, his fist clenching. "Not that anyone can be blamed for it, of course." He looks at Anderson. "As cold as it sounds, you cannot concentrate on what has occurred. We can only concentrate on the future."

Al glares at Rael. "Why would you say that?" Al asks pointedly. "That's-!"

"No, he's right," says Anderson. "There's no use in thinking of what could have helped Earth. There's only the future to see." He then looks to the others. "Our colonies are still functional. We'll have to work with those, because those are the only things we have left as a species."

"Then it's a good thing you've got big colonies," Wrex comments. "I think."

"No, our colonies are certainly on the larger side." He sighs immediately. "But our center was always Earth. And with it gone..." He looks to the rest of us. "It's a good thing that the reports coming in from Alliance High Command indicate that our colonies were mostly untouched by the assault. It is as if they were focused on keeping the Citadel and then Earth when that fell."

"Indeed," says Mubuk. He then opens his omni-tool. "There may be a Reaper or two left, though."

"And that is not so much of a problem," says Valern. "Now we have the numbers to take them on individually without worrying about a prospective fleet. As well, we have much technology on our side. If-and when-these... _stragglers _do come, we _will _be ready for them."

"Very well," Mubuk says. "It is too early to tell what the effects of this shall be, though, no?"

"It is," says Anderson. "I guess... I guess we will see when Alliance Command tells me again. For now, I'm waiting for them to inform me of the next move. And that will be strictly between the Alliance and the Council."

I nod. "Then we'll let it remain that way," I say. I look to Al. "So that means..."

He nods. "We're done here," He says. "There is nothing more to see. This meeting is adjourned."

And with this, we all file from the Normandy's briefing room. As I get to the door, I take a final look inside the room. I keep my gaze trained on the table, thinking about all that's happened... It's been weird as hell. And also... I can't say it's been all that happy. Because it hasn't... There were so many great moments in this room. Like debriefing after the Collector base... being introduced to Jacob for the first time... meeting various people in here. But now, with all this... I just...

I shake my head. Joenna is still in the med bay. I should drop by and ask what the hell Augie's name was doing there. Now that all this has happened, I just... I need to know.

* * *

><p>I step into the medical bay, noticing that there are a couple other people as well. However, I see Joenna and the kid she was with there, the kid laying on one of the beds as Joenna sits beside him. I notice that Dr. Chakwas is standing by taking vital signs on one of the other patients. I briefly see some African-looking guy sitting across the bay from that patient, before I turn my attention back to the kid again. Joenna turns to me, nodding.<p>

"It's you," she says.

I nod, glancing at Dr. Chakwas as she nods in my direction. I lean against the wall, looking at the kid before turning my attention back to his caretaker. "How's he doing?" I ask.

"According to your doctor, he'll live," Joenna replies. She nods, covering her mouth. "_Gracias a Diós por esto..._" She looks down, and I see that she's tearing up. "He's the only one left out of everyone in that home. All the rest..."

I close my eyes and pat her back. "I understand," I say. I look down at the kid. "At least he's still alive."

"Yes, at least there's that," says Joenna. She then looks up to me. "Why come for us?"

I glance to the side, before grabbing a chair from the nearby desk and pulling it up to Joenna. "Call it intuition," I say. I shake my head. "I... I used to frequent the street that it was on, once upon a time. You probably never saw me 'cause getting around wasn't my thing, but..." I look up. "I always wondered about something."

Joenna tilts his head. "So you were visiting your home one last time?" she asks. "I mean... in the city of Miami?"

"Yeah," I reply. "I grew up in the area, so I thought I'd stop by to see what was there. And then I found your home there." I shake my head. "I guess I never really noticed it, but... There was something kind of familiar about it." I look at her. "See, my younger brother's name was Agustin as well..."

Joenna nods. "Ah," she says. "That's _quite _the concidence."

I chuckle. "You're telling me?" I ask. I give a lopsided smile briefly, before sighing and looking at Joenna. "I'm just... Do you know anything about the history of the home? I was just... I was curious. It's a hell of a coincidence, and I was just wondering..."

She nods. "It was founded nearly a century and a half ago," she replies. "It's been a home for disabled children." She sighs. "I only started working there a year ago. It's run by the family, mostly. Always has been." She glances to the side. "The founder's younger brother was physically disabled, you see. And she knew that homes were not always so nice..."

... _Anneli_... "So she offered the abandoned ones a place to stay," I say, nodding. "I see..." I smile, looking up at Joenna. "She must've been a great person to do that for any random stranger."

"Yes," says Joenna. "And the family's kept running it ever since." She then looks back to him. "Well, until now."

I nod. "Yeah, until now," I say. "Do you know anything else about her?"

"Hell if I do," says Joenna. "That was nearly a century and a half ago, and their book keeping was not so good back then. Personally, I'm surprised it lasted so long."

"So would I," I say, looking directly at her. I then pat the kid's leg, smiling softly. "I know we only just met, but... thank you. For telling me." I nod, patting her on the shoulder. "Let me know if he needs anything. If he does, I'll be right here."

Joenna nods. "I will," she says. "Thank you. For everything."

I stand up, glancing at Dr. Chakwas. She gives me an understanding look before turning her attention back to another patient. I then turn on my heel, walking out of the med bay rather slowly.

And as I exit, I find myself standing at the door as it closes behind me. I... My God. Anneli must've... And Augie... So that's what might've happened to the family. Did I never exist in this universe? Well... Maybe I did. Or maybe I didn't. But she went on to do that, huh? Well, she didn't know what she was gonna do when she went to college, so... Maybe that's it. She always did love Augie more than the rest of us, and that must've eventually translated into trying to help other people. And considering that she did a lot of things for Augie that she genuinely loved doing...

I wipe a tear from my eye. God damn it, this is stupid of me to think of this, but I don't care. My family did all right, at least in this place. And no matter what, I got an answer as to what they did with themselves. And in the end, that's about as good as I can ask. They got off relatively well for themselves. I think. I don't know what they did, but I have a feeling that this was a sign of good things for them. They managed to be happy even when I wasn't there. And if they were happy here, then maybe they eventually did overcome my death back there.

I guess I feel pretty good about that. Even if it's uncertain, but still.

* * *

><p>I take the elevator back up to the CIC deck, walking down the length of the ship to get to the cockpit. I look at the cockpit, noticing that Joker is sitting at his usual spot, but he's not really active. EDI's avatar is also up, but she just seems to be sitting there doing very little of note. I walk up to them, and see Joker swivel around to face me.<p>

"Hey Art," he says. He looks up at me. "Must feel pretty weird getting to be Darth Vader again."

I frown. "Last I checked, Vader only destroyed planets, not entire star systems," I reply. "And it was only one."

"That's true." Joker sighs. "Sorry. I wanted to try lightening up the mood."

I nod, patting the back of his chair. "I can understand that," I say, looking out the stars. I sigh. "You know, some part of me wants to believe that Earth is still there. It's just... It's so hard to believe it's well and truly gone."

"Yeah, you and the rest of the galaxy," says Joker. He looks at EDI. "Right EDI?"

"_Yes,_" the AI replies. "_I am sorry to bring up a fresh event again, but-_"

"There's no need, EDI," I reply. "It's all anyone's been talking about lately." I shake my head. "Ugh, I can't even begin to think of how the galaxy at large would take this."

"Some of them will probably hate us for that," says Joker.

I lower my gaze, looking down at the floor. "That wouldn't surprise me," I comment. "We did what we had to do, but..." I sigh, looking up. "God fucking damn it..."

"Yeah, exactly," says Joker. He then looks up at me. "I also heard from admiral Hackett just now."

I raise my eyebrows. "So he stopped by while I was busy below, huh?" I ask.

"Very breifly," Joker says. "He's making the rounds." He looks at the controls, and then back to me. "He's keeping the Normandy in flight."

"Really?" I ask. "That's good-ish news. I mean, considering everything that happened..."

"Yeah," says Joker. He looks up, a wistful look in his eyes. "It won't be the same without Shepard, though. But hey, at least I'm going to keep flying my baby." He looks at me. "He's even keeping EDI around, too."

I cross my arms. "I guess that's a good thing, right?"

"Seems that way," says Joker. "Thing is, he's probably going to restaff the whole crew, except for a few people." He shrugs. "Guess I can't blame him. Hell, all you'd need to do is slap a new paint job and we'd be better off describing just what it is this ship is."

"True enough," I comment. "I guess it's time this damn ship became an Alliance ship again."

"I don't think so," Joker replies. "I kind of like the Normandy when it's all full of crazy aliens with personal issues."

"_As do I,_" EDI says. "_There was ample opportunity to study organic behavior._"

...

"Thanks... EDI," I reply, looking at her avatar uncertainly. I shake my head. "Anyway, Joker, I guess that's a good thing that you're still going to be here."

"Yeah," he says. He then looks out. "Well, I have a few systems to check on." He looks up to me. "You're not..."

I shake my head. "I probably won't stay on this ship," I comment. "Sorry, Joker."

"No, it's all right," he said. "After something like blowing up the world, I can understand not wanting to destroy more planets."

... "Okay, seriously Joker, that wasn't funny," I reply, glaring right at him.

He sighs. "Sorry, sorry," he says. "But seriously, though, I can understand not wanting to fight after that. That's just bullshit right there."

I nod. "It is," I say. I sigh, looking out the window. "Well, I guess this is goodbye, then."

"You mean 'until we meet again'," says Joker. "I may still be flying my baby, but I'm not about to lose contact."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," I reply. "I guess we'll see each other around, Joker. You take care of EDI and the Normandy, all right?"

"Sure thing," Joker says. "And you take care of yourself."

With this, he turns back to the windows, and I turn away from him to walk down the CIC again.

* * *

><p>I opt to walk through the tech lab, where... Hey, it's the krogan-salarian entourage of the Normandy. It looks like Wrex stayed behind with the others here in the lab when we all went down. Jarel and Anahit are both standing off to the side, with Mordin typing away at his terminal. Anahit looks down sadly, and I notice for a split second that her hand is resting against Jarel's where they stand. Grunt is off sitting in the corner maintaining his shotgun.<p>

I don't get to do much, though, for as soon as I walk in Wrex's attention turns to me. "Hey," he says, and I notice by the way his voice seems softer than usual that he's _trying _to be understanding. "You okay?"

I sigh, shaking my head. "Well, I'm doing as good as I can considering that I just watched my homeworld blow up," I reply. I shake my head, looking over at Wrex as I lean against the table. "I got to see what was left of my home, though." I look at Wrex. "And no, it wasn't just my city. I..."

"Oh..." Jarel looks down. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry for your loss."

Anahit nods. "As a daughter of Tuchanka, there is not much that I can say to assuage the pain," she says. "But I am sorry for your loss."

I nod. "Thanks," I say. "It's... It's gonna be tough." I look over to Jarel and Anahit while sighing sadly. "Good thing we didn't have to do that to Tuchanka, at least."

"Perhaps," says Anahit.

"Indeed," says Mordin. "Can see potential difficulties for human race. Loss of military power. Many consequences. War with batarians, war with others, maybe even loss of Council seat. All possibilities."

I look to Mordin, my eyes widening. "Mordin, you don't think that'll happen, do you?" I ask. "I mean, with Dsrondo, and the Council, and..."

"Times change," says Mordin. "Humanity has dark days ahead. Wish Shepard was here to act as symbol. Humanity needs symbol. Lacks one, at the moment."

I sigh, crossing my arms. "I guess we do," I say. "I just..." I look at Mordin. "I don't think all that's gonna happen."

"We'll see, I guess," says Jarel. "Anything can happen from here, you know." He then looks up. "Well, after this, I guess we all leave the Normandy."

"Yeah," I say. I look over to Anahit. "I guess you're returning to Tuchanka?"

"Yes," Anahit replies. "As is Wrex. We have much to do there on Tuchanka."

"Yeah," Wrex agrees. "Those fools are probably wondering if I've died in battle yet."

"You're not worried about Bakara?" I ask.

"Eh, she hasn't contacted me even after the thing that happened on the Citadel," he replies. "And no krogan would kill a female after everything that happened with the Jorgal clan, so I think she's handled it well enough on her own."

"And I'm going down with them," says Jarel. He then looks at the ceiling. "We have a genophage to cure, after all."

I nod. "So that's finally happening, huh?" I ask. "Is the Council okay with it?"

"They will be, eventually," says Jarel. He looks at Anahit briefly before turning his attention back to me. "After that, I'm probably going to go back to the Citadel. The Council will call on me again eventually."

"I bet they will, Spectre," I reply, turning my attention to Mordin. "And you?"

"Will work," says Mordin. "Much to be done. Oversee immunization for quarians. Research dreamshare. And then, enjoy nice retirement on beach somewhere," he replies. "Maybe experiment on sea shells."

I chuckle. "What would you do with the sea shells?" I ask.

"Do not know," says Mordin. "But will find out eventually." He then bows his head. "Pleasure being part of the crew."

I nod. "Yeah, we've had some crazy times," I comment. I look at Wrex then, sighing. "And you... well, it's been... I don't know."

"You say that like we're leaving each other forever!" says Wrex. He shakes his head, patting me on the back. "Let me just tell you something now, kid. If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to call. You got that?"

I nod. "Yeah," I say. "I got it, Wrex." I then nod at him. "Thanks." I sigh, looking to the rest of them. "Well, it's been an honor guys. If I don't see you when we get off the Normandy, know that it's been... well..."

"Fun?" I turn to see Grunt standing up and walking towards us. "I don't know. It was fun, but..." He looks at me, and then closes his eyes. "Sorry about Earth. We should've ripped the Reapers apart with our hands for that."

I find myself chuckling. "It certainly would've made an amusing image," I reply.

"Maybe," says Grunt. "But... It's not right, that Earth had to be destroyed." He crosses his arms, looking at me. "If I ever see a Reaper again, I'll tear it apart myself."

Well, I don't think he'll be able to do anything with that, but... I guess it's nice. "Thanks, Grunt." I say. I then pat him on the arm, nodding solemnly. "You take care of Wrex, okay? He can handle himself, but it can't hurt to have someone looking after him."

"Of course," Grunt replies. "If anyone tries to stop the Urdnot clan, I'll kick their asses."

I smile at grunt, and then resume my solemn expression. I nod to everyone else in the room, and then I walk out of the tech lab. I guess... well... I guess there are some other things I need to do.

* * *

><p>When I go across the way, I notice that the two remaining protheans and the oravore are all standing at the window of the armory. I nod, walking in as they turn their heads towards me.<p>

"Keeper," says Vala.

I shake my head. "Please, call me Art," I comment as I walk up to them.

Mubuk bows his head before me, and then looks out of the window. "This galaxy seems so familiar," he says. "And yet, at the same time, it is very different."

"_Very _different indeed," I comment. "You're strangers in this place now, you know."

"Perhaps." Servero looks at me. "Art, may I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead," I say, gesturing towards Servero.

"Are there any historians interested in Prothean history?" the large oravore asks.

I blink, looking up at him. "Why do you say that?" I ask.

"Because these histories are _terribly _written," says Vala as she opens her omni-tool. "Many of these histories contain incorrect facts about prothean society. And yet, so many of the historical journals take it as fact. We cannot believe that organics would be so foolish as to think some of these theories are true!"

I shrug, looking at Vala. "Well, you can't really blame them," I reply. "I mean... with all the ruins and stuff, we only had speculation to go off. It might not be that surprising that we got stuff wrong, it really might not." I shrug. "I mean, imagine if you had encountered ruins left behind by a species you didn't know, and you only had a bunch of items in really bad condition to go off of to figure out how they lived."

The three of them then look at each other, clearly pondering my question. Servero looks out the window, Mubuk scratches the top of his head, and Vala crosses her arms and closes her eyes after this initial glance.

Finally, it's Mubuk who sighs. "I suppose that is true," he says. "Still, there is much that I feel should probably be corrected."

"Then why don't you contact a historian?" I ask.

"We do not know where one would be located," says Mubuk.

"Hm... You could always ask the Council," I comment. "I doubt they'll do anything to stop you considering that... well, here we are."

"Indeed," says Vala. "We will consider this option, then." She then looks out the window. "I suppose it would be a good opportunity to see the rest of this galaxy as well. We have seen quite a bit, but we have yet to explore the entirety of this place. I should like to see it in the future."

"As would I." Servero looks out. "Perhaps we can even help guide the future generations of this galaxy."

"Maybe." I look to the rest of them. "Well, I hope you guys do well in that thing. It's been... strange."

"Strange may be a rather underwhelming way of saying it," Vala replies. "But I do hope you attain happiness in your future endeavors."

I nod, walking out towards the door into the CIC. "You too," I say. "I'm going to go around the ship, see what else is going on with everyone."

"Of course," says Mubuk. "Good day."

I pause at the door, bowing politely as the others nod their heads. I look at them, and then they turn their attention back to the stars as I leave the room.

* * *

><p>I end up walking right into the hangar bay, seeing Jenny morosely hanging from the rope ladder there. Gregor and Kal are both by her side, Kal's mask in Jenny's hands as the quarian looks at her. I see James with Carhon's family, and they're all standing close to Jenny. Hm... It's a veritable gathering of people.<p>

I approach, and that's when M'yask looks right at me. "Hm..." She turns towards me. "It's you."

James also looks in my direction. "Oh hey, _chiquitín_," he says. "Well... Today was a terrible day, wasn't it?"

I sigh. "Terrible doesn't even _begin _to describe it," I comment.

"I can't even begin to imagine how difficult it was to destroy your planet willingly," M'shk says softly as I step into place. "Especially after everything you went through to try to save the civilian population of Aratoht."

I nod. "Thanks," I reply. I then walk over to where Jenny and Gregor are. "It's... It's been a little weird. And fucked up. Can't forget that part."

"Ya," Jenny says. She looks up. "I still think we did it all arseways, mate. We could'a stopped that ol' tip from bein' a non-existant tip, y'know."

"Maybe there was a way," I say, glancing down. "But if there was a way... I don't know if it exists." I look over at the colonist. "At least you two were raised on a colony, though."

"Yah, if you're an optimist," Gregor replies. "We're still right screwed, though."

"Yeah, I hate to say it, but he's got a point," James said. "With Earth gone, the colonies are going to have to rely on the Alliance for everything."

"An' after that whole hames with those insect bastards, the colonies are not the least bit trustin' of 'em," Jenny adds. "If ya ask me, the soddin' wankers 'ad it comin', but..." She leans back. "At the same time, can ya blame 'em now? 'Specially after we went an' blew Earth ta flamin' rocks?"

Kal pats her on the shoulder. "Well, Jenny, I guess we'll have to see what happens," Kal says. "Maybe it won't turn out that bad."

"I don't know," I reply, looking at Jenny. "From what I hear, the forecast for humanity isn't that great. That's what I hear, anyway. We could all be wrong, but..."

"I know one thing for sure: Earth's destruction could invigorate batarian pirates again," says Vag'rash from where he stands. "I mean, with the slightly decreased military power, the panic that's probably going to take hold over there... Whatever the case, that wouldn't be good."

"Well, we could always make their lives difficult," says M'yask. "I think. If that's possible."

"With the hegemony toppled, though, the pirates will lose most of their business," says M'shk. "That's what I hope anyway. Pirates are resourceful, but if there's no market for what they get they'll probably get hurt. And with Dsrondo at the helm, I believe you can trust that it will not end well for the pirates." He then looks up, all four of his eyes getting misty. "If only Carhon were here to see it."

I nod. "I don't think he'd be too happy that we blew up a planet, though," I comment.

"Yeah, that would've made him a little mad," James adds. He looks over to M'yask. "At least now you'll have time for a funeral."

"Yes..." M'yask looks down. "It's still so hard to believe he's just... _gone_."

James nods. "I have a hard time believing it too, still," he admits. He looks at M'shk. "You're telling me when the funeral is, right?"

"Of course," says M'shk. "And until then, we go about our business."

"And at a time like this, that's about all you can do," I say. I look over to Jenny and Gregor. "I guess you're returning home?"

"Yah, mate," Jenny replies. "I've seen enough bloody adventure in this 'ere tip of a galaxy ta last me an entire _lifetime_. Ya couldn't get me outa Horizon if ya prodded me with a bloody cattle prod at this 'ere point."

Gregor leans over his sister. "An' if they tell ye that we're goin' off at Rannoch?" he asked.

Jenny chuckles, a soft smile coming to her face. "Now _that's _a diff'rent story, mate," she says. She then looks over at Kal, patting his knee. "If this ol' bob's still there in a year, I'm headin' right over!"

Kal blushes immediately, and then looks away. "I'm not old, ma'am..." he replies, and... Wait, is Kal seriously being... _sheepish_? Damn, that's... Huh. Well that's interesting. I think.

"Oh, ya know what I mean, Kal," Jenny replies, patting the quarian's knee. "Jus... don't quite writin', ya hear?"

"I hear you, Jenny," Kal replies. He looks up at James. "And you, sir? We've been talking about the others, and I still don't know where you're going?"

"I don't know," says James. He looks right at me. "I was offered to be part of the N7 program, actually. I may take them up on it, especially since they'll need all the N7s they can get now." He looks up. "And after that? Who knows?" He looks up. "I don't think I'm backing out of the Alliance now, though. Deserting them once put me on thin enough ice with them as it is."

"Which is a damn shame," says M'shk. "I was wondering if he'd be interested in living in... _wherever _we go. As a personal friend."

"Eh, I'll stop by," says James. "Just as long as those _hijos de puta _slave runners don't get next to us, that is."

"I'm not making any promises, but we'll do our best to keep that out," says M'yask. "But you're always welcome in the Erash house. Remember that."

"I sure will," he says. He then turns his attention to me. "And you, _chiquitín_? What'll you do?"

"I... I haven't totally decided yet," I say. "But I think I have some idea of what to do." I sigh. "I guess we'll see."

"I guess we will," says Kal. He then looks around the hangar bay. "This was a nice ship, sir. I'll miss it."

"I think we all will, Kal," I comment. "I think we all will."

* * *

><p>After some time, I end up taking leave of them. My wandering brings me up to the captain's quarters. It just feels... <em>weird<em>, never being able to see the Commander off. I think... Maybe it's time to say a goodbye to that place as well. Joc probably didn't like those quarters, but dammit, it only feels right to head up there because that's where she was some of the time. I guess.

Also, it's the only place I can think of to pay my respects to her. Jocelyn Shepard was a _hell _of a woman, and I would _never _have followed anyone else this far into the heat of battle. So for her... I'm going up there. Because dammit, I need to pay some respects for her. Well, right now, anyway. 'Cause then there's probably going to be a second funeral, and I can get all blubbery at that again. So yeah.

I sigh as the elevator chimes. I step outside the elevator, cross the short distance into the room. As the door opens, I notice that I'm not alone. Al and Jack are in there, with Al sitting on the bed and Jack holding him close to her. Kaidan is also there, and I see that his head is bowed. Jack turns to see me enter, but I simply walk slowly and quietly up to them. I glance at the floor to see that there's nothing there, before I immediately take a place next to Isaac.

I nod to Kaidan, patting him on the shoulder as he gives me a nod. It's then that I notice that Kaidan and Al are both pretty unhappy about this. In fact, Jack doesn't look too happy either, and I _swear _that she's looking genuinely sad for the first time ever. Either way, though, she holds Al close, and Al is basically just burying his head into her shoulder. I say nothing, joining in on the silent mourning that is going on around me.

And the silence remains for at least another minute after I enter.

Jack, as usual, is the one to break it. "This sucks," she says. "Shepard didn't fucking deserve that."

"She didn't," Kaidan agrees. "She was an amazing woman." He sighs. "Where do we go from here?"

"Who knows?" I ask.

At this question, we all remain silent. Nobody has anything they really want to say, but... I don't know. It's tough to say anything. I shake my head, closing my eyes briefly as Isaac pulls me closer to the group.

I then finally hear Kaidan clear his throat. "I... I'm going to keep her memory alive," he says. "I was formally invited to join the Spectres when Shepard was acquitted. She told me I should do it." He nods his head. "I'm going to. For her sake."

We all nod at this, and I look to Kaidan to see that he's standing resolutely now. "And I... I'm going over to that Grissom Academy. Whatever that place is." We all look at Jack. "Dammit, if she could inspire some fuck-up like me to do this kind of shit, then I'll bet there's a whole group of kids that need what I needed."

I find myself cracking a smile as Jack finishes saying this. Ah, that's typical Jack. "Yeah," I reply.

Al looks ahead of them, his face stoic. I can still see the place where tears have been falling, though. "And me..." he says. "I guess it's up to me to carry on her legacy." He nods. "I'm going to do the best I can for this galaxy from now on." He nods. "For Jocelyn."

"For Jocelyn," I comment, raising my fist.

The rest of the group nods, solemnly pumping their own fists up to touch mine. We hold this for a few seconds, and then look at the ground as we drop them to our sides again. I look at them briefly, not needing to say another word. Earth was lost in this tragedy, but... well, we also lost our commander. Jocelyn was a wonderful woman. And she left behind a hell of a legacy.

Dammit, Jocelyn, you'll certainly be missed.

* * *

><p>After a while, I leave Jocelyn's quarters, leaving the three of them to their resolutions. I have other people I need to say hello to. There's... there's a lot that needs to be said between a lot of people, and...<p>

It's in this state of mind that I end up entering Isaac's quarters. As soon as I walk in, I notice that Isaac and Ellie are both in there. They turn their attention to me almost immediately, and it's then that I notice that Miranda is also down there with them.

"Ah," says Miranda. "It's you." She then walks over as I sit on the bench that Zaeed used to keep Jessie on. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," I reply, looking at Isaac and Ellie as they come closer.

"You sure about that?" asks Ellie. "The homeworld just did get destroyed..."

I sigh. "I know," I say, looking down. "I still can't believe it's gone..."

Miranda sighs. "I can't either," she says. She then looks out. "I'm not sure what this will mean for everyone." She then looks to me. "And it's a lot of pressure on all of us."

I nod. "Thanks, but I think I'll be okay," I reply. "It's nice to know you guys care, though."

"Of course we do," says Miranda. "We're friends, aren't we?"

I nod, looking at her. "We are," I reply, offering a smile. "We are..." My smile wanes after a few seconds, and then I look at Miranda. I then look up, sighing before I turn to look at Miranda again. "So what're you going to do now? You can't go back to Cerberus, you know."

"I don't quite know yet," says Miranda. "But with Cerberus gone, I may have to relocate Oriana. _Again_." A scowl forms on her face. "Unfortunately, the problem of my father still exists..."

"Why don't you just go to where he is and take him down?" Isaac asks.

"I've thought about it," says Miranda. "And I imagine that with Earth taken down, most of his assets would be destroyed." She shakes her head. "But it may be even more dangerous now. He's lost most of those assets, which means that he'll want me and Oriana even more."

I nod. "So you're going to find him, right?" I ask.

"Well, the Shadow Broker's network is temporarily down," says Miranda. "But once I've gotten Oriana to a safe place, I plan on finding my father and putting an end to everything once and for all."

Isaac nods, looking right at Miranda. "And I don't think you can do it alone," he says. "Let us help you."

Miranda shakes her head. "Thank you, Isaac, but I think the Alliance may be more interested in the fact that you're a brilliant engineer," Miranda replies. "The Alliance could use people like you now."

Isaac looks down, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess that's true," he says. He shakes his head. "I don't know, though. I'm... I'm _nervous _about doing that kind of thing ever again. I made things for someone once, I don't think..."

"The Alliance isn't crooked," Miranda replies reassuringly. "It may be a military organization, but at the moment I don't think it'll try anything like what your... agency did. EarthGov?"

"Yeah, EarthGov," says Ellie. "I don't know, Isaac, I think it's safe to assume that... well... we're safe here."

Isaac looks up. "I hope that we can say the same for the rachni soon enough."

I nod. "Yeah," I comment. "The rachni are back, huh?"

"I guess we'll see with them," says Miranda. "I have a feeling things will work out, though. It's because of them that we were able to find the way to stop the Reapers, after all." She looks up. "Still, I think the Council may have something to say about that."

"Probably something not so great," I comment, pulling my legs up to my chest. "Me? I can't say I blame them. The rachni _were _pretty nasty back in the day."

"But they're better now," Ellie comments as she looks up. "I guess we'll see..." She then looks at me. "And you? What're you going to do?"

"Me?" I sigh. "I'm probably just gonna go back to my music." I sigh. "I've had _enough _action to last me a lifetime. I've seen shit no ordinary human should ever have to see. And... well..." I look up, sighing sadly. "I'm going to have to figure out where to do that, because I can't do it on Earth anymore."

The mood of the room immediately falls again. "Yeah," Isaac agrees. He then looks to us. "I just hope everything resolves itself with this."

I sigh. "I do too, Isaac," I comment. "I do too." I look at Miranda. "So... You feel like getting the rest of the Brotherhood together? One last hurrah?"

Isaac raises his eyebrows. "Still?" he asks.

"Why not?" I ask. "It's just... we're probably going to disband once we're all kind of evicted from the Normandy, so..."

"Hm, that is true," Isaac says.

Miranda nods. "I think that would be fair," Miranda says. She then looks up. "EDI, get the Brotherhood together."

EDI's avatar appears by the door. "_Of course, Miranda,_" EDI replies. "_I must say, it will be odd without many of you here. Is this what organics would call... nostalgia?_"

I shake my head. "Not really, EDI," I reply. "It's something else."

"_I see...__ I will log that in my data banks,_" EDI says. There is then a silence, but EDI doesn't go away. "_It has been an honor._"

And with this, EDI blinks out. I sigh, shaking my head. "Man, it's gonna be weird, adjusting to civilian life again," I comment.

"I guess we all have some difficult adjusting coming up," says Miranda. She then looks up. "Let's hope it doesn't get too difficult."

"Let's hope indeed," I reply.

* * *

><p>"So what now? Earth's destroyed, and..."<p>

My legs are already pulled very close to my body as Kasumi asks this again. We're in starboard observation, of course, and those of us in the Brotherhood are gathered. Or rather, what's left of it, anyway. Jeez, after the war really got started, it sure got torn to pieces, didn't it? It started as a pretty large group, and now... Now it's splintered down to this. It's so...

I look to the others in the room. Miranda is standing by the window, looking outside with a solemn expression on her face. Wrex is sitting at the bar, and even he seems to be affected by all this. Isaac, Kasumi, Sturge, and Dr. Chakwas are all off to the side, glancing sadly out the window, Sturge swirling his fourth Serrice Ice Brandy. And Tali just remains seated next to me, rubbing my back repeatedly. I just remain there, looking ahead of me in the silence.

Wrex shakes his head, placing his ryncol down. "Well..." The krogan shifts slightly, awkward... wait, Wrex? _Awkward?_ "I'm sorry this happened."

Miranda shakes her head. "Don't be," she replies. "It's not your fault anything happened."

"Doesn't stop something like this from sucking," Wrex replies. "Makes it worse that we can't even kill the bastards responsible now."

"It wouldn't make a difference even if we could," Sturge replies. He downs more of his drink before placing it on the counter. "There was so much greatness on there... And now it's all lost."

"And all the innocents..." Isaac glances down to the side. "How many innocent people died?"

"Well, Isaac, we-"

"Rhetorical question, Kasumi," Isaac interrupts. He shakes his head. "I'm just glad we got those bastards."

"Even with the one or two that may be elsewhere in this galaxy?" Tali asks.

"Yes," says Isaac. "Yes. At least now we only have to deal with small numbers rather than entire legions of them." He looks up. "But dammit... It doesn't make up for the lost lives..."

"When can it ever?" Dr. Chakwas asks. She sounds downright broken. "We've survived, but what now?"

Her question is answered by complete silence. I look ahead at the stars around us. And to think...

"I don't know," I say. I then look up. "But we've gotta keep going. That's all we can do."

Tali nods, patting my back. "I believe it is," she says. She looks up. "I believe it is..."

I then take Orange out, and look at the now-useless item in front of me. Well... I guess it's true what Orange said. From here on out, we're on our own. We have to forge our own path. Even with the Earth gone, we have to go on. It's the only thing we can do, really. No use looking at the past. There's only the future, and what it holds for all of us.

I look at Miranda. "So what's to become of the Normandy?" I ask.

"The Alliance hasn't decided yet," Dr. Chakwas replies. "We can rule out scrap metal, though."

"Yeah, this ship doesn't seem like the type for that," Kasumi comments.

"What's more likely is that it will come under the command of a new captain," says Miranda. "Albert, most likely. And then we go our separate ways from there."

"Off to the world, like they say," says Isaac. He looks at the rest of us. "I guess I'll finally get an opportunity to explore this galaxy."

"Perhaps," says Miranda. "Either way, this marks the end of us as a single crew."

"Indeed it does," I say. I look around. "Well... I guess we'll just let it flow from here. And maybe say goodbye to the rest of the crew."

"Maybe," says Sturge. He then looks at me. "So I'm guessing that since we don't have that much to talk about, we're adjourning this meeting?"

I nod. "Yeah," I say. I then stand up and look to everyone. "It's been fun, guys, but I don't think there's any further purpose for this to be called a Brotherhood. So... The last meeting of the Brotherhood is now officially adjourned. For good."

There's a hushed silence in the room as I say this, but it's a comfortable silence. I think they've accepted it by now, and... well... Here we go.

* * *

><p>When I climb down to the bottom dream level, I see that there's nobody there to greet me. Huh, everyone else must've wandered off already. I look up at the sky briefly, and then begin to climb my way down the path I've known so well. It's a long path this time, especially since there is nobody there to lead me around. Somehow, my every step also feels heavier, as if I'm lifting it out of a thing of melted rubber or something. It's a tough going, but I push on.<p>

Eventually, I get to where Orange would normally be, and true to what I'd expect, there she is. She is looking out to the rest of this place, her hands behind her back. I slowly walk to where she's standing, taking my place next to her as I look out there too. It somehow seems more threatening now, this vast space of the unknown, and I notice that there's some kind of walkway that leads away from there.

I place my hands behind my own back, looking out with her.

"It seems more tumultuous than when I first arrived."

I nod, looking over to Orange after she speaks. "Seems that way," I say. "It's a sign of things to come, isn't it?"

"You are quite perceptive, keeper," she replies.

I sigh. "Call me Art," I say. "Just this once."

"But it would be uncouth to call you otherwise," Orange replies.

"Well, the Reapers are basically defeated by now, so there's no real point," I say. I sigh. "And besides, it led to Earth blowing up..." I sigh, looking down at the ground. "You knew that it was my destiny to blow up the planet, didn't you?"

Orange places a hand on my shoulders. "Perhaps," she replies.

I nod. "Then maybe it's good that you kept some things from me," I say. I look up. "I would've refused to go along. Said there was a better way." I shake my head. "Hell, I still think that, and we blew up the planet anyway. There must've been a better way than this."

"Maybe there was," Orange says. "We cannot tell in this place of half-forgotten dreams and untold possibilities." She then looks down. "I am sorry. I feel responsible for all which has happened."

I shake my head. "Don't be," I reply. "I get the feeling that something more powerful than any of us was working here."

"Your God?" asks Orange.

I glance up at the sky briefly, before turning my attention to her. "No," I reply. "Something else. Something far, far more powerful than that. And I get the feeling that it would've done everything in its power to make sure certain things happened in certain ways." I turn to her. "So after this, you leave, huh?"

"Yes," says Orange. "The others have advanced to the city. I must go and join them soon. I have tarried enough." She then looks down, and I see for the first time that she looks at me differntly. "Kee... _Art_, do you believe you can handle this?"

I shake my head. "No," I reply. "But I have to try, don't I?"

"Indeed," Orange says. She then looks beyond me. "Discard the cube. It will make the nightmares less intense."

I nod. "I'll get to that as soon as I can," I reply. I then look out to the Fade. "Well, Orange, I guess this is goodbye."

"It is indeed, Art," she replies. "Fare thee well. I wish you the best in all your endeavors."

"You too, Orange," I reply. "If you run into anyone on the Normandy's crew, tell them I say hi."

She nods. "I shall do that," she says. The prothean then turns to the path, and I stand there, watching as she looks out into the Fade.

And then, with her head held high, and her shoulders held back, she parades down the pathway away from me. I watch her go, the only person to see her off to her final journey to... well, _wherever _her final destination is. She doesn't look back at me, and in a way I'm grateful for that. Her walk is slow, deliberate, and filled with some kind of purpose that I don't understand. Not that I'd want to, really.

And in time, she vanishes into the Fade, becoming one with the everything. As she vanishes, I can't help but wonder if she was sent here. It's like that phrase that some Christians love to break out. That whole "God works in mysterious ways" thing. Maybe that's what all this is.

I sure hope to God I never meet whatever force it is that caused all this. I don't think I'd like meeting whatever it was that allowed things to get to this point.

I turn away from the path Orange walked, and begin my own trek to find something to jump up to the next level with. Well, whatever the case, I have to live with it now. And to do that... well, I've gotta get out of the dream world.

* * *

><p>I wake up, sitting on the edge of the bed in unease. I look out the window to the drive core again, and sigh as I rub the back of my head. Dammit, I don't know what's gonna happen now. Now the nightmares are going to come, and if they were any indication... well...<p>

But then there's the matter of my life. I can't return to Earth in any capacity because it's all gone, but there's a whole galaxy out there. Maybe if I...

I hear the door open from behind me, and then I see Tali enter the room. She looks at me, before walking over and sitting by my side without saying a word. I lean into her shoulder, and then she and I pull each other close.

"So what now?" I ask.

"I don't know," Tali says. "But... whatever the case..."

I nod. "Yeah," I say. "I'm with you for the whole thing, _querida_... I don't know if I can go into this galaxy without you."

"We'll see..." says Tali as she looks out the drive core. "We'll see..."

I simply hold her close to me, closing my eyes. I think... I think I can go out into the world. After all, as long as I've got Tali with me, there isn't anything I can't do. I can get through this.


	48. Epilogue

_A/N: And here it is, guys. The epilogue of this series._

_I've got another author's note coming up down below, but... well, let's just say that it's weird finally getting to the end of this fic. It's also strange, 'cause this is one of the first longer projects I've actually seen all the way to the end. Fun times are had with that._

_But anyway, let's get to the end of the fic, shall we?_

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><p>Epilogue: Satie: Vexations<p>

_**Five years later…**_

Ack! Oh God… Oh God… Oh my God…

That was… Oh Lord…

I sit up in bed, breathing in and out. Damn it, it seems that even this far down the line the nightmares are still rather intense. I still see faces every night. Thane, Madison, Garrus, Carhon, everyone we abandoned on Earth… I see their faces, and they… They won't stop reminding me of what's happened. And then suddenly I'm on the battlefield again, running away from the danger as mass accelerator rounds fly over my head, trying to—

Dammit, Art, pull yourself together! It's over. It's been over for the past five years. You know that, right? You shouldn't need to remind yourself of this every time…

I shake my head, looking at the bedside clock and seeing that it's… God damn it, it's three in the morning. Ugh… Well, with nightmares like that, there's no way I'm gonna be sleeping tonight. No use trying to go back to bed. It's like that every time I try to sleep, so by now… well, by now I've just given up trying to go back to sleep whenever I wake up from those damn nightmares. And the nights where I manage to sleep well through the night are rare now.

At least they're not so vivid anymore. The first nights without Orange were difficult, as the dreams were so vivid I remember screaming about specific pain in areas I didn't even know existed. I did end up having to dispose of the cube, and when that happened I slept a little easier. I guess it was only a matter of time until we got here again, though. Well, at least I'm not waking Tali up here.

I look at her briefly in the bed, slowly getting out of the bed and being careful not to wake up. She sleeps a little better now, at least. I'm thankful for the small miracles involved with that. Getting over Kul'Yenvar and everything with blowing up Earth was hard, but over time I think she's taken it better than I have. She's gone back to sleeping fitfully, at least. And it's more than I can say for myself.

I shake my head, slowly walking out of the room, being careful not to make any noise. Thank God the floors are made of steel in the future: creaky wood floors are _literally _a thing of the past, and thank God for that.

I slowly make my way down the stairs of the house, slowly passing my work space. I pause at the opening to that, and then peer inside to see that everything is untouched, exactly as I left it. The manuscript paper is still on the desk, the pencils are in order, all the other resources are there… and there's everything else. About the only thing I can say about this war is that it's been easier to write stuff ever since it ended. Ever since the nightmares started, and I've started seeing the faces again… it's been easier to write. It has been ever since that _Requiem _mass I ended up writing just after the war ended. It's never enough to keep the nightmares at bay, but at least here in this study I can have some measure of peace. But I like to compose when I can actually listen to stuff, so… I don't know. Maybe not now.

I walk past it, looking outside the large, spanning window into the scenery around us. Man, Legion really outdid himself when making this house for Rael, Tali, and myself. You'd think that getting it built on Rannoch and finally fulfilling Rael's dream of giving Tali a house on the homeworld would've been enough, but damn if that geth didn't make it nice as hell. It's a beach-front house, and while the area is starting to be developed so it looks like Key Biscayne 2.0 it's still quiet enough for us, so we're still here. And the view of the ocean? That's actually pretty nice, and I've grown to like it more and more over the years.

In the corner of my eye, I see the door to Rael's bedroom, the red hologram hovering over it. He's probably sleeping soundly as usual, knowing him. I better not disturb him.

Hm... Speaking of the old men... I wonder how Mordin is doing. I've heard rumors that his little dream-share project has finally started getting used throughout the STG. I don't really keep in touch with old Mordin anymore, but he's told me that it's leading to a lot of strange research about dreams and how stuff happens. I'm just happy the dream-share stuff didn't get handed off to a bunch of corporate sharks, but I'm not sure if I like the idea of a bunch of STG guys appearing in my dreams trying to fish information out of it. I don't know, I guess it could be worse, but... I'm glad it hasn't gone to waste. Maybe we'll see more people going down there, I dunno.

I turn to the glass door as I ponder this, sliding it open slowly so as not to disturb anyone. I still can't believe Legion put this here. All things considered, I guess I should've seen it coming, but I still can't get over how strange it is that sliding glass doors still exist in this time period.

I step outside, letting the cool night air flow over me. As I close the door behind me, I wonder what everyone is up to now. They did end up going everywhere they said they would, but amidst everything else that's happened, I can't help but feel really unhappy. Yeah, the galaxy is safe, but… it doesn't _feel _safer.

I step outside, leaning against a railing on the landing. I always wanted to believe that Mordin would be wrong about his predictions, but it seems that he was right about some things. With the Alliance having decreased power thanks to to the loss of Earth, the Council is less willing to help us than they were before. It's gone back to how it was in the days when Shepard had just been crowned a Spectre, except that we can't do too much about it because we still have our Council seat. Politically, we've become a laughing stock, because we don't have much to bring to the table anymore.

And that's made the defense against the pirates harder. Exactly as the Erash family predicted, pirate attacks went on the rise with our colonies. They heard of our decreased military power, so the pirates were all "hey, let's go get more slaves". It even broke out into full-on war at one point, with the Alliance waging a war against a bunch of pirate gangs.

It would still be going on if not for the fact that the Hegemony finally stepped in, despite the various xenophobic tensions that're _still _raging within it. I'll bet that humanity would've scoffed at batarian aid several years ago, but they're the only ones who really _wanted _to do anything. The Council races were of no help since they didn't lend anything more than a bunch of Spectres, the quarians are still trying to build their species back up to something resembling what it once was so they couldn't help, and the others… well, the less said about them, the better. So it was up to the batarians to step in and provide crucial information that ended up bringing the war to an end.

And that's starting to develop into some kind of power thing. The last I heard, I'd heard rumors that humanity might be considering leaving the Council since they aren't helpful. I can't blame them for wanting to do that given that the Council isn't doing anything anymore, but… I don't think that's a good idea. For one thing, it's mostly that the Council is at a gridlock again: Tevos and the new salarian councilor are both indifferent about it, and I guess that's understandable because they're busy rebuilding their fleets from the damage they sustained during the war. But Victus has actually done quite a bit to speak up for fairness within the Council towards humanity, even though the turians are rebuilding their fleet from all the stuff the Reapers did to _them_. I'm sure Udina appreciates that Victus is trying to help him, but at the moment it's not enough. I'm afraid for what it would mean if humanity left the Council. Then we'd _really _be back at a time before the first contact war, and where would we be then?

I mean… maybe if humanity allied themselves with the batarians and the quarians, but I don't see that happening 'cause there's _still _a lot of xenophobic tension between both us and the batarians. And if they did align with each other, it would be cause to suddenly fuck up everything we've worked so hard to get at. I mean, Dsrondo already has a hard enough time keeping the xenophobic assholes in line; joining up with humanity would just galvanize them into revolution, and humanity would be rightly fucked if the new Hegemony got toppled. The quarians are a slightly different story, but there aren't enough of them right now even with the geth staying to aid the quarian people. They have the Fleet to help, sure, but… I don't know how well it'll turn out considering that most of the Fleet is still made up of ships that haven't been maintained properly. I just don't see how leaving the Council could be a good thing. If anything, it'll just make things worse than they already are.

And then there's the whole thing with the krogan, and that's starting to become an issue, too. True to his word, Jarel did end up curing the genophage as reward for all the krogan did. It's still in the early days of the post-genophage world, but so far the krogan are keeping themselves in check. With Wrex, Anahit, and Bakara at the head of everything, I don't doubt that the krogan are in a pretty good place, and so far it hasn't gotten into all-out war. The salarians are rather wary, though, but since the krogan haven't done anything too bad yet they can't do anything about it. So I guess that's good, but if the krogan do end up doing something...

It's tenuous right now, but at least the tensions haven't exploded yet.

Yet, being the key word. Any day now, I'm going to wake up to find that things are going to start spiraling out of control. I just hope it doesn't go out of control, but when it does…

I sigh, drumming my fingers along the railway. Dammit all to hell… Maybe if I hadn't come here, all this could've been avoided. I mean… this couldn't be what Bioware had in mind when they released the trilogy, right? I was just some anomaly, and without me we never would've found Verek or all those other guys. Damn it, I should've asked Orange about that when I had the chance.

I just… I had to be responsible for all this. I'm sure of it. This wouldn't have happened if I had come here… I mean, some good came out of it, but now the galaxy is… well, it's a couple of bad moves away from destroying itself. And I sort of made it all possible…

Fuck... What the hell did I do to this place?

I hear footsteps sound from behind me, and I turn to see Tali walking onto the landing. "Tali…" I say, standing upright as she comes closer.

She nods, her hair flowing in the cool night breeze. She finally underwent Mordin's immunization thing last year. She actually adapted to it faster than Rael did, and I guess that's the final assurance I needed that she's finally comfortable again. She walks up next to me, and looks directly at me with her piercing blue eyes.

"Nightmares?" she asks.

I nod. "Yeah," I reply. "I tried not to wake you up…"

"It's fine," she says. "You're not as good at sneaking out of the room as you think."

"I know," I reply. "I just… I get so nervous about waking you up…"

"Don't be," Tali replies as she rubs my shoulder. She then looks directly at me as I turn my attention to the waves of the sea. Those waves sound so gentle from here… This shoreline was never very heavy with the waves, but that's a good thing. "Are you all right? I mean, apart from the nightmares."

I sigh. "I… I'm thinking. Again." I shake my head, looking up at the stars. "Speculation. You know… all that."

"Those thoughts again?" Tali asks.

"Yeah," I reply. I shake my head. "I'm sorry. I know it's a stupid thought, but I can't help but think..."

"I know," she says. "It's all right, Art. I don't blame you for anything."

Tali rubs my arm, pulling herself closer. She doesn't say anything at all as she does this, but she doesn't need to. I simply pull myself closer to her in return, and place my head in the crook of her neck. We're silent as we stand in this way together, and I close my eyes as she holds me there. She's almost protective of me, really. It's quite a long way from the one who... I don't know.

She then looks to me. "Come," she says. "You should come back in." We part at that point, and then she offers me a smile.

I nod. "All right," I say. "Sorry to have woken you."

"It's all right," Tali says as she walks back into the house with me. "Come. We have a lot to do in the coming days."

I nod, leaning close to her. We walk through the house quietly, getting back to the master bedroom. I don't have the heart to tell Tali that I won't be going back to sleep, not at this point in the night. But she gets into the bed, and soon enough I find myself siting in the bed as she drifts back to sleep.

I look down at her, and then look back up at the ceiling. Briefly, I find myself thinking back to that lonely practice room on the top floor of my school, with the out of tune upright piano and the slightly confined space. I often think about that and what would've happened if I had just gone to do… um… whatever else it was I wanted to do on that day. I don't remember what I wanted to do anymore, just that it was something that wouldn't have changed my life so radically.

I still remember the moment I laid that sheet music on the piano, and the moment that everything came up cacophonous as I played it. How could I not, after everything that's happened?

_Vexations_. Piece for solo piano. Music of Erik Satie. Three lines of nothing but tritones stacked into chords that could only make sense to anybody who just lets it wash over them like the waves of the sea. Eight hundred and forty repetitions of all the material. And I only got six hours in before the visions got a hold of me, and I was pulled here.

I grab Tali's hand as I remember this piece. It was the piece that would change my life forever, for ill, and for what little good I can find now.

I don't know if I would do it all over again if I was sent back in time to relive that evening. If I did, though… I'd certainly do things differently. Dear God, I would do a lot of things differently. But as it is, I only have my regrets, and my music to pour them into.

I sigh, laying down next to Tali. We do have quite a bit to do tomorrow, so I guess I better brave the nightmares again.

I turn towards Tali, draping one of my arms over her in silence. I then close my eyes, and drift off to a restless sleep filled with familiar faces.

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><p><strong><em>The End.<em>**

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><p><em>AN: And that's that for _Mass Vexations_, everyone! This story is now officially over!_

_After a long, long while of it, anyway. Damn, this took forever to write, and I swear my ideas ended up changing a lot as we went further into the story. Looking back, there are definitely things I'd redo, but overall I don't regret writing the trilogy. It's been a fun ride, and you guys have been amazing throughout the whole thing._

_So I just want to thank you readers immensely! You have all been incredible on this journey, whether you've popped in to say 'I like this' or you've said 'hey, here's some stuff you might want to think about to make this better'. Of course, there were some people that weren't such good people after all *coughNordRonnoccough*, but thankfully those people were rather few in number, so yeah.__  
><em>

_Well, this is the end of the Mass Vexations saga, guys. But I think you'll be relieved to know that it's not the end of fanfiction for me at the moment. No, I have another story in progress at the moment, and I think it'll be a very interesting one for everyone here. Show of hands: how many of you are interested in a proper crossover fic? 'Cause that's what I'm thinking of next._

_Only that it's also an attempt at deconstructing some _other _fanfiction trends I've seen around this place as of late. So... stay tuned guys, and we'll see something else._

_It's been great fun,_

_-Herr Wozzeck_


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